Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 22, 2014)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                I hope today’s message finds you in good spirits and happy about your spring break.  I understand that for most of you, it wasn’t a break like it was for us and the children, but I hope you had a chance to enjoy part of it with family and friends. Today, at our morning meeting, I asked the students who had traveled the farthest during their spring break and we had sort of a tie with Ireland.  (We couldn’t determine which part of Ireland was farthest, so we didn’t declare a “winner”.)

The students seemed very happy to be reunited with their friends at school and ready to tackle these last 33 days (but who’s counting?).  Speaking of winding down, it is important to note that at GreenMount we traditionally keep up the instructional pace until the last day, with the exception of some housekeeping chores on the very last day.  Please encourage your children to stay focused and I will do the same for the staff.  One of the “traditions” that I have observed over the last 46 years (yipes!) is what I call the “You’re kidding me, only seven weeks left – I can’t possibly get everything done before the year ends” syndrome.  Teachers  race hysterically to give their students every benefit of their instructional wisdom and expertise before the final curtain in June.  While this may cause some anxiety, it is a good indication of the dedication that teachers have - especially ours.

            We welcomed back our eighth graders today from their amazing trip to Costa Rica.  I had a chance to speak to a couple of them and they were full of the experience.  This trip is an important part of the GreenMount experience for many reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity to experience a different culture and feel comfortable with foreign travel.  Let’s face it, the odds are that this generation will be traveling a lot more than any other as the world grows smaller and the American marketplace expands even more.  It’s exciting to think about the experiences that these kids will have.  Our thanks to Ms. Elaine and Mr. Luca for chaperoning and organizing this experience for our students.

 I would like to announce something worth celebrating that few of you know about.  On weekends, a young man named Derrick Brooks uses our gym to train basketball players for competition and college admissions.  Some of his older students have gone on to Division I Schools on basketball scholarships and today I am pleased to say that his second grade students will be traveling to Memphis to compete in the national championship at their level.  I saw these little guys this summer as they worked out and they are amazing future stars.  Derrick provides this program for inner city kids and I can tell you that he makes a difference in their lives.  Our small part is to provide the space he needs to implement the program.

Finally, I would like to share an experience that I had on my break.  On Saturday, April 12, we headed over to the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C., which was beautiful.  In our travels around the tidal basin, we visited the WWII Memorial, an amazing sight to see. Several WWII veterans were also there in their wheelchairs and with their families.  One veteran posed for pictures, looking very strong and fit.  I asked to shake his hand and was amazed at his grip.  It turns out that he was a B-24 bomber pilot in Europe.  I mentioned that my dad was in the 29^th Division and he said, “Oh man, those guys had it rough.  All we did was drop bombs and then head back to the base for a drink!”  He was a character and, of course, a true hero.  He is 91, and as he said, “I’m close to the end, but still kickin,’,”  I was in awe of this man.  Let’s all try to remember and thank our veterans whenever we get a chance.

Cheers, 

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 8, 2013)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            I believe that I said something about spring being here in the last head message.  I was correct technically, but we certainly did not have any weather that indicated the season.  And now it appears that we are preparing to jump right into summer.  Isn’t that just like Baltimore?  Tomorrow we may hit 80 degrees, which can be uncomfortable inside GreenMount.  Unlike a home HVAC system we just cannot change to air conditioning with the flip of a switch.  The city has to come out and reroute water and make some adjustments on the roof.  It’s a complicated process.  This means that we basically have to guess when to switch over, and given our temperamental weather, we are sure to have some days that are too hot or too cold.  So have your children dress so that they can add or subtract clothing as the day progresses.  We will survive as always.

            Attached to this newsletter is a notification of an exhibition by artist Timothy Horjus that will be presented at The Creative Alliance from March 9 to April 13.  The exhibition on the April 13 includes a dance performance by the Elm City Dance Collective and inspired by the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira.  This sounds like an interesting opportunity for families to enjoy a unique program together.  We also like to inform you of events at The Creative Alliance as we have toured their facility and have a relationship with the folks there.

Additionally, on the morning of April 15, the Elm City group will be performing here at GreenMount from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. We invite you to join us at that time for a free performance and a program that I know you will enjoy as you begin your week.

            This morning, as students came back to school, I saw lots of smiling faces.  The chatter and greetings reminded me of the unique nature of the children who attend GMS.  Basically, it boils down to the fact that our kids like being here.  This school is a big part of their lives and the happiness that shows as they return is evidence to me that school and learning is important to them.  And yes, friends are an important part of their feeling of belonging and satisfaction.  As long as we continue to have students learn to love learning, I will be satisfied as well.

            Among those returning today were the eighth graders who went to Costa Rica.  I haven’t heard all the details yet, but the students I talked with were more than happy with the experience.  I know what a great bonding opportunity this is for them and each has learned something about themselves that will give them confidence as they eventually face the world independently. The students will be presenting a program about their trip at Community Day on April 19.  Please make plans to attend so that you can understand why this program is so important for our students’ learning.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (March 18, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            This is an exciting week for us at GreenMount!  On Wednesday, our seventh and eighth grade students will embark on their respective journeys away from school, representing everything that is great about our school and our students.

Our seventh graders will be traveling to Washington, D.C., for an overnight visit to work with an organization that brings in young people to provide assistance for homeless individuals.  They and their chaperones will be sleeping in a church on Wednesday night and will return on Thursday.

The eighth grade students will be going a bit farther to Costa Rica for nine days, including travel.  They will start by learning what “0 Dark-Thirty” really means as they basically open the airport at about 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday.  They will spend a day in San Jose, after which they will depart to a remote village inland, which comes complete with a waterfall and a volcano.  But it won’t be all fun and games as they will complete an actual service project for the villagers there, with whom they will live for several days.  Every time we visit this village we bring school supplies for the children there because the village is very poor and they lack a lot of the things we take for granted.  Today and tomorrow we are asking for donations of school supplies (Mr. Fletcher sent you a list) or money to buy paper since it is too heavy to carry on the trip.  This is a great experience for the students and I will provide you with updates as the week progresses.  Ms. Elaine is great at texting us and keeping us informed about all the experiences that the students are having.

            We are very proud of the kinds of programs we have established for our students that allow them to experience the world in real terms.  From taking walking tours of Baltimore, where we learned about our own neighborhoods, to an ascent through the jungle to see a volcano, our kids get to experience things that help them appreciate their place in the world and the value of others.  We believe that these kinds of experiences shape young people and that they come away with a new appreciation for their fellow human beings.  These experiences also provide for some lifelong bonds, such as the ones we see form between the students who sweat and build together in Costa Rica when they return as a team that has learned the power they possess from working together.  If you want to see this bond in action, come to our community day when the eighth graders make a presentation about their trip.  We will announce that date once the students are prepared.

            As we plan for the new learning cottage that we will open in September, we realize that we will need more technology to support that learning environment.  We are looking at purchasing another netbook lab and projectors for the Mimio.  And as we contemplate our technology needs, we are thinking about the future and how we will be able to provide for what students will need in years to come.  We have heard that netbooks are being replaced by another generation of computers for schools even as we anticipate buying another lab for the school.  Many schools are actually embracing a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) program and we are thinking about something like that to gradually augment the computers the school owns.  Several of our students currently bring their own laptops and they seem to like the idea of being able to save all their work on their own device rather than sharing with other students.  Those pesky flash drives have a way of going missing as well.

We will be discussing this some more as the new year begins in September, but I wanted to plant this seed in your minds now so that you can begin to think about how you might assist with your child’s assistive technology.  In a recent TV ad, I saw a Samsung Chrome laptop advertised for $249.  Wow, have the prices of laptops come down!

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (March 26, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            I’ll start today by giving you an update on our eighth grade students and their experiences in Costa Rica.  We have received reports from Ms. Elaine, and everything is going well.  The group arrived safely and has begun their experiences with a hike up to a volcano into which no one fell (joke).  Actually, they got to the site at which one can view the volcano and a large lake, and the mist at altitude hid both from view except for a brief moment when a breeze blew the mist away.  The hike was interesting as the students experiences the wildlife and jungle along the way.

In San Jose, our group has had the opportunity to work with a mask-maker and create traditional masks of their own.  They have also been dining on traditional dishes of beans and rice as well as dishes with fresh fruit and vegetables.  It appears that everything is going well and that the students are very enthusiastic about everything they are doing.  They are doing a good job of representing our school, too.  Even the TSA people in Miami complimented them!  Ms. Elaine and Mr. Ellis challenge the students right from the beginning, making them responsible for finding their way through airports and through the streets of San Jose.  Soon, they will be in the village where they will have more opportunities to demonstrate leadership.  I won’t be able to give you another update on the trip because the group will return on Friday, after which we begin our spring break.  However, at some point and in a Community Day meeting, the students will present a slide show of their trip.  I hope many parents will come to see how effective and enriching this international trip is.

            Speaking of Community Day, we had a great one on Friday when Loren Cornish visited to share his amazing art with the students.  We were very lucky to have him visit and he has promised to come back just to have more time to learn about our school.  I was very proud of our students on Friday as they responded to his questions demonstrating their deep understanding of creativity and self-expression.  In fact, he said at one point, “I came here with the intent of talking to you.  And now I am learning so much from you, it is much more interesting to hear what you have to say.”  On two occasions the responses he got from students nearly brought him to tears and he had to pause for a moment.  I guess we don’t always know what great kids we have here until someone from outside our school community experiences their talent and insight.  We are all doing a pretty good job, it seems.

We are most alive when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. -- Thornton Wilder

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (March 19, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            Next Wednesday, our eighth graders depart for Costa Rica on their international trip.  While they are there, they will be immersed in an entirely different culture and will have many experiences that will last a lifetime.  The purpose of this trip is to give our oldest students at least an understanding of another part of the world and their connection to it.  As they interact with Costa Rican families and live with them in their village, they will learn the value of living within one’s means and using resources wisely in order to preserve family life and prosperity.

The village they will live in is in a rural part of Costa Rica, not one of the newly developed resorts or urban areas that have recently sprung up in this beautiful country.  Our students will participate in a service learning project (to be determined) that will assist the villagers and add to their quality of life.  Last year, our students helped to build a French drain to avert flooding of the road in the village and they also worked on the roof of the community kitchen.  I am sure this year’s group will return full of tales of their own contributions to the people they will certainly come to consider them as their new friends. 

The trip will not be all work.  Our students will have time to cool off at the local waterfall and pool and they will also get to experience a tropical rainforest up close and personal.  Good hikers will ascend a volcano and, along the way, see wildlife and vegetation that many have only experienced at the National Aquarium.

            For many years the international trip has been an important part of what we do here at GreenMount.  We believe that our students need to experience their world and from that experience learn the interdependence that we all share on this planet.  Our philosophy is clear; we want our students to “thrive in different environments” and be “connected to or grounded in real life experiences.”  Indeed, we will be doing this as part of our study of our own hometown during this last theme.  We are taking neighborhood walks and developing neighborhood guides.  We will travel to the Fire Museum, the Streetcar Museum, the American Visionary Art Museum and Federal Hill, the Keswick Senior Center, the Nancy Patz exhibition at Goucher College, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry, to name just a few.  Also, parents are welcome to join us as we have local artists and authors visit:

• Loring Cornish – 3/23  11:00 – 11:45
• Caleb Stein – 3/30  11:00 – 11:45
• Jennifer Bodine – 5/11 10:15 – 11:45
• Gilbert Sandler – 5/18 10:30 – 11:45

We have also contacted others and hope to add to this already impressive list.  We’ll keep you posted.

Cheers,

Steve