Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 16, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Have I told all of you how excited I am about this year?  If not, let me proclaim my great enthusiasm for where we are headed as a school and where we have come from in just a few years.

We continue to add amazing students and families and this year is no exception. As the staff gets to know the new students and their families, we find ourselves beaming with the possibilities that they bring.  The students are fitting in very nicely with our “veterans” who have, by the way, been exceptional in their inclusiveness by going out of their way to be welcoming.  Our new parents bring a wealth of unique experiences that we look forward to sharing with other community members and the students.

            As we celebrate our growth over 20 years and the quality of the program we now provide, we must still remember that we are continuing to strive to create a culture of excellence as defined for us four years ago by Ron Berger in his book, An Ethic of Excellence.  After reading the book, the staff has worked to implement many of his ideas, as they seem to fit nicely with our definition of project-based and experiential learning.

The students too have become familiar with what it means to produce excellent work as demonstrated in today’s Monday Morning Meeting.  When asked about some of the vocabulary of excellence, I was genuinely surprised to hear even some of our youngest students talk about risk-taking, peer review, rubrics, drafts, portfolios and even aesthetic eye. For example, we are sure that most of our students understand that in order to produce excellent work, they will have to produce several drafts of their writing or other product they are creating, such as a drawing.

I was equally gratified that two younger students described portfolios perfectly.  Indeed, this will be a focus for us this year, for the portfolio provides a way for students to effectively reflect on their work.  So this year all students will be creating either “Showcase” portfolios or “Growth” portfolios.  In a showcase portfolio, the student adds and subtracts from the portfolio as it becomes the collection of only the student’s best work.  In the growth portfolio, the student collects examples of all his or her work to show growth over a trimester and/or the year.  These portfolios will be managed by the individual students and they will decide the kind they will use, which may change as the year progresses.

Parents can help in many ways.  The best-case scenario would be for you to read Ron Berger’s book to become familiar with his ideas.  You could also go online to see videos of his lectures, which are very informative.  Finally, have conversations with your children about excellence and serve as role models for them discussing the things that you do which you consider excellent.  Talk to them about how many times you have to write that proposal before it meets your standards, or how much you have to plan and rehearse the things that you do at work in order to be excellent.  As parents you have great power to influence your child by serving as a role model for them.  And as you are in the building so often working with students or just helping out, children will notice that.  They see you here and they understand that you value education.  This sends a powerful and long-lasting message to them.

            Finally, let me remind you that tonight is Back-To-School Night for grade K-3.  We hope to see you here at 6:30 p.m. when the program will begin promptly.  It will be an informative evening for all who attend.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 12, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from September 12, 2011.

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            In last week’s message, I mentioned the book that our staff read, An Ethic of Excellence Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students by Ron Berger.  It occurred to me that it might be very interesting if some parents also read the book and then came together at school to discuss it.  Our staff discussions are very engaging and the ideas are flying around.  I think it would be helpful if parents had the opportunity to join the conversation as well.  We have so many knowledgeable parents, some of whom are educators themselves, who could add to our process as we unfold the ideas presented in the book.  Additionally, as this is the fifth year of our current vision document, it is time to revisit that vision to see if we are on course.  So, let me know if you are interested, and I will arrange some times at school when we can get together to have a “book talk” and possibly contribute significantly to the direction of the school.

            One of the things that Ron Berger discusses in his book is the idea of creating a culture of craftsmanship.  In his small school, children work and rework projects and other assignments until they are considered excellent (by the student) and worthy of publication or display.  When you were in school and your teacher asked you to try again and to do another draft of a piece of writing, what did that mean to you?  It usually meant that your first draft wasn’t good enough.  And how did you feel about that?  In Berger’s school, the culture of craftsmanship is part of every student’s mind set. There is no such thing as a second draft; they know and accept the fact that their first draft will need revision.  In fact, they expect to have four or more drafts before their work is excellent.  And what happens in between drafts is learning – learning by critique, not only from the teacher, but from classmates as well. I thought about that and realized that in my writing, I often have three or four drafts.  Even a two-line email gets at least two reads before I hit “send.”  Of course, sometimes there are still mistakes, which is why it is important to have another set of eyes review correspondence that is especially important.  The administrative staff does this for each other often.  So, consider joining us as we explore the ways to create this culture in our school, a place where I believe we are already leaps and bounds ahead of the conventional thinking about excellence.

            Speaking of excellence, I will say that most of our teachers are well beyond their first draft as professionals.  However, we all know that each of us needs to improve.  Some say that there is nothing new under the sun in education.  I say that teaching and learning is always new and exciting.  If we are to continue to create learners at GMS, we must grow with them as adult learners, reading books, trying new ideas, and using research and outside resources to improve our craft.  As we work to build a culture of craftsmanship with students, we will do the same as educators.  I’m so excited about this year!

“There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than what you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela

Cheers,

Steve

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