Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (March 25, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Ah, spring!  It is finally here and the crocuses are coming up in front of the school.  Soon, we will be enjoying the warm sun and that beautiful spring green around our area.  Gym classes will be outside, and instead of coats being left on the stage, they will be left on the grass.  Then there will be that tricky time between heating and cooling our building, which is always a challenge, especially since our weather in Baltimore is so finicky.  Nonetheless, it will change and the students will be chomping at the bit for summer vacation to begin. It will all happen too fast and before you know it, we will be in summer mode.  For now, we still have a lot of work to do. 

            Our third theme is coming along nicely as students are learning about the history of journalism and media.  Some great discussions are taking place about journalists’ responsibilities and the role of media in shaping opinion and even policy.  And speaking of experiential opportunities for students, our kindergarteners experienced what it was like to be a carrier pigeon with a message attached to their bodies.  Can you picture them “flying” around the gym, delivering their messages?  A subsequent discussion in class amazed Ms. Laura as the students identified all the disadvantages of using pigeons to carry messages.  Some comments were very practical, such as, “The pigeon could get shot!” or “The pigeon could be attacked by a hawk!”

(exclamation points always come after a kindergarteners comment). Other students recognized that the pigeon just might get tired and decide to go visit a pigeon cousin or that it was not his job to deliver messages.  We’ll have to have a lesson with the kindergarteners about what a “bird brain” is.  Teachers will be letting you know about some of the activities as we move forward and perhaps you can find a way to contribute in class as well.  Our thanks to Ann Foster for stepping up and creating an artistic and imaginative bulletin board for the theme.  I haven’t seen that much newspaper since the last time I moved.

            The other day I received a note from one of our second graders.  It came in an envelope and in very neat Denelian handwriting said, Dear Mr. Steve, I am having a great time at GreenMount.  GreenMount is awesome!  Love, ­­­­­______.  As I sit and look at this lovely sentiment, I am struck, as I often have been, by the power that lies within us as adults to bring about so many wonderful attributes in children.  This young student has a family that encourages independent thought and openly expressing feelings.  This student has teachers who provide the tools of self-expression and the skills necessary to put thoughts down on paper. And when I think of this child, who is benefiting from a supportive family and skilled teachers, I think of all the children in our school and the extent to which we mold them into the big people they will surely become.  Will they still love learning?  Will they still innocently express their feelings and opinions?

A lot of research out there, such as that done by Ken Robinson (How Schools Are Killing Creativity), indicates that as students get older they become more inhibited, less creative, and less communicative (talking that is).  I remember my own teenage son’s phone conversations (pre-Internet) that lasted about ten seconds and went something like, Hey, yeah, when?, Cool, Later.  He’s a great adult now, but he was a much more interesting 6-year-old.  And now that he has his own 11-year-old son, I can talk to him about trying to preserve the inquisitive, thoughtful grandson that I have.

I think we all have a responsibility to not make the assumption that children just “get it” as they grow older.  We need to continually stimulate their imaginations and to be thoughtful and deliberate in how we educate them about their world.  And in order to do that, we have to understand their world.  This is what we strive to do at GreenMount.  Why are our seventh graders so excited about the trip they took to help the homeless in D.C.?  I think it’s because it is real to them.  It is something that gives them the opportunity to make a difference and have value.  We tell a kindergarten student regularly that he or she is special and wonderful.  Let’s make sure we say the same thing for our middle school children, because they are, too.

            Cheers,  

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (November 21, 2011)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            What does it take to produce an excellent theme culmination event?  On Friday, you witnessed our students performing, debating, drilling and singing about a time in our history that was consumed by a great war.  How was it that they were able to demonstrate their learning so well and address a topic that centered around a terrible time in our nation’s history? 

            The first step in planning for a theme event begins with a staff meeting in June to decide on the three theme topics for the year.  At these meetings we work to find themes that will build upon knowledge and skills that our students already have and to find ones that will engage them experientially and authentically.  This is often a difficult task, especially when you have a staff that is brimming with ideas.

Choosing the Civil War caused a great deal of discussion because of the nature of war and the fact that children, especially our youngest ones, may have difficulty with some of the concepts that would naturally evolve from a discussion of such a time.  When our theme topic was agreed upon, we began to plan for how the theme event might look.  We typically begin with the end in mind so that we can decide on what we need to do to get there.

Once we had a general idea of the content and what the theme event might contain, someone had to write the theme.  The job of putting everything together for our history theme always goes to Mr. Fletcher, whose knowledge of history gets us started.  He wrote the history theme over the summer, giving suggestions to each grade level for activities and experiences that they may have to understand the time period.  When we met again in August, Mr. Fletcher produced his theme in a written format for each teacher, and we spent several hours discussing how his suggestions might be adapted for each grade level.  It was then up to each teacher to use the new guide to plan for activities and learning that was appropriate for their students.

Then, at every staff meeting between the beginning of the year and the theme event, we shared how we are each implementing the ideas laid out in the planning guide.  At least an hour of every staff meeting was spent doing this.  As the trimester unfolded, the theme event began to take shape and the ideas kept coming about how to best demonstrate learning.  Once we determined the scope of the theme event, teachers became very focused with their students on the parts they will play.  Finally, students and teachers worked to create props, scenery, costumes (with a lot of help from parents), and scripts.  The students participating in debates spent hours researching their points of view and preparing for questions they would be asked.  Those in plays rehearsed, and then rehearsed some more.  Art work was completed over the trimester that complemented the theme and represented the time period of study.

Finally, on the day of the theme event, anxious students (and teachers!) prepared to give you their very best.  They marched, debated, sang, danced, acted, made bandages, and even treated some “wounded” parents in the field hospital.  A dramatic ending with parent participation capped off a successful event, one which students will long remember.

            In his book, Out of Our Minds, Sir Ken Robinson states that the role of education today must be implemented in three domains.  The first domain is Individual.   In the individual domain we are to develop individual talents and sensibilities.  In the Cultural domain we must deepen our students understanding of the word.  And in the Economic domain we need to provide the skills required to earn a living and be economically productive.  At GreenMount, we do these things, and the theme event is proof positive that we do them well.  Think about how the opportunities your children have to develop their individual talents, how they gain understanding of the world in which we live, and how they are gaining the academic skills to be productive citizens.  The theme event is like the pasta sauce – it’s all in there.

Cheers,
Steve