Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (November 14, 2011)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            On Friday, for Community Day, one our parents, Jim Pietila, joined us to talk about Veterans’ Day.  The students were treated to a unique display of uniforms and equipment that Captain Pietila used in his career as a United States Marine.  His was an interesting history, going from a sailor in the Navy to the Naval Academy to study atomic reactors, to the Marine Corps to pilot C-130 transport aircraft.  After his discussion about serving our country, students tried on uniforms and posed for pictures that you can find on our Facebook page.  This activity was fun for the students, but also pointed out the importance of recognizing veterans for their service.  Today, we concluded the activities in our Monday Morning Meeting, at which the students were given cards to complete for our Wounded Warriors recovering at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, MD.  We talked about the persistence of these individuals as they struggle to recover from their wounds while remaining positive and looking forward to productive lives.  Some actually return to the military to continue to serve in whatever capacity they can.  These are truly special individuals, and this morning we had a good discussion about them.

            We have a lot of good news to share today.  Friday was a very special day because we had a chance to attend and celebrate the wedding of Ms. Tanza and her new husband, Joe.  It was a great wedding and it was obvious that Joe and Tanza were meant for each other.  It was my pleasure to share a table with our staff members and to do so in a setting that had none of the academic or child-centered activities that monopolize our days at GMS.  Sitting around that table, I realized what a special group of people we have accumulated here at GreenMount.  We have known for a long time that they are great teachers.  But on Friday it was fun to see them just as a group of really nice people who support each other and interact positively in every way.  I am very fortunate to be the head of a school with such a wonderful group of individuals.

            Our other wonderful news is that Elaine and her husband, Ed, are adopting a baby as of Friday.  Her name is Piper, and we are all thrilled for the new parents. (Can’t you imagine what a great mom Elaine will be?) Elaine will be on an extended leave of absence as required by her adopting agency, and she has been working night and day to make arrangements for the completion of all her duties in her absence.  She will be communicating with all of you this week about details of her great fortune and what we can expect in her absence.  Naturally, that special staff I described will all be working together to make sure that her tasks are managed and successfully completed.

Don’t forget our theme event on Friday.  We are hustling and bustling around here to get things ready for you, and I know that you will be impressed with what your children have learned about the Civil War and the time period from 1820 to 1870.

"A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."
- Arabian Proverb

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (November 7, 2011)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            Two weeks ago, I was happy to share with you the fact that our 6^th – 8^th grade students received rave reviews from our guides during our trip to Gettysburg.  And now I can report to you that we have received similar accolades from our guest presenters at our last two Community Day events.  David Wright, of GWWO, Inc./Architects, visited GMS on Friday, October 28, to talk about the American impressionist painter, Thomas Moran, who painted during the time period that included the Civil War.  Thanks to Kirsten and Mark Lapointe, who arranged for our guest, we were treated to an impressive slide show along with signed works of Mr. Moran.

Our students were engaged and excellent listeners during the presentation; afterward,Mr. Wright complimented the students and expressed how impressed he was with their responses and questions.  Mr. Wright did an excellent job of exciting the students about Thomas Moran’s art, but he gave due credit to our students for their attention and obvious curiosity.  Likewise, our guest the following week, Charles Hawley, a Civil War re-enactor, was also very impressed with the knowledge on the subject of even some of our youngest students.  “I have been to many Maryland schools and never had (seen) the knowledge and attention displayed by your students,” stated Mr. Hawley.  “Congratulations on a wonderful job.”  Our visit to the Maryland Historical Society last Wednesday resulted in similar compliments for our students and, of course, our teachers.  It is obvious to all of these folks that our theme studies program, headed by Ms. Laura, Ms. Tanza, Mr. Fletcher and the rest of our staff, is exceptional in scope and supported by an ethic of excellence that is indeed becoming part of how we live and breathe around here.  I couldn’t be more proud of our teachers and our students!

Some announcements:

            Many of you are already aware that Ms. Charita is leaving us after Thursday to have back surgery, and we certainly wish her the best.  We had arranged for a long-term substitute for the rest of the year, but unfortunately, that person called late last week to cancel as she had found a full-time position. I was out of town on Friday and contacted Ms. Elaine, who did an excellent job of immediately posting our opening on the AIMS web site.  This morning, I have been calling each of the 12 candidates that have already applied for this position.  Many of them have impressive resumes, and we have already started interviewing the applicants (three today).  I will select the best candidate by the end of the day on Wednesday, and that person will start on Monday.

            While in Connecticut this weekend, I saw many TV promotions concerning a nation-wide test of the Emergency Broadcast System.  It will commence at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday and run concurrently across the country.  The reality is that this broadcast may not warn the audience that it is just a test.  So don’t get all War of the Worlds-panicky if the test sounds genuine…

Actually, it will sound genuine.  It’s a genuine test.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (November 1, 2011)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Yesterday, the staff attended the Association of Independent Schools of Maryland and D.C. (AIMS) conference, and it appears from their comments that this was the best annual conference ever.  Our keynote speaker, Sir Kenneth Robinson, an internationally-renowned expert in the field of creativity and innovation in business and education, piqued the interest of our GreenMount teachers.  Indeed, his was an inspiring and  entertaining presentation.  You can see Sir Robinson in a Ted Talks presentation at http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html.  Part of what he talked about with us is discussed in this presentation, and it speaks to the value of a school like ours, where we celebrate ideas and creativity.

Here at GMS, not only do we foster creativity in our students, but we encourage it in our teachers as well.  This is one important reason why our teachers have made the choice to be on our staff, as opposed to one in another school where they might be stifled by a linear curriculum and a data-driven, test-oriented curriculum.  Speaking of which, did you know that Finland is one of the top three educational systems in the world?  Did you know that they do not use standardized tests?  Perhaps they can teach us something…..

            Other workshops and presentations throughout the day gave our teachers a wide variety of experiences.  Before the conference, teachers had discussed the workshops they hoped to attend, and we made sure that we had representation at most of the workshops that would be of benefit to us.  This Friday, at our staff meeting, we will report back to each other about the sessions we attended and share new ideas.  Mr. Fletcher and Ms. Elizabeth honored our school in a session entitled “Are We There Yet with Gay/Straight Alliances?”  Mr. Fletcher was the presenter, along with a panel of high school students, and Ms. Elizabeth was the presider.  Mr. Fletcher serves on an AIMS committee on this subject and has contributed a lot of time, energy and ideas to helping independent schools support students in establishing gay/straight alliances that foster understanding and cooperation.  We are indeed proud that our school was represented so well.

            I hope that you realize the value of the kind of professional development that we experienced yesterday.  This is how we keep on top of our game as adult learners and how we work to improve the instructional program for your children.  So far this year, you have had to make arrangements to accommodate two full days of our professional development, and I want you to know that your support is appreciated.  I also appreciate the fact that our staff can function as a professional learning community every Friday.  This is an important part of our professional development and how our school continues to improve.

            I’ll end today with a story told by Sir Ken that illustrates the natural creativity of children:

“I heard a great story recently, I love telling it, of a little girl who was in a drawing lesson. She was 6, and she was at the back, drawing, and the teacher said this little girl hardly paid attention, [though] in this drawing lesson she did. The teacher was fascinated and she went over to her and she said, ‘What are you drawing?’ And the girl said, ‘I’m drawing a picture of God.’ And the teacher said, ‘But nobody knows what God looks like.’ And the girl said, ‘They will in a minute.’”

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 24, 2011)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            I am very excited about how our 6^th - 8^th grade students performed during our trip to Gettysburg. We are talking a lot about excellence these days, and in every way our students were excellent last Thursday. 

On a wet and cold battlefield where the 6^th Wisconsin overwhelmed Confederate forces in a railroad cut, our students walked and marched in their footsteps, covering the 300 yards from the base of Seminary Ridge to the railroad cut, which remains there today.  The students were impressed with the experience, and I think many of them felt some measure of what it must have been like for the 490 or so Union troops who began the assault.  It was also impressive to see them look back over that battlefield and picture the 220 soldiers who did not complete the 300-yard, 45-minute journey.

The experiential process for these students began days prior at school, where they were familiarized with the 6^th Wisconsin and practiced the drill and ceremony that were required in order to perform as a cohesive unit.  They familiarized themselves with the qualities of leadership that resulted in this decisive victory and impressed the park ranger with their extensive knowledge of the Civil War and leadership.

Later in the day, a different guide took us to several other sites where the students experienced numerous authentic activities of the period, such as loading and firing a cannon and mimicking the most decisive battle of Gettysburg, Pickett’s Charge.  Going from site to site, our guide, a professor of Civil War history, quizzed our students on many aspects of the war, including important names, places and dates.

As the students dismounted the bus to explore Little Round Top, our guide pulled me aside and asked about our school.  He was curious about our students.  “Why is it that they can have such an understanding and knowledge about this place?” he asked.  I outlined our curriculum and our approach to learning.  I explained that we give our students the time and space to learn and delve deeply into our understandings.  I told him about our theme studies approach and how we encourage independent research and projects so that our students will come away from each theme as learners, curious to continue their exploration of the theme and all that it contains.

When the students were back on the bus and we were headed back to the visitor center, our guide complimented our students, saying that he was very impressed with them and that he had included many aspects of his talk that he would have saved for college or high school students.  He was genuinely impressed.  I was, too.  Our students were attentive, participatory, and anxious to ask thoughtful, provoking questions.  In every way our students displayed excellence.  I am very proud of them and teachers like Mr. Fletcher, whose passion for history excites students and arms them with understandings that demonstrate its importance.

“Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world.” -  George Eliot

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 17, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from October 17, 2011.

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            Who are we?  With the upcoming Open House event on Saturday, it is important that our message to prospective families is accurate and consistent.  We enjoy talking about the fact that we allow our students to develop “deep smarts” and that we are not constricted by a state-mandated curriculum that is “a mile wide and an inch deep.”  Indeed, we do allow our students to find areas of interest and to explore them in depth with the objective of having them become curious, reflective learners.  I should mention that we do reference the state curriculum a great deal because our students ultimately end up in public school at the high school level.  But unlike public schools, we are not constrained by the Voluntary State Curriculum.  We can pause along its K-8 highway to create projects and experiences for our children for which the VSC has little time allotted.  We are happy with our ability to make these kinds of choices for students.

            When we talk to others about our classes being multi-aged, do we all know what we are talking about?  Is it simply that we group students of different ages together because we like the idea of kids at different grade levels together?  Actually, there is a lot of research to support the idea of multi-age grouping.  One article can be found at http://www.multiage-education.com/multiagen-b/themulticlass.html, which is a web site for multi-age education and at which other information on the subject can be found.  When this school was started in the basement of a church, the whole school was one group of just a few children.  As the school grew, the founders saw the advantages of the multi-age concept and continued to form classes in this way.  In the article referenced above, the author states:  “A common belief is that multiage classrooms benefit the younger age group, but short-change the older students. This couldn't be further from the truth! From my experience as a multiage teacher and mother, it is the oldest age group that benefits the most in a multiage class. They have the benefit of continuing their learning with the same teacher, of developing leadership positions within the class community and of reflecting on their academic progress as they revisit basic concepts with their younger classmates. The more advanced student is freed from the constraints of a graded curriculum when the teacher is designing a program from a child centered perspective. At the same time, children that would struggle in a traditional graded classroom experience success when given more choice  in the level of daily activities. An experienced multiage teacher learns to provide a balance of challenge and success for all students.”

            The author references “experienced multiage teachers.”  Given our long history with this type of grouping, I don’t think you are going to find too many staffs that are more experienced with this concept  than ours.

            Finally, I would like to thank the parents who came to the Adjunct Back to School Night.  These 15 parents were able to hear directly from the teachers who teach our Keystone programs and came away with a better understanding of their value to the overall program.  I am sorry that more parents with concerns were unable to make it.  We also had our first parent meeting on Thursday last, attended by seven parents who were there to ask questions and suggest ideas.  Although poorly attended, we had a good discussion and it is hoped that at least some small portion of our parent community came away with some useful information.  Perhaps more of you will be able to attend our next get-together.

            “When your children reach adolescence, they fire you as parent. You’ve got to scramble to get rehired as a consultant.” - Mike Riera       

At some point, your children will find ways to keep you out of the schoolhouse.  Come now while you still can.           

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 10, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from October 10, 2011.

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            One powerful aspect of the GreenMount School community is that our parents   model the importance of being involved in school.  In a 1992 article in Educational Leadership, an “involved” parent is defined as one that demonstrates two key elements.

“First, parents are supportive. They encourage their children and they are sympathetic, reassuring, and understanding. They show a high level of commitment to their children and their education.

Second, parents are active. They are doing something that is observable. This combination of parent   commitment and active participation is what makes an “involved” parent.”

            I think the most important part of this definition is the “observable” part.  I have often said that the most important thing you can do as parents is to be seen in the school and to participate in school-sponsored events or events that are organized for the school community.  I heard that the family camping trip was a huge success.  The children who were there this past weekend witnessed their parents modeling that community spirit.  This is a lesson in life!  Also, when your children see you participating in co-op activities, they recognize that you place a high value on supporting the school and on working to make it the best place possible for learning.

Actually, I think that most kids don’t give this much thought.  What?  As I think about it, it seems probable that our students have just come to expect parents to be involved.  At GMS it has become part of their culture — part of their value system.  Wait a minute, I’m going to interrupt some students to ask them about parent involvement…..

Okay, I asked some students across the hall what they thought about parent involvement.  As I suspected, they don’t give it much thought.  However, when I asked them what they would think if parents were not in the school a lot, they said it would be “weird.”  One student remarked that she would be disappointed if substitutes were not parents.  She said that she feels comfortable and safe when parents are in the classrooms.  As we work to create an ethic of excellence in our school, we can learn from the ethic of parent involvement.  It’s part of who we are, and it is expected.  And that’s exactly where we want to be with excellent work.  It’s who we are and it is expected.

            Now, a word from our sponsor this week: the Co-op Corner.  The first trimester ends in six weeks.  At that time, every parent should have completed at least 10 hours of co-op work.  Please contact Ms. Elaine to review your job preferences or to make a job assignment.  There’s always plenty to do in a schoolhouse where 98 students and 17 adults spend a large portion of their day.

Announcements: 

There will be a meeting of those parents wanting to contribute to our current theme on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.  If you have some Civil War knowledge or information to share, please feel free to join us.

Please don’t forget Adjunct Back to School Night tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. (agenda attached).  Our adjunct teachers are eager to explain their programs to you, and I hope you will come to show your support for them.

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege  to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.” - George Bernard Shaw

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (October 4, 2011)

Each week Head of School, Steve Warner, addresses GreenMount parents in a weekly letter. This is his letter from October 4, 2011.

 

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            We held our weekly morning meeting with the students today because of the field trip yesterday.  We had a good discussion reflecting on the field trip and talking about excellence in the context of it.  Students were able to point out how they were excellent in that they felt that they were attentive and showed respect to the park rangers and others who gave presentations.  One of our younger students pointed out that the presenter at Ford’s Theater was excellent because he was interesting and knew what he was talking about.  This prompted another discussion about how that presenter came to be so knowledgeable and effective.  The students got the idea that it takes practice and doing something many times in order to be able to achieve excellence.  It was easy to relate that idea to school work and working things over many times in order to achieve an excellent product.  Our students are fortunate to be at GreenMount, where they have “the time and space to learn” and the ability to work on several iterations of a product.

            We also discussed the first part of our Second Pillar (Civility) and the idea of “being aware of our impact on others.”  The children were spot on when describing this attribute of a GreenMount student.  They gave several examples, such as not talking while others are speaking and being safe on the playground.  The idea of being respectful of others was generated from that conversation.

            Can you believe that all this was discussed in just 10 minutes?  Ask your child sometime about the morning meeting.  I would like to get some feedback as to how the students feel about these times together.

            In an effort to keep lines of communication open and ideas flowing freely, I am scheduling four parent meetings during which you will have the opportunity to discuss issues with the administration and to bring ideas and expertise to the table.  We will stagger these meetings morning and evening to give everyone the best possibility of attending at a time that is good for them.  Our first meeting will be a on the morning of October 13 at 8:30 a.m.  This will be an open discussion with no agenda or specific items to be discussed.  Parents will generate the agenda.  Subsequently, we will ask room parents to contact the parents in their homerooms and provide us with a list of items to be discussed.  This way, if a parent is unable to attend, their question, suggestion, or concern will be heard.  After each meeting, minutes will be distributed to all families for your review.  I hope that these meetings will be as productive as they have been in the past, addressing your needs and helping us to provide the best possible educational experience for your children.

“It is a fact that in the right formation, the lifting power of many wings can achieve twice the distance of any bird flying alone.” - Author Unknown

Cheers,

Steve