Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (March 18, 2014)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                Yesterday, spring was just three days away. Now, it looks like it’s really far away. Oh, I believe in yesterday.  Actually, can you believe yesterday?  That was one of the strangest winter storms we have had so far.  Unfortunately, it started just in time to mess up rush-hour traffic and then continued showering us with what looked like tiny salt crystals for much of the morning.  And then it was gone.  I hated to make the call to close school, but many accidents had been reported, and when I finally arrived here at school I could see that it would have been difficult for you and the staff to use 30^th Street and the walks.  Today, thanks to our stellar shoveling parents, the walks are clear and it was safe to open on time.

The bad news is that Monday took us into overtime and we have to make up that day somewhere.  As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, we will be adding a day to the end of the year, making June 9 the last day for students.  That’s not great because it’s a Monday, but the alternative would have been Easter Monday.  If we took that day, parents might be rushing from hither and yon, quite possibly covering long distances to get back in time for school on Monday.  Additionally, if we had another snow day, we would then take Easter Monday and add June 9 to the calendar.  In that case, I feel it would be rather better to add June 10 to the calendar.  So, keep your fingers crossed that we don’t have to add another day!

            Tim Parmer addressed the students at this morning’s meeting and informed them about a unique theme project that you will be receiving at home today.  Each child in a homeroom class will be getting a piece of a painting and a wood block that Tim primed.  Each will paint his or her piece on the block by March 31, after which the pieces will be assembled to complete the puzzle and form the finished painting.  All six art pieces, representing the various movements from the Baroque to Modern periods, will be displayed.  The students were encouraged to interpret their piece of the puzzle and use any one of a variety of mediums.  Detailed directions will accompany the folder that you receive.

Cheers,

Steve

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 (March 4, 2014)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                At today’s morning meeting we all chanted, “Go away snow, go away snow.”  Students were also instructed to wear pajamas right-side out and to refrain from any more snow dances.  I think they all agreed.  And for children to want the snow to go away, you know that this has been a tough winter.  The good news is that we are four days into the meteorological spring.  Can you feel it?  Actually, the seasons are defined in three-month periods and spring turns out to be March, April, and May.  So rejoice - it’s spring! (Yeah, right.)

            I hope that you don’t mind that we were two hours late today.  I know that this can be inconvenient, but I wanted to make sure that the walks were clear and free from ice.  Thanks to our shoveling crew who came last night, all that needed to be done this morning was to scatter salt, which took some time to have any effect.  I am surely hoping that this is the last of it.  And in case you are counting, Monday was our last built-in snow day.  If we have to close any days from here on, we will add days to the school calendar beginning with June 9.

            This morning we also talked to the students about the spread of germs.  We have had many students fall ill due to the “thing” that is going around.  We reminded them about hand-washing and sharing things like Blistex (yes, they do that).  It would help if you also have these conversations at home (and please, do not send sick children to school).  The spring (which we are now in) can be especially germ-infested as temperatures fluctuate between warm and cold (warm?).

            Many of you, as well as visitors to the school, have enjoyed the portraits of families that are displayed on the bulletin board in the lobby.  These will have to come down to make room for theme-related information.  Please feel free to take photos of your family to keep before all of the photos are taken down by this Friday.

            Finally, as I am 118 days from “graduating” from GMS, I continue to enjoy every single moment with you, the staff and your children.  Winding down is exciting and yet sad for me.  So if I seem to hold onto you in conversation or problem-solving together, forgive me if I am over-attentive.  When we know the end is in sight, we tend to cherish each day more.  Believe me, I do.

           

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

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (February 18, 2014)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                It’s theme week!  That’s right, we are going ahead with the theme event on Friday in spite of all the days we have lost.  This will be a test of our resiliency and our ability to work cooperatively to get a lot done in a short period of time.  As a little preview, let me describe some of what you will see and hear.

            We will begin the morning with some rousing patriotism and the performance of our sixth through eighth grade “recruits”. You will then see that this period in history was a time of America’s expansionism, which included activities such as women’s suffrage, World War I and the sinking of the Titanic.  It was the time of Theodore Roosevelt and “Boss Tweed” as well as many other familiar names in history.  You will be able to follow a timeline from about 1876 to 1917 and our students will teach you some interesting things that I’ll bet you did not know (remember to have a Buddha Day).  The musical portion of the program will interest you as you will hear selections from this time period that you surely will recognize.  The students have learned songs that include everything from trench warfare to lullabies and marches.  You are certainly invited to sing along.

            One disappointment we may have to endure is our parking situation.  You may have noticed that we have had some snow recently and for the rest of the week we are likely to see a significant meltdown accompanied by some rain.  While I know we welcome this change in the weather, it will make for some very muddy conditions on the field, which does not belong to us.  On Friday morning I will assess the condition of the field to see if we can allow parking there.  It may be that we can use the lower half of the field and I will try to mark off areas that are not suitable for parking.  We’ll just have to see how this plays out.  I’m guessing at this point that is the ground will be too wet.

One area that we have not considered in the past is the parking lot across from the Burger King on 29^th Street.  This lot never has any cars on it and there are no prohibitive signs there.  Parking there would be easy for about 20 vehicles and access to the school is just up the slope to a break in the fence. Our neighbors, Potts and Callahan, have agreed to let us use this space, so you may want to consider this alternative.  In any case, we hope to see a great crowd and I know that you will be impressed with the learning that has gone on for the last 53 days.  We are all very proud of our students and I know you will be, too.

            Finally, on another logistical note, I would like to begin planning for our summer spruce-up.  We need painting done and several other organizational and “brightening” activities.  Please let Heather or me know if you would like to help us during the month of June. 

           

           

Cheers,

Steve

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

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                As part of our ongoing professional development, I provide the staff with journal articles, which individuals volunteer to read and then report back to the staff at our next Professional Development Meeting.  Most of the these articles come from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and their publication, Educational Leadership.  The beauty of this publication is that each month the journal focuses on just one topic around which many contributors submit their articles.  For example, the November issue focused on tackling informational text.  In January, the issue was devoted to student mastery.  And this month, each article addressed building school morale.

You may wonder if morale is an issue at GreenMount, and to be honest, it isn’t much of a concern.  However, two articles struck me.  The first is about the language of appreciation.  According to the author, schools typically show appreciation within the school community by having recognition programs or ceremonies.  These are fine, but a better way to show our appreciation for someone else is to speak or write to a person individually – to take the time in the course of a normal day to just say “thank you,” or recognize someone for a job well done.  This is something that our teachers try to do for students as a matter of course.  We don’t often do that for each other.  Adults often miss opportunities to show personal appreciation to colleagues and friends, according to the article.  At our staff meetings we recognize each other for the good work that we do, but even then it is not as personal and effective as an individual effort.  Another factor to consider is that some people do not like public attention, even if for a positive reason.  Those folks welcome that kind of personal recognition.

            The other article that I found interesting involves those “teachable moments” that we all refer to so often.  However, in this article the teachable moments are not those opportunities that we find to teach children, but the ones that occur and provide an opportunity for adults to learn.  Mentioned in the article is a man named Jack Kornfield, who happens to be a Buddhist monk.  In his book, A Path with Heart, Kornfield talks about treating every person or experience as an opportunity to learn.  He suggests that, instead of seeing the frustrating moments of a day as negatives, we treat each as an opportunity to grow as a person and cultivate those qualities we have to deal with people and events.

The author of the article suggests that everyone try to have at least one “Buddha Day” during which we try to find a lesson for ourselves.  So, this weekend I tried to have my Buddha Day.  The burned toast taught me to look more carefully at the inner workings of my toaster.  When I was cut off on the way to the grocery store, I tried to learn a better way to express my feelings with my wife in the car (“Drat, that motorist must be having a hard day.  Perhaps he is just now thinking what a stupid thing he just did and wishing he could apologize somehow.”).  Wegman’s on a Sunday afternoon is a mad house and a good place to learn.  The guy who gets you that piece of fish that you want (three pieces up on the left hand side) needs better directions because he can’t actually see which piece you are talking about.  I learned that you have to say, “Put your hand over the fish rack.  Now go left – No, your left.  Move toward you.  Put your hand down.”

I also learned that it’s better to watch “Love it or List It” than a PGA golf tournament.  The only thing I ever learned from watching golf was what I cannot do.  Watching home renovations in Canada taught me that there is something very strange about the value of a dollar in that country.  Happy Buddha Day!

           

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (February 3, 2014)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Today, I would like to talk a little about our strategic plan.  Like most every organization, The GreenMount School must have a plan for the future in order to establish goals and the strategies to meet them.  A group of parents and staff members are currently working on a plan for the next five years.  This plan considers all of the social, technological, economic, environmental and political factors that may affect our ability to remain resilient in the face of many unknowns.  This is especially true when we consider the economy.  Over the past decade we have felt the impact of a sagging economy and, thankfully, we survived a couple of years during which we saw a stagnation of our enrollment.

Since then, things have improved greatly and, as you know, we are enjoying a stable enrollment that is near capacity.  In fact, this admissions season has been quite busy with more than 40 applications in hand for our kindergarten.  This presents its own “problem” as we have to choose only 12 from a list of some wonderful children and families.

But who knows how long this popularity of our school will last? This and other considerations make the job of the strategic planning committee vitally important.   We must use the data we have and to try to predict which key issues will confront our school.  Things like our facility and our relationship with the city will determine if we must one day look at another location.  Other considerations include the curriculum, teacher and student retention, keeping up with technology, our reserve fund, and building a strong alumni association.  In May, the committee will produce a final draft of the plan for the community and at that time we will all be able to share in the vision for GreenMount.  Then it will be up to all members of the GreenMount community - all GreenMountaineers - to do the best we can to preserve this unique and wonderful institution.

            Changing gears just a bit…what happened to the Broncos??  Denver fans must be as crushed as the Seahawks fans are overjoyed.  But this game illustrates our inability to predict outcomes even with considerable data in hand.  I’m not a betting man, but I will bet that there are a lot of people out there this morning who have lightened their pocketbooks after using that data that they considered reliable.  I doubt that anyone could have predicted a point spread of 35!  This just goes to show us that there are so many things that are unpredictable, including the future of our school.

The good news is that, like the Seahawks, GreenMountaineers come to play and to win.  We have the talent in our school community to overcome any obstacle and to keep this school vital and progressive.  The future may have some surprises for us, but we are ready for whatever comes our way. I predict the next five years will be especially grand for the GreenMount School.  Make sure that you remain a part of our success.

           

Cheers,

Steve