Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 29, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            We had an interesting morning today.  Our seventh and eighth grade students, some of their teachers and a good many very brave parents set off in the rain for Rocky Gap in Western Maryland and four days of camping.

Just to be clear, our students are not staying at the Rocky Gap Resort and Conference Center.  They will get off at the next exit for the campground, which is actually in Flintstone, Maryland.  I understand that they will be staying in rock cabins with showers that are fueled by mammoths.  The camp counselors, Mr. and Mrs. Rubble, will be teaching the students many things about rocks, including how to drive a foot-pedaled car made of wood and stone.  Ms. Elizabeth will also be along to lead the kids on hikes and discover the natural world of the western part of our state.  A return trip includes a tour of Sidling Hill, which is a great place to see some plants that grow nowhere else in the world and to see great examples of fossils exposed when “the cut” was made creating a road west right through the mountains.  The weather forecast looks better for Western Maryland than it does for here, so we hope they drive into some sunshine today.

            We were also privileged today to host Larry Kimmel, the founder of Team Larry.  Larry is a two-time cancer survivor and has been running 5K races for 16 years to support the Hopewell Center, a free cancer support facility for patients, their families and friends.  Larry spoke at our Monday Morning Meeting to celebrate GreenMount’s role in raising money for the center and for participating in this year’s 5K run. Recently, Chris Cucinotta and Genny Dalton established a new club at GMS to encourage running as a sport and healthy pastime. This club became one of the most popular clubs we have ever had, with many students joining and running every day.  The culmination of the club’s experience was the Hopewell run and being part of “Team Larry”.  Amazingly, the team raised over $14,000, with Angelina Cucinotta raising about $11,000 of that by herself.  Wow!  Larry made a presentation to our school from the “Reach Out and Run 5K” because we were the largest team in the race.  I am told that one of our students on the team, Will Kardas, came in first for the team. And that was with having to stop to tie his shoes twice!  Seeing Will come in the building every morning, I can understand why he was in first place in this run.

My doctor told me that jogging could add years to your life.  I think he was right.  I feel ten years older already! – Milton Berle

P.S. - Don’t forget to plan on attending the parent meeting next Monday at 6:30.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 30, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

                This morning, our 7^th and 8^th grade students and a group of very brave parents and teachers set off for their four-day camping experience at the Jane’s Island campground in Crisfield, Maryland.  Each year that we have gone there the students, parents and teachers have had a good experience and we suspect, especially given the weather forecast, that the same will be true this year.

At The GreenMount School, we have a long tradition of exposing our students to camping as a way to appreciate our natural surroundings and as a way to build confidence in what might be a venue very foreign to many.  In a way, we are teaching some important survival skills by making our students responsible for most of the camping experience.  They will be establishing their own campsite, cooking and cleaning up as well as organizing various activities.  The students also learn interdependence as they participate in activities that require teamwork and patience.  Not unlike the 8^th graders’ trip to Costa Rica, the campers will come away from this experience with new understandings about nature and our place in it.  And yes, some students will definitely be in it as they wade through marshes and perhaps find themselves on the wrong side of their canoe.  Bugs, dirt, sand, water, sun and will all leave their marks on our campers. And when they return on Friday we will all be treated to the unmistakable aroma of campfires and a little good old sweat.  In this way, our students also learn a little of what early settlers to the Eastern Shore had to learn in order to establish those first settlements in Maryland.  Much of the land around Jane’s Island looks the same as it probably did 300 years ago.  The wildlife has been depleted since that time, but examples of most species still exist today.  For our dreamers, they may close their eyes and picture themselves in that time when the bay was clear and flora and fauna undisturbed.  They may listen to the sound of geese or the distant screech of an eagle high above.  The stars will be closer and the air cleaner, transporting them back in time, until… “Hey, c’mon, we’re doing s’mores and telling ghost stories!”

                Last week’snewsletter included a flier for Hopkins EpiCurious, which is a club of sorts that is designed to expose students to adventures in culinary art.  Students from Johns Hopkins University will be coming to the school beginning tomorrow to work with students in grades 3-5 after school to learn about cooking and to actually explore some interesting dishes that they can prepare.  Check the flier from last week for details.  

Cheers,

Steve