Greetings
GreenMount Community,
WELCOME BACK! Finally, our students and their families have
returned and once again fill this building with laughter and excitement about
another successful GreenMount year. We
had a morning meeting in the gym where the students got to see for the first
time some of the improvements that have been made. We have improved the sound quality greatly
with the addition of sound absorption panels and the new lighting makes the gym
much more cheery and inviting. Soon our
new stage curtains will be in place and new seating will relieve you from the
task of sitting on those old metal folding chairs. All of these improvements are due to the hard
work of Jill Goodman as she raised the money from donors, including many of you,
to complete these major improvements.
During the summer, the gym was a mess with dust flying
everywhere and crews working on different projects. Our own crews were busy, too. Parents refinished the stage, built the new
deck, painted, moved furniture, cleaned, and lent a hand with many of the “odd”
jobs that we had for them around here. I
can’t voice enough in praise of all the parents who, this summer, made this day
possible. The intensity and quality of
the work were amazing. Just look at that
deck as an illustration of how you all step up to help our school. Without the cooperation and dedication that
you contribute through the co-op program, and just because you want to make
sure that all of our children have a safe and attractive place to learn, we
would not be enjoying such a happy day and such a bright future. I am looking forward to being with all of you
as we work to make our program even more successful during 2013-2014.
Attached to this newsletter is a page from the Maryland Guide for Visitors that I
thought would be helpful to you as you plan for those times when you are not in
school and looking for some great family activities. The page includes happenings from September 6
to September 21, after which I will publish another few weeks’ worth of
suggestions. (I think that if you
decided to go to the Berlin Fiddler’s Convention, you might see Ms. Laurie
there.)
Many parents and teachers, both new and returning
(notice I didn’t say “old”), are very kind in their praise of our school and
the approach to learning that we have.
We believe that approach is fashioned to create learners that will be
equipped to meet the challenges of a future about which we can only speculate.
It is an exciting and yet uncertain future that our children face, and who
knows what will face our kindergarteners in 2063 when they are retiring?!
So, we know that we have a great responsibility to
create a culture in our school where the “cool” thing to do is to work hard and
achieve our very best. We will continue
with our plan for inculcating excellence in our school. Our professional development plans for the
year will extend our research and discussion in creating this culture, and I
hope you will join us in using the language that inspires children to take
risks, strive for excellence, and unleash their curiosity and innovative
spirit. Each year at GreenMount is
better than the previous one and as our staff learns, so do the children. It will be another banner year for all of
us. Aren’t you excited?
The same quote as last year and the
year before that. We are still pursuing
this goal:
E X C E L L E N C E
“Excellence is the result of caring more
than others think is wise; risking more than others think is safe. Dreaming more than others practical and
expecting more than others think is possible.”
Cheers,
Steve
