Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 28, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Wow! What a morning we had here today!  Picture this:  Your children up and dancing, hootin’ and hollerin’ with Polynesian dancers from Samoa and Hawaii.  And I do mean hollerin’!  Through the Haloti Ngata Family Foundation and the amazing efforts of Jill Goodman and her husband, Miles, we were able to have about 20 Polynesian dancers perform for us accompanied by their music played through our new state-of-the-art sound system.

The men and women of the dance troupe performed traditional cultural movements in their dance including a rather impressive war dance performed by the men.  They beat on their chests and loudly proclaimed their ferocity to the amazement of the students.  The women presented traditional dances similar to the ones you may visualize Hawaiian dancers performing.  The students also were invited to participate, and our guests were very complimentary of the way our students participated and kept up with the professional dancers in front of them.  These young dancers were especially nice to our students, even sitting down with some of them at lunch after the performance.  I think our kids learned a lot about this culture and how generous some folks are with their time and talent.  In addition to coming to our school to educate and entertain us, the Foundation presented the school with a generous check to further our cultural learning. Wow!

            In today’s bulletin you will see an application for The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY).  Participation in CTY can be through a summer program or online as well as other opportunities for talented students to grow their educational experience even further beyond what they have at GreenMount (I know it’s hard to imagine).  My biggest concern for this program is that they will not have enough staffing to accommodate the number of GreenMount students that could potentially be part of it.  They did say “talented.”  If you need further information, please see me for a brochure or simply contact Hopkins at the number or web site provided.

            Finally, a complaint (not from me).  Last week, some neighbors came to the school to complain about our parents parking on Miles Avenue.  They were adamant that we should respect their parking spaces and park elsewhere.  Of course, Miles Avenue is a public street, and parking there is the right of anyone. However, our most verbal and most artistically adorned (neighbor?) noted that he has friends who own tow trucks and he would not hesitate to have them come and remove cars.  Naturally, this would be a serious violation and would certainly be interpreted as “Grand Theft Auto”.  Much to my surprise, our neighbors did not accept that reasoning and reiterated their threat.  I made the suggestion that they file with the city to get permit parking signs and I promised to address the issue with our parents.

So, yes you have every right to park on Miles Avenue.  However, if you wish to avoid a possible verbal conflict with the good folks there (just a few), consider parking on the grass when conditions allow.  Thank you.

Cheers, 

Steve

           

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 21, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

Yesterday, we held one of the most successful Open House gatherings in our history.  Forty-one families visited and 27 took registration packets.  As usual, Ms. Laura was swamped with parents and children interested in kindergarten and they were all excited about the possibility of joining The GreenMount School.  The other large group was represented by families interested in coming here for grade six.
We always have some attrition at the end of the year due to people moving or choosing a different school, but we are finding more and more that, once a family joins our school, they will almost certainly stay.  With the interest we have in our school at present, it is very likely that we will be able to maintain our maximum enrollment. Also, much of the success of the Open House is due to the hard work of many of you who spent a lot of time on Saturday sprucing up the building, making it look wonderful for our potential new families.  We are also grateful for students who play an important role as guides and who make that first visit to our school an impressive one.  I told the students this morning that we have often heard from adults that the deciding factor for wanting to come to GreenMount was the quality of the guide they had at Open House.  They know that if their child can display the confidence and poise that their guide had, they must become a part of this school.

Finally, we must acknowledge the teachers and staff who also contributed to those lasting impressions that our prospective parents have.  I was myself impressed with the presentations given by our teachers.  Also, we thank Ms. Elaine and her staff of parents who made sure everyone signed in and were set off on their tours.  And as usual, Ms. Jill was here early setting up coffee and a wonderful spread of “tasteful” goodies for everyone to enjoy.

A sentimental note: On Thursday I got a call from my 12-year-old grandson in Chico, California, from his new cell phone he received for his birthday.  Every time I hear from him or see him, I ask him the usual questions about school, the sports he is playing, and he always rolls his eyes when I tell him how tall he is getting.  Because I don’t see him very much, I am always surprised at the way he has changed.  And when he called Thursday, I didn’t recognize his voice because it was suddenly so deep and adult-sounding.  When we ended the call, I sat back in my chair reflecting on how quickly he has grown up.  The last 12 years since his birth have been a blur and I only hope that I have done a good job as his Pop-Pop.  However, with seven other grand and step-grand children, I still have time to refine my Pop-Pop skills as the latest is only a month old. Equally baffling is how fast the years have gone by since my first child was born 42 years ago.
So beware, the joy of parenting is fleeting.  Before you know it, they are leaving GreenMount for high school and then college and then out in the world (for your children that really means the world).  Unless of course, they come back to live in your basement.  That happens, too!

“It's not only children who grow.  Parents do, too.  As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.  I can't tell my children to reach for the sun.  All I can do is reach for it myself.”  ~Joyce Maynard

Cheers,
Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 14, 2013)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            At today’s Monday Morning Meeting we discussed a topic under the Pillar of Civility titled “Communicate needs in a positive manner.”  I began the discussion stating that this is probably one of the indicators that is hardest for students to define.  As usual, the students made me reconsider my intuitions as the very first response to what this phrase means – from a third grader – was, “Make sure when you ask for something, you do it in a positive way.”

Okay, so this is an unusual response for an 8-year-old.  Then another hand came up:  “When we need something, we should make sure that we don’t distract the class.”  Wow.  Now I am beginning to think that I misjudged how astute these young people are.  Other similar comments indicated that our work with the Pillars over the last few years is paying off – at least with understandings.

The discussion ended with the final comment, from a fourth grader:  “No whining.”  A number of those fourth grade students smiled as their eyes turned to Ms. Laura (the things they remember from kindergarten).  As you go through the week, you may want to remind your children to communicate their needs in a positive manner.  Although I am sure they do that well at home.  Right?

            On Friday, we were jammin’ with two gentlemen from Trinidad as they shared their steel drums with us.  The students and staff had a lot of fun as we danced, sang along and even some had the opportunity to play the pans for everyone.  Mr. Fletcher rocked with “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.  This group was hired to perform as part of our theme immersion.

            Tomorrow, we will all be going to the National Aquarium along with many of you.  This is also part of our islands study as we focus on the importance of coral reefs and their importance to the ecological balance.  This trip was made possible, in part, because Mr. Fletcher and Ms. Tanza went for “training”, thus allowing our school to visit the aquarium for free.  We thank Fletcher and Tanza for enduring a long PowerPoint presentation that was read to them.  We all know that teachers must have words that are projected on a screen read to them.

            Today, we are having a security camera system installed.  The cameras will monitor the rear of the building as well as the front door.  Personnel in the office will be able to see these areas real time and a DVR will be recording up to three weeks’ worth of activity.  We are pleased to be able to add this system to our security measures that will help protect our students and the building.

            Finally, thanks as always for the opportunity to work in this amazing atmosphere of learning and collaboration.  I am still loving the “work” and enjoying you and your children.

Nothing is work unless you’d rather be doing something else. Not me! - George Halas

Cheers, 

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 7, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                Here is something I wrote about this time two years ago:

            One of powerful thing about the GreenMount School community is that parents model the importance of being involved in school. In an article in Educational Leadership from 1992, an “involved” parent is defined as one that demonstrates two key elements. “First, parents are supportive. They encourage their children and are sympathetic, reassuring, and understanding. They show a high level of commitment to their children and their education. Second, parents are active. They are doing something that is observable. This combination of level of commitment and active participation is what makes an ‘involved‘ parent.”

The part that I think is most important in this definition is the “observable” part.  I have often said that the most important thing you can do as parents is to be seen in the school and participating in school-sponsored events or events that are organized for the school community.  Also, when your children see you participating in co-op activities they recognize that you place a high value on supporting the school and working to make it the best place possible for students to learn.

Actually, I think that most kids don’t give this much thought.  What?  As I think about it, it seems that it is probable that our students have just come to expect parents to be involved.  At GMS, it has become part of their culture – part of their value system.  Wait a minute, I’m going to interrupt some students to ask them about parent involvement…

Okay, I asked some students across the hall what they thought about parent involvement.  As I suspected, they don’t give it much thought.  However, when I asked them what they would think if parents were not in the school a lot, they said it would be “weird.”  One student commented that she would be disappointed if substitutes were not parents.  She said that she feels comfortable and safe when parents are in the classrooms.  As we work to create an ethic of excellence in our school, we can learn from the ethic of parent involvement.  It’s part of who we are and what is expected.  And that’s exactly where we want to be with excellent work.  It’s who we are and what is expected.

                This morning, I visited some classrooms and asked the students what they thought about parent involvement in the school.  The different responses I got from younger students and older ones were interesting.  See if you can guess if the comment came from a seventh/eighth grader or a second/third grader:

“Parents help the teachers by watching the class when they have something else to do.”

“Parents help the community and school grow.”

“It’s good that parents know what we are doing and who the teachers are.”

“Sometimes it’s weird when I see my mom in school when don’t expect it.”

“Sometimes my mom will come to my classroom when she is working in the school to ask me if I forgot my lunch.”

“Parents make it cheaper to go to GreenMount because of the work they do.”

“Parents make GMS a better place to learn with their work. They create a good environment to play and learn.”

“Parents run fun activities like Skate Night.”

“When my dad has to work in the school it usually means that I have to get to school early.  I need my sleep!”

Whatever you might read into these comments, my interactions with the students find that they view you as an important part of our school.  Indeed, you are – thankfully!

Cheers,

Steve