Greetings,
GreenMount Community,
Welcome back and Happy New Year! It was great to see the students this morning,
and they all seemed happy to be back in school (can you believe that?) and
especially happy to reconnect with their friends. The friendships that our students develop
while at GMS are the kind that I know from experience will last a
lifetime. Believe it or not, I still
have several friends from elementary school that I see regularly. Over the holiday we had a dinner out with
some of them at which we embellished all those wonderful stories that we love
to tell about how our mile-long trek to school was uphill both ways, etc. Our wives love to hear these stories over and
over (NOT!). But to see these people several
times a year is a testament to how we connected so many years ago. I certainly hope, and I do anticipate, that
the kids here will have the same wonderful experience.
This morning we reconnected with all the students at our
Monday Morning Meeting and, among other things, discussed New Year’s
resolutions. We all know how that works,
so I suggested that instead of making a resolution for the new year, we each
make daily resolutions to be a better person each successive day. We talked about “reflection” and how we can
reflect on our own accomplishments at the end of each day and then plan for how
we can repeat our success or improve on them the following day. I think for children especially, a daily
resolution is something that they can grasp and build upon. So often, if we fail to meet our yearly
resolution, we just give up and forget about it. On the other hand, if we fail one day to do
better than the last, we can still have success the next day. This concept might not be a bad idea for us
big people, too. Perhaps you can help
your children by modeling the idea of reflection, setting aside 15 minutes or
so each night to reflect as a family on your day.
Also, at this morning’s meeting we discussed the need to
be safe during extremely cold weather.
In temperatures like we are about to have, it is very easy to be
frostbitten, especially on cheek bones, ears and the nose. Please make sure you all take the necessary
precautions when venturing out this week.
As the wind is blowing right now, I am hoping that the moisture on the
streets and sidewalks is drying up.
However, tomorrow we may have some bad ice with which to contend. Remember to check WBAL TV for closing or a delay
in our school day. It also looks like we
will be having indoor recess this week because of the cold temperatures.
We are looking forward to Friday and our Community Day
because we will once again have ellen cherry (no caps) here to perform for
us. You are all invited to join us for
this concert, which will begin at 11:00.
She has a wonderful voice and is a talented guitarist. Additionally, she is great with children.
Cheers,
Steve
