Greetings GreenMount Community,
On
Wednesday, January 25, the All Parent Meeting included an opportunity for you
to be part of several groups to discuss different aspects of the school program
as well as ideas about co-op, work days, homework, communications, report
cards, parent conferences, weekly reports, grading, building and grounds, and
others.
While many of the items suggested
have already been in the works, today I would like to give you some feedback
about the building and grounds. First of
all, we have no plans to move. We have
an excellent lease agreement with the city, and basically all we have to pay
for is our gas and electric, a yearly lease that would make your house payment
look like a fortune (maybe it feels like that), and basic repairs to the
interior. Some have referred to our
agreement as a “sweet deal.” Our lease
will be renegotiated in eight years, and I am confident that the city wants us
to remain here. We add to the community
and take good care of one of their buildings.
Your questions about the building
and grounds included the following:
- Gym acoustics – we have researched several possibilities to make our gym more acoustically efficient. The best solution we have found requires a lot of material for sound dampening at a cost around $5,000. We are also exploring other less-expensive options. If you have suggestions, please let us know.
- Dust bunnies in the gym – because of the traffic in the gym, PE classes where students shoes disperse their sole contents and lunch, the gym contains more debris than other areas of the building. Next week, the gym is receiving a thorough cleaning and waxing and will look great. In the past, we have had a crew of parents that came in on some Saturdays or after school to clean the floor. It is a good co-op job and, if you are interested, we would welcome your participation.
- Parking – we have plans to build up a ramp as suggested so that cars can negotiate the curb at the end of the parking lot. This will be a workday job and may be completed as early as Feb. 11.
- Plumbing – Phil Jacoby has been inspecting valves and has repaired toilets for us so that all fixtures are working properly. The city has been called to replace valves so that the kindergarten bathroom can be operational again. Towel dispensers will be lowered.
- Outdoor classroom – at the beginning of the year we began to investigate the possibility of enclosing the space with plastic curtains. The best estimate we got was for $3,500 and may be included in next year’s budget. A space heater is out of the question for reasons of safety and code.
- Building exterior – the city has filled in the back of the building to diminish settling. We will have to wait to see how this works before we repair cracks in the brick. Ms. Elizabeth’s classroom walkway will consist of pebbles with stepping stones imbedded and will most likely be completed on Feb. 11 depending on parent participation. We do have access to the new fields and students have already been on them. We are planning along with neighborhood leaders to install two stations for bags for dog waste. This will also be a co-op job. The low spot in the walkway leading to the learning cottage will be addressed by installing a French drain around the area (work day job).
Every item that was
discussed concerning building and grounds is currently being addressed. However, some items will require extra funds
which may not be available until the end of the year.
A final
note: We all wonder what happened to winter! Even this week the temperatures are expected
to be well-above normal. This time last
year I wrote about the loss of two days due to the snow, but so far Old Man Winter
has been kind to us. However, we are not
out of the woods yet. I’m old enough to
remember the blizzard of ’58, when I missed a week of school in the middle of April. It is likely that we will still have a weather-related
closing. So remember our procedure as
outlined in the parent handbook. When
you suspect we might be closed or have a delayed opening, tune in to WBAL TV
and radio for an announcement about GMS.
I will post it by 6:00 a.m. on the morning in question. If we have an early closing, we will also
post it on WBAL as well as our web site.
We will send out an e-mail blast and use the phone tree for those
parents who have provided room parents with their information.
Of
winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.
~Charles G. Stater
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.
~Charles G. Stater
Cheers,
Steve
