Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 7, 2014)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                I am sure that everyone is aware of the fact that we often describe ourselves as a school that is “experiential”.  We tout this term in virtually every piece of our marketing and we discuss it often during meetings with parents and among ourselves at staff meetings.  Well, just to make sure you know that we walk the walk, here are a few examples of what our middle school students have been “experiencing” very recently:

            Last week, Mr. Fletcher and Ms. Elizabeth took the seventh grade students to Washington, D.C. to participate in a program called the Youth Service Opportunity Program (YSOP).  The students spent two nights sleeping on the floor of a church at night and during the day they were out and about helping the homeless and poor of the District.  The students cooked, served meals, and engaged their “guests” in conversations about their lives and their wishes, hopes, and dreams.  Our students engaged the homeless and the poor in the church center and they also ventured out into the city to meet people “on the street”.  Some of our kids even went to the home of a 93-year-old woman to clean her bathroom and other parts of her house.  I understand that the students were enthralled with this lady’s experiences over her 93 years.  The feedback we got from the YSOP people was that our children are exceptional beyond what they could have imagined.  Our thanks to Mr. Fletcher for his passion about this opportunity and to Ms. Elizabeth, who now has proclaimed that no one else will accompany Fletcher on this trip in the future but her!

            Today, our eighth graders are in a small village in Costa Rica working hard to paint a fence that surrounds the village to protect it from rusting in the wet jungle atmosphere.  They are also getting to know their host families and taking strolls through the rainforest and climbing up to the top of an active volcano.  Ms. Elaine and Mr. Luca are making sure that the students not only provide service to the families that live in this remote village, but that they experience a habitat that is very different from that of good old B’More.

            Also today, sixth and seventh graders went to court.  As a result of a book they had read in language arts, they have been practicing and preparing a case for a mock trial to emulate one that could have taken place in the story.  Ms. Allison arranged with Ann Kehinde, a Baltimore County parent and judge, for her to preside over the mock trial in a real courtroom in Baltimore County.  Another judge who presided over one group commented to me that this must be a pre-law class based on the performance of the students.  She congratulated our students for following procedures and for presenting convincing arguments.  The verdicts in both trials of the main character were the same.  To find out what you think that verdict should be, read Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 10, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            At this morning’s meeting, we heard from many students about their adventures over the spring break.  It is fun to hear how excited they were about their various trips and experiences and it is obvious that, as parents, you are making every effort to enrich your children’s lives, whether on a trip to another state or by taking them to our Baltimore Zoo.  It seems that a lot of you took advantage of the many things that our state has to offer.  We are very fortunate to live in Maryland where we can be at either the beach or in the mountains in just three hours.

Today, I talked to the students a little about the importance of learning outside of school.  Often, you have more opportunities to expose your children to experiential learning than we do at school, and I encourage you to continue to provide those enriching experiences that are offered locally and in other exciting places. I also recommend that you always learn about your destination before going so that you have a good set of questions with which you can engage your children in meaningful discussions.  For example, many of us go “downey oshun,” where the object for the trip is the same for adults and children – relax on the sand and enjoy the waves.  But have you ever thought about all the questions that you could create just by being on the sand or in the water?

• What is sand?
• What is it made of?
• How long does it take to make sand?
• Why is sand so hot on a 90-degree day?
• How does sand change when mixed with water?
• What makes a wave?
• Why do waves curl?
• What causes the tides?
• And many more….

If you do your homework and research before going on family trips, you will be surprised at the level of conversation you can engage in with your children.  They are curious at any age, and when you share that curiosity nothing can be a more powerful learning tool.  One of my most memorable moments with my youngest daughter was one night when she was about nine, when we sat on a lifeguard stand looking up at the night sky.  I asked her if she thought it is possible to see the past and the present at the same time.  She said, “Daddy, how can you see the past? It’s gone.”  Look at the stars, I told her, and you will see the past in the present.  This confused her a little, until I explained that the light from those stars started out to reach our eyes millions of years ago and that what we were looking at right then was something happening long, long ago.  I wasn’t sure if she fully understood, but now, as 35-year-old young woman, she often talks of that time as one of the best experiences she ever had with her dad.  Now she explains the idea of the speed of light to my grandson.  She has added a challenge to her talk.  “Look at that star,” she tells Connor.  “Do you see it?  It’s not there!”

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

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 3, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Welcome back, and Happy New Year!  It was great to see the students this morning –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 that I see regularly that were my friends from elementary school.  In fact, we had our 10^th annual elementary school reunion last year.  To see these people at least annually 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.

            So, it’s 2012!  Have you made all those resolutions?  I recently heard that one should not make resolutions but rather set goals.  As we think about the bright future of The GreenMount School, we have some very specific goals for 2012.  These goals are based on The GreenMount School Vision that is attached to this bulletin for your annual review.  It is important that we consider the Vision often, for it is from the Vision that we derive our goals.

If we look at the Vision for students, a clear goal is to constantly improve our instructional program and strengthen the skills of the teaching staff. One way we will be doing that this year is by reviewing our science curriculum as a committee of parents and teachers.  Also, at our first staff meeting for 2012 on Friday, we will be reviewing the adult learning that has taken place over the last year and setting goals for future professional development based on what is best for your children.  It is only through a strong, committed, learning faculty that we will continue to have a steady curve of improvement and refinement of best practices.

A goal for parents is to facilitate communication and opportunities to participate effectively in the educational process and contribute to the health of the school. 

The administration will look for every opportunity to improve leadership skills in working with students, parents, and teachers.

The Board of Trustees will provide supportive oversight of the school and monitor the financial health of the school as it sets tuition rates and replenishes our reserve fund for future growth and security.

“The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”

Jim Rohn

As expressed in the quote above, the staff at GMS believes that the process is often more important than the product.  As we have seen with so many of our students who go on to other educational experiences, they are well prepared to meet almost any challenge that faces them.  This is because we value the learning experience above what is learned.  The experience of reaching a goal as an individual or as a school is what will continue to make us an exceptional place for students and adults to learn and grow to be capable, competent, contributing and confident.  I look forward to this new year and wish each of you happiness and satisfaction, especially as they relate to your child’s life as a GreenMountineer.

Cheers,

Steve