Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (February 13, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            We are very excited this week because of the upcoming theme event.  We have just four days left to prepare, and I think you will be impressed with what the students have learned.  Today, at our Monday Meeting, we discussed this and it pleased me that the students, in response to my question of what the event would be, answered in unison, “Excellent!”  I know it will be.

Remember that the event is Thursday night, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with a Chinese dinner beginning at 5:00.  This dinner will be very special because it is being prepared by Mark and Lilis Hauptman, who prepare authentic Chinese food a lot.  We are very fortunate to have this couple commit to such a huge task.  We may feed as many as 250 people!  So bring your drinks (no alcohol) and your plates and utensils and be prepared to be well fed and entertained. 

Most of the theme event will take place in the gym, but parts will be occurring in classrooms.  We ask that you try to spend a little time at each site reviewing the students’ work, trying not to congregate in any one place.  You will receive an agenda on Thursday night, and we will further explain your movement around the building at that time.

            Speaking of timelines, do you know that there are only 37 days until the first day of spring?  What happened to winter?  I shouldn’t ask that question.  However, it looks like we may escape the kind of winter we had last year.  But I’m not a weather man so don’t hold me to that.

Another important date is fast approaching. Amazingly enough, we only have 74 school days left!  There is so much to do in so little time, as is always the case. It seems to me that this happens every year.  Suddenly, we are staring at the end, only recently remembering the beginning.  To some, the days go faster.  Perhaps it is those who are having fun.  For me, that is definitely the case.  Each day here is an adventure and a reward.  If I haven’t thanked you lately, thanks for the opportunity to be part of this wonderful community.

“Time flies. It's up to you to be the navigator.” - Robert Orben

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (February 6, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            On Wednesday, January 25, the All Parent Meeting included an opportunity for you to be part of several groups to discuss different aspects of the school program as well as ideas about co-op, work days, homework, communications, report cards, parent conferences, weekly reports, grading, building and grounds, and others. 

While many of the items suggested have already been in the works, today I would like to give you some feedback about the building and grounds.  First of all, we have no plans to move.  We have an excellent lease agreement with the city, and basically all we have to pay for is our gas and electric, a yearly lease that would make your house payment look like a fortune (maybe it feels like that), and basic repairs to the interior.  Some have referred to our agreement as a “sweet deal.”  Our lease will be renegotiated in eight years, and I am confident that the city wants us to remain here.  We add to the community and take good care of one of their buildings.

Your questions about the building and grounds included the following:

• Gym acoustics – we have researched several possibilities to make our gym more acoustically efficient.  The best solution we have found requires a lot of material for sound dampening at a cost around $5,000.  We are also exploring other less-expensive options.  If you have suggestions, please let us know.
• Dust bunnies in the gym – because of the traffic in the gym, PE classes where students shoes disperse their sole contents and lunch, the gym contains more debris than other areas of the building.  Next week, the gym is receiving a thorough cleaning and waxing and will look great.  In the past, we have had a crew of parents that came in on some Saturdays or after school to clean the floor.  It is a good co-op job and, if you are interested, we would welcome your participation.
• Parking – we have plans to build up a ramp as suggested so that cars can negotiate the curb at the end of the parking lot.  This will be a workday job and may be completed as early as Feb. 11.
• Plumbing – Phil Jacoby has been inspecting valves and has repaired toilets for us so that all fixtures are working properly.  The city has been called to replace valves so that the kindergarten bathroom can be operational again.  Towel dispensers will be lowered.
• Outdoor classroom – at the beginning of the year we began to investigate the possibility of enclosing the space with plastic curtains.  The best estimate we got was for $3,500 and may be included in next year’s budget.  A space heater is out of the question for reasons of safety and code.
• Building exterior – the city has filled in the back of the building to diminish settling.  We will have to wait to see how this works before we repair cracks in the brick.  Ms. Elizabeth’s classroom walkway will consist of pebbles with stepping stones imbedded and will most likely be completed on Feb. 11 depending on parent participation.  We do have access to the new fields and students have already been on them.  We are planning along with neighborhood leaders to install two stations for bags for dog waste.  This will also be a co-op job.  The low spot in the walkway leading to the learning cottage will be addressed by installing a French drain around the area (work day job).

 Every item that was discussed concerning building and grounds is currently being addressed.  However, some items will require extra funds which may not be available until the end of the year.

            A final note: We all wonder what happened to winter!  Even this week the temperatures are expected to be well-above normal.  This time last year I wrote about the loss of two days due to the snow, but so far Old Man Winter has been kind to us.  However, we are not out of the woods yet.  I’m old enough to remember the blizzard of ’58, when I missed a week of school in the middle of April.  It is likely that we will still have a weather-related closing.  So remember our procedure as outlined in the parent handbook.  When you suspect we might be closed or have a delayed opening, tune in to WBAL TV and radio for an announcement about GMS.  I will post it by 6:00 a.m. on the morning in question.  If we have an early closing, we will also post it on WBAL as well as our web site.  We will send out an e-mail blast and use the phone tree for those parents who have provided room parents with their information.

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.
~Charles G. Stater

Cheers,

Steve

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

Greetings GreenMount Community,

On Saturday, Ms. Elaine and I presented at the 2^nd Annual Progressive Schools Summit, held at City Neighbors Hamilton High School.  Our presentation focused on the work we have been doing to create a culture of excellence at our school.  The workshop went well and our audience asked a lot of questions about our direction and how we were trying to inculcate the idea of excellence as an important part of the school culture.  The discussion was very interesting and also gave us pause to reflect on our success so far.  We explained to our audience that cultural shifts in a school can take years to occur, and even though GreenMount students are generally the kind of students who strive for excellence, it isn’t always obvious that this is something that is intrinsic.

So today, I asked the students at our Monday Morning Meeting how they think we are doing in our pursuit of a culture of excellence. I was pleased to learn that they understand excellence as being the quality of work that represents their best effort, and something they care about.  Students also shared that their excellent work is a result of the tools they have in their toolboxes.  One younger student expressed that each of us has a big tool in our toolbox that is something for which they have a special talent.  Several students then gave examples of those big tools that they possess, and it was interesting to hear what they thought were their special tools. Each example, by the way, was fodder for a discussion about why their special talent was important.  One student mentioned fencing as his special tool. Through questioning, it was determined that in order to fence well, one must be disciplined and in good physical condition.  When questioned by a teacher about his acquisition of this skill, it became apparent that it took many tries to find success to be even considered adequate as a fencer.

This led to discussion of the fact that, in order to produce excellent work, it takes many tries and failures before something becomes a permanent part of our toolboxes.  I think that we are making good progress in this effort, and I encourage all parents to be part of the discussion with your children.  Here are some important points to emphasize as you discuss excellence around the dinner table:

• Excellence represents that which you care deeply about and something that reflects the best you can do given the tools you have.
• Many “drafts” or attempts to reach a goal are required before you can attain excellence.
• Excellence can only be attained by establishing a value for the product.
• Once a value is established and understood, it takes effort and hard work to achieve excellence.
• All of us have special talents and creativity. We can attain excellence by using our best tools and improving others so that our toolbox becomes full of useful things.
• Excellence comes as a result of trials, errors and, many times, disappointment.
• We all have examples of achieving excellence.  Share them with your children.  Discuss how you used the tools in your toolbox to create an excellent product.

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 23, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            This morning, at our meeting with the students, we celebrated the first day of the Chinese New Year.  Thanks to Ms. Jen and her trip to China in the fall, each child received a red envelope with some real Chinese money in it.  Ms. Laura’s kindergartners recited the Chinese wish for a “healthy and prosperous new year,” which they spoke as “Gung Hay Fat Choy.”  I also found that the first day of Chinese New Year is the day set aside for showing respect to one’s elders.  Being the oldest person in this building…well, we’ll see.

            Also, as part of this morning’s meeting we talked a little about the Ravens and their loss yesterday.  I found it interesting that everyone is upset with Billy Cundiff and his missed field goal attempt, which ended the Raven’s season.  I talked to the students about his courage to come before the press after the game and assume responsibility for missing that kick and the result it had on the chances for a Super Bowl appearance.  I was also impressed with his statement about how he was going to use this experience to model for his children how to deal with failure, learn from it and move on.  I thought what he said was even more powerful then he imagined.  It certainly fit nicely into the conversation I had with the students the week before about failing forward.  Perhaps this is another opportunity for you to talk to your kids about team play, failures as a team and the support a team member gets even when he lets the team down.

            If you visit the gym any time soon, you will see that the climbing wall project is under way.  We had a great crew here on Saturday for workday, and not only was the climbing wall nearly completed, but the building looked great for the Open House on Sunday, which was very successful considering the weather and the playoff game.  I think it is safe to say that we are now on the map.  Thanks to you and our marketing and development initiatives, GreenMount is no longer the school no one has heard of.  Twenty-six families visited yesterday, and all seemed very pleased with what they saw and heard.  As usual, our student guides impressed the visitors with their poise and understanding about their school.  We also had parents here to help with the tours, including several board members.  It is days like yesterday that remind me of what a great school community we have here – parents helping with tedious jobs or big construction projects, students who are proud of their school leading families around, and a general sense of this as a happy place where children are growing into interesting, confident, creative people. Who wouldn’t love the atmosphere and the feeling we all share at GreenMount?

This is one of those moments of reflection during which I realize how fortunate I am personally to have landed here.  Life has some interesting twist and turns, but when you are my age and this is the result of whatever choices you have made, you have to be content and feel that everything that happened did so for a reason.

“Maybe Fate isn't the pond you swim in but the fisherman floating on top of it, letting you run the line wild until you are weary enough to be reeled back in.” – Jodi Picoult

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 17, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            This morning at our meeting with the students, we talked about failure.  My goal was to have the students understand that failure is a necessary component of learning and of ultimate success.  I surprised myself as I revealed my own personal and professional failures, ranging from the trouble I got into learning to ride a bike (I crashed into my neighbor’s car, a brand new 1950 Ford convertible) to my unsuccessful attempts to emulate John Wayne’s equestrian skills to failing to reach the final four in the competition to be chosen for the Teacher in Space Program.

            We all experience failure, probably on a daily basis. But as adults, when we fail to get that project done on time or fail to resolve that conflict with our partner, we move on and try again because our experience helps us to understand that it might take some time to resolve that conflict.  And we also understand the value of investing time, strategies and repeated efforts, so that failure does not occur and we can move on to the next challenge that life hands us.  Kids don’t always get this.  They are often discouraged by failure and have a hard time seeing it as a pathway to learning.  Teachers know that while a lot is learned as we fail in life, failure itself is not necessarily the building block for success.  Success is. As a staff of educators we are always looking for those small wins upon which to build more success.  This is much more successful with children and adolescents than helping them realize that failure can be a good thing.  However, as adults, we must still teach our children that it is through failure that we grow intellectually and emotionally.  After all, failure usually comes when we try something new.  To avoid failure would be to avoid new experiences – to be safe in what we know.  So encourage your children to build on their successes, to value their failure, and to continue to try new things.

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt

            Next week, we will be celebrating the Chinese New Year.  Each day we will have a different activity, culminating with a morning-long celebration on Thursday.  If you would like to help with any of the activities, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher to discuss what role you might take.

           

Cheers,

Steve