Greetings, GreenMount Community,
Well,
this morning certainly was a mess. The
delay was a tough call, but looking at what other schools both public and
private were doing, I decided to go along with their thinking. Then, as I drove down the Harrisburg expressway
and the JFX, I had second thoughts (too late).
As the morning wore on, however, I heard from a number of staff members
about the conditions in their neighborhoods.
It appears that some areas were okay while others had considerable ice. Also reported on the morning news were several
accidents. Thus, the decision was
made. I know that a delay poses a
problem for most of you as you may have to delay your arrival at work. I am sorry if you had to scurry to make
arrangements to get your child to school.
My advice is that you always keep an eye on the weather and the
possibility of a closing or delayed opening.
Then tune to WBAL TV or go on their web site to find out the GreenMount
status. I will always post our status
before 6:00 a.m., so that you have some time to make your arrangements. However, I promise to always place safety
before convenience. With that in mind,
you should also know that ultimately you have the option as a parent to delay
your arrival if conditions in your neighborhood are poor. If we do not call for a delay on a sketchy
morning and you feel it is unsafe for you to bring your child to school on
time, then wait until you feel it is safe to proceed. We will not mark a student tardy during a
weather event.
No
doubt many of you have heard the news about the Common Core Curriculum, which most states are adopting. The curriculum is designed to better meet the
needs of students who will be graduating into this new world we are creating
every fifteen minutes or so. In an
effort to make sure that we are not handicapping our graduates, most of whom go
on to public schools, the staff is examining the basic tenants of the
curriculum. They have been reading
articles and this Friday we will have a long discussion about how we think the
CCC will impact our kids. There’s some
good stuff in the curriculum, especially in the much deeper approach to reading
and math. Also, it is rewarding to read
that many of the recommendations are things we already do. For example, one of the assessments, which
will be taken on line, asks the students to research a topic, collate the data,
and present a report on their findings.
Sound familiar? I can hear a
graduate of GMS in ninth grade saying, “What’s this? Did Mr. Fletcher write
this question?” And then they would
proceed to do what they have learned here, and do it well. At any rate, we will be keeping tabs on this
development and, of course, “borrowing” any great best practices that we
find. It’s always good to have someone
else doing the leg work for you!
“Bad weather always looks worse through a window.” – Tom Lehrer
Cheers,
Steve
