Greetings, GreenMount Community,
Mark
Twain once said that the difference between the tax collector and a taxidermist
is that the taxidermist only takes your skin (an awful visualization!). So, today is April 15, in case you forgot; the
day to pay our uncle his due. I guess
it’s good to joke about taxes, especially if you are one who actually owes the
government at the end of the year. But
jokes don’t hide the fact that, as Americans, we have to support our government
by working for it for as much as 28 percent of the time. If you work a 40-hour work week, you are
probably working between six and twelve hours for Uncle Sam. There’s a happy thought…
However, the
reality of this 100 year-old exercise is that our government needs us to pay
the bills, to protect the country, to create and improve our infrastructure,
and to pay our legislators for all their hard work and accomplishments on our
behalf (pause for digestion). And just
remember, “There’s nothing wrong with the younger generation that becoming
taxpayers won’t cure.” – Dan Bennet
This
morning’s meeting was a special one as we were entertained and educated by
Lindsey Bauer and her Elm City Dance Collective. The performance was called Contemporanea, and combined contemporary
modern dance with Capoeria (
pronounced Capoada). Capoeria is a
Brazilian martial arts dance that was used by slaves in Brazil in the 1600s to
train for fighting while disguising their training in the form of a dance. Today, we saw a demonstration of Capoeria,
after which all of us learned four forms or “moves” that the dancers
perform. Also, a student from each grade
was invited to “play” with one of the dancers using the moves we had all
learned. As our students danced we all
sang a Portuguese chant and clapped to the rhythm of the dance. It was a lot of fun and the students were
exceptional. I am very proud of our
students and their willingness to try new things in front of their peers. I was also very proud of everyone for being
such a good audience. To learn more
about Elm City, visit their web site at www.elmcitydance.org.
It looks like we are on the way to receiving approval
for our new learning cottage, which students and teachers will occupy when we
return from our summer break. The new
unit will be placed adjacent to the existing one and extend out toward the ball
field. In preparation for that
installation, we will need a lot of help as we did when we installed the first
unit. This Saturday is a Co-Op Day and
we need help clearing brush away from the fence, which will have to be moved
once the new learning cottage arrives. The workday typically begins around 9:00
a.m. If you need those hours, this is a
great way to get them.
“Volunteers are not paid -- not
because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.” Thank you in advance for helping us with this
initial phase of getting our new classrooms.
Cheers,
Steve
