Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (March 10, 2014)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                The third theme has begun and all classes are getting revved up to learn about this vast period from Rembrandt to Rothko.  I think the students are excited and I know that the teachers are.  The kindergarten students began this theme by describing art in their own words:

Well, art is something that you make that you really like.

Art is pictures

Art is creating.  Art is something you can invent, like a painting.

Some art is parts of the human body.

Art can be something you find and see and discover.

People from long ago taught us about art.

Art is making something that is real, like a painting.

Art is concentration. You have to concentrate on what you’re doing

Earth.  (A kindergartener came up with that)

            Ms. Laura can’t wait to see how these ideas change when this theme is complete.

            Speaking of kindergarten, a wise mentor of mine told me many years ago that when the day becomes tiring, when you have had enough of paperwork, misbehaviors, phone calls and directives from the central office, just go to the kindergarten and spend 30 minutes interacting with the children.  Never have I received better advice.  This is a place of pure joy and curiosity.  Every five or six year-old is just completely immersed in learning about books, why water freezes, how the calendar keeps track of days in a row, why an /8/ is so hard to draw.  They are fascinated about history – things that happened a long time ago (like last Thursday) or what happens when we learn to share.  They learn how to take care of themselves and the things in the classroom that belong to EVERYBODY.  They learn that when the teacher says that she likes the way a classmate is following directions they should be doing what he or she is doing.  They learn that with a seed in a Styrofoam cup, the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.  They make amazing connections about people, nature, and the way things work.  And they tell us everything – “Mommy has a sippy cup for wine!”  Laughter is a natural part of a kindergartener’s communication tools.  They love new words and try to say them, providing non-stop entertainment for the adults in the room.  But beyond all the fun and pure joy is a learning curve that will never be steeper.  Let’s all try to keep the kindergarten spirit in all of our children, and in the adults, too.

                Finally, at our morning meeting today we celebrated the fact that we will finally get to go outside for recess.  And thanks to the work of parents, the playground is clean and ready for us.  However, it may be a while before we are able to use the fields. A lot of vehicle traffic has left the area a quagmire and it looks like it will be some time before we are able to play there.  I have cones up to discourage vehicles from going on the field, so please do not remove them.  The field is not part of the property we lease.  It is Wyman Park and we have no right to drive on that property.  Once everything is dried out and we can get the grass growing again we will be able to sneak back out there to park in time for the theme event in May.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (February 24, 2014)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                Our thanks to all of you for helping us enjoy another successful theme event.  Your participation as an audience is extremely important to the students and definitely adds to the success of the program.  I heard many parents asking probing questions and helping our students clarify points that they had rehearsed.  I think it is obvious that students have learned a lot when they can be steered away from their script by your questions and still demonstrate their learning.  I hope you realize that the time constraints of the theme event allow our students little time to share all that they have learned.  You probably have figured out that what you get to see and hear is but a sample of the learning that has taken place.

            Also, you have played an important role in the success of the program by contributing to the gym renovation, which has made a very significant difference in the quality of how we experience student performances.  Most of all, you provide enthusiasm for and support of the theme events by your presence and your encouragement of your children.  We put together three theme events each year to showcase student learning as well as social and emotional growth.  But these events are also a showcase for our school community and the support and participation of parents.  Without your nurturing and obvious interest in your children’s education, we could not hope to have events as successful as the last 20 I have witnessed.  That’s right, I have one more to go to complete 21 theme events and each has been a joy. 

We have already started planning for the theme event on May 22.  Remember, the title is Rembrandt to Rothko and we will be immersed in art from several “movements”.  If you have some ideas for experiences for the students, please don’t hesitate to contact the teachers.  We are planning several trips to the BMA, so if you or someone you know has connections there, please let us know.  We would love to see the art they have in “storage”.

You may have noticed some excavation in the front of the school and a very tall post at the corner of the playground.  The post will have a camera and a listening device to record parents’ conversations about the school. Actually, that’s not true, but I wanted to give you just a little pause.  The post is actually there to extend the Comcast line from the telephone pole at the corner of the church.  The line then runs underground to the school, giving us that coveted access to a high-speed Internet connection.  Right now we have only three megabits per second coming into the building.  Can you believe it?  With the Comcast line we will improve to 100 megabits per second.  This is something we have been working on for over a year and it is finally going to happen!  We are fortunate to have so many parents who are very tech-savvy and who contribute many hours of research and work to improve our technology infrastructure, which gets better each year.  Their work is “Bully”!

           

Cheers,

Steve