Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 6, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from September 6, 2011.

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            WELCOME BACK!  This morning, our families finally returned from what I hope was a productive and enjoyable summer vacation.  It was great to see the students all cleaned up and eager to begin a new year.  It felt good for me to be out there in the gated area listening to the excitement, watching kids reunite and laugh.  A school is but a hollow shell without children, and now we feel fulfilled as 100 students flow into the building and we anticipate that this will be one of GreenMount’s best years ever.
            The summer has been busy as many of you know firsthand.  The learning cottage is up and running with all the appropriate approvals and permits hanging on the window.  It was at times an arduous task to get this building ready for students, but with the help of many parents and our dedicated staff, we are ready to begin the year.  As late as yesterday, staff members and parents were here putting the final touches on classrooms so that students would feel welcomed and happy to be back.  We are certainly happy to see them.
            This year is going to be a year of change and polishing.  All of you have chosen to bring your children here because of our philosophy and the community of learners that GMS fosters.  And to date we have done well creating a love of learning and that inquisitive spirit that our students typically have.  This year, we are focusing our efforts on excellence.  Our school is at that point where an organization can become an institution, where ideas and ideals are shared in an unspoken understanding of who we are and what we believe.  The staff summer reading was a book called An Ethic of Excellence Building a Culture ofCraftsmanship with Students by Ron Berger.  Our summer staff development and all subsequent staff development for the year will be based on this book.  We will also be sharing many of the ideas in the book with the students to create an understanding and a quest for excellence.  The author explains through his experiences as a teacher in a small town in Massachusetts how he was able to create a culture in the school where students are never satisfied until they feel that they have created an excellent product in their work.  Our goal this year will be to create that spirit at GMS and to have our students understand the value of excellent work.
            The good news is that at GMS we already have much of this ethic in place.  This is why we chose to use this book as a way of improving our program for all of our students.  I encourage you to purchase a copy of the book so that you too can understand our direction and contribute to it.  I will be informing you weekly through this newsletter of our progress as well as more specific ideas from the book about which teachers are excited.
            The next time you visit my office, please notice the picture of the eagle hanging as it has for the last five years.  You may have seen the picture, but did you read the words?
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”

“Excellent!”  -  Wayne

Cheers,
Steve