Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 28, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Well, this morning certainly was a mess.  The delay was a tough call, but looking at what other schools both public and private were doing, I decided to go along with their thinking.  Then, as I drove down the Harrisburg expressway and the JFX, I had second thoughts (too late).  As the morning wore on, however, I heard from a number of staff members about the conditions in their neighborhoods.  It appears that some areas were okay while others had considerable ice.  Also reported on the morning news were several accidents.  Thus, the decision was made.  I know that a delay poses a problem for most of you as you may have to delay your arrival at work.  I am sorry if you had to scurry to make arrangements to get your child to school.  My advice is that you always keep an eye on the weather and the possibility of a closing or delayed opening.  Then tune to WBAL TV or go on their web site to find out the GreenMount status.  I will always post our status before 6:00 a.m., so that you have some time to make your arrangements.  However, I promise to always place safety before convenience.  With that in mind, you should also know that ultimately you have the option as a parent to delay your arrival if conditions in your neighborhood are poor.  If we do not call for a delay on a sketchy morning and you feel it is unsafe for you to bring your child to school on time, then wait until you feel it is safe to proceed.  We will not mark a student tardy during a weather event.

            No doubt many of you have heard the news about the Common Core Curriculum, which  most states are adopting.  The curriculum is designed to better meet the needs of students who will be graduating into this new world we are creating every fifteen minutes or so.  In an effort to make sure that we are not handicapping our graduates, most of whom go on to public schools, the staff is examining the basic tenants of the curriculum.  They have been reading articles and this Friday we will have a long discussion about how we think the CCC will impact our kids.  There’s some good stuff in the curriculum, especially in the much deeper approach to reading and math.  Also, it is rewarding to read that many of the recommendations are things we already do.  For example, one of the assessments, which will be taken on line, asks the students to research a topic, collate the data, and present a report on their findings.  Sound familiar?  I can hear a graduate of GMS in ninth grade saying, “What’s this? Did Mr. Fletcher write this question?”  And then they would proceed to do what they have learned here, and do it well.  At any rate, we will be keeping tabs on this development and, of course, “borrowing” any great best practices that we find.  It’s always good to have someone else doing the leg work for you!

“Bad weather always looks worse through a window.” – Tom Lehrer

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 22, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

             So what’s up with Michelle Obama choosing the same designer as last year!? What does this portend for the next four years?  Obviously, the President had no say in this decision, for if he had, he surely would have tried to spread the fame and recognition among other deserving American designers.  Now I am worried. Who’s running things in the White House?  You heard the President say it himself: “People will find fault with me, but they cannot find fault with my wife.”  Maybe Michelle should choose the course of our economic recovery!  Come to think of it, she probably could do a good job, and I would dare the Speaker to find fault with her.  Okay, enough of my astute political observations.

            Today, in our Morning Meeting, we celebrated the Ravens’ victory and I asked the students why they had won.  Many students gave the answers to how they won until finally a few students got the idea and started talking about the spirit of the Ravens, their camaraderie and the team ethic that they displayed, especially during the post-game interviews.  One student thankfully mentioned effort, practice and hard work, which is written on the wristbands that every student received a few weeks ago.  We keep mentioning these attributes because they are the essence of what it takes to be excellent in whatever one chooses to do.  It will be helpful if you also remind your children about these attributes of excellence so that these ideas become part of what each student believes.  This is how we change a culture.  This is how we reach our goal of truly becoming an excellent school.  The notion of following an idea is actually called followership.  Organizations become institutions when their members follow an idea or an ideal – not necessarily people.  When an organization become an institution, everyone knows and shares the same ideals, so that when a new member comes on board, they quickly feel the sense of specific ideals and see many models of how these ideals are exemplified.  We are well on our way to becoming an institution.  We have many students in our midst who, without even thinking about it, practice the wristband attributes daily in everything they do. Through their modeling and our attention to their accomplishments we grow more students with the same followership.

            Finally, don’t forget the All Parent Meeting tomorrow night.  We will give out contracts and you will have an opportunity to shape the future of our school with a special vision activity.  Think about what our school will be in five years.  What will it look like?  What will you hear in the classrooms? What will be the feeling that you have when you walk in the door of our school?  These and other thoughts will help us create our five-year vision and establish new bearing points as we move our school forward.  We have come a long way in the last five years, and it is exciting to think about what the future holds.

“The world is moved not only by the mighty shoves of heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.” — Helen Keller

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 14, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

             After seeing a news report on what has happened in Boston concerning the flu outbreak, I decided that it was time to meet with the staff and students to talk about precautions here at school and at home.  We called an impromptu Wednesday Morning Meeting at which we discussed hand washing, food sharing and how close some of our students like to be to others.  It was noted that the flu is mostly an airborne germ, so students need to be especially careful when sneezing or coughing.  We reviewed the procedures for sneezing into your inside elbow (is that an anatomical term?), and we made sure every teacher has a supply of hand sanitizer as well as a spray bottle of disinfectant to clean tables, desks and chairs.  It has been recommended that everyone get a flu shot (ages 6 and up), even though some strains of the flu out there are not provided for in the shot.  Lauren Calia heard about our meeting and provided some references that parents may find helpful about the flu.  The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has set up a web site with resources on the flu at www.flu.gov.   That website has a flu vaccine finder tool; by entering your zip code, you can find flu clinics near you.  Many pharmacies and some grocery store pharmacy departments offer flu shots.  Additionally, the Baltimore City Health Department offers free flu shots for kids (and perhaps still is offering free flu shots for adults). Also, here is a link to the CDC’s “The Flu: A Guide for Parents”: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/freeresources/updated/a_flu_guide_for_parents.pdf.  Thanks to Lauren for researching this.

I mentioned the fact that students sometimes share food, which is not a good idea in any case.  I should also note that a large amount of food goes uneaten and ends up in the trash.  I have spoken to the students about this and the fact that there are millions of people around the world who would love to have a trash can full of our discards to feed their families.  My mother would always remind me, “There are starving children in China!”  I can hear her now: “Those children in China would just love to have your Brussels sprouts!” (Wouldn’t we love to have their sprouting economy right now?)  I made the mistake once of suggesting that we box up the Brussels sprouts and send them to China.  That didn’t go over too well.  My next strategy was to get Bunky (my dog) to eat them.  He wouldn’t, and gave me away when he gagged on them.  Please speak to your children about this issue (not the Brussels sprouts thing) and discuss what they will actually eat.  I hate to see so much food go to waste.

Parent conference sign-up sheets will be on the white bookcases in the upper school hall by the end of the day today.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 7, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

             You may have noticed that the flag is now back at full staff after several days at half-staff in recognition of the tragedy at Newtown.  I decided to bring the flag back to full staff on the day that the students from Sandy Hook returned to school.  They are ready to get back to their lives, and so we recognize that fact by getting back to normal ourselves.

However, things are never the same after an event such as this.  And, as I mentioned to you previously, we have been looking closely at our crisis plan and giving it a good critique.  On Friday, we discussed our plan at length and came up with several ideas that we will implement as soon as possible. Effective immediately, anyone entering our building that we do not recognize will be questioned before we buzz them in.  In instances where Jen or someone at the front desk is not sure about a visitor, I will be summoned to personally check that person out.  This policy may have a direct influence on you or someone you may send to school to pick up your child.  I would also like to know if there are cases when you feel that you have not been given sufficient scrutiny.

 At our meeting, we also discussed several ways to secure doors and cover windows as well as ways to train our students to take appropriate action in the event of an intruder.  I will not elaborate on all of these procedures at this time or in this format as our newsletter is available to everyone.  I will mention, however, that we can never be completely secure.  Fire codes and egress routes do not allow for a complete lockdown, but we have come up with ways to secure every classroom in our building.  Once the plan is complete, along with the purchase and installation of necessary hardware needed, I will let you know.  We can discuss the specifics of our plan in person with you in a meeting at school.

            Did you see on the news that passengers on a flight took action when a fellow passenger became unruly and threatening?  They taped him to his seat and put a gag in his mouth.  It is a good sign that people will never again sit still and wait to see what happens when a threat occurs on an airplane.  Likewise, I encourage any of you who are in the building to be proactive if you see an unfamiliar or suspicious face by letting us know, or to even by questioning someone as to their business in the school.  We all have a special interest in the safety of our children and we should never feel embarrassed or timid about speaking up when a potential threat seems present.

            Finally, I would like to remind everyone that we have scheduled two meetings on Thursday, January 10, to discuss any questions you may have concerning the changes in our schedule for tuition payments.  The first will be at 8:00 a.m. in the gym, while the afternoon session will begin at 3:15 in Ms. Tonette’s room. 

Prepare and prevent, don't repair and repent. ~Author Unknown

Cheers,

Steve

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

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                As I sit here thinking about how to address the absolutely unthinkable tragedy that occurred on Friday in Connecticut, I find myself forgetting all that I had rehearsed over the weekend.  Like trying to understand exactly what a trillion dollars means, it is hard for all of us to comprehend the scope and impact of this horrible event.  Nevertheless, it is our responsibility as school staff and as parents to help our children and our school community feel safe and secure at GreenMount.      

We had our usual Monday Morning Meeting today, but only with our students in grades 4-8.  I had questioned the wisdom of speaking to the younger students, and Ms. Laura validated our decision with some research she did on the subject over the weekend.  Also, attached to the newsletter you will find two articles provided to us by AIMS this morning that may be helpful to all of us as we grapple with how to make our children feel safe.

                How safe is The GreenMount School?  The answer to that question is evolving.  We all fall into routines of trust and comfort as long as nothing happens.  Then when an event such as the one at Sandy Hook takes place, we are shocked into the realization that we need to do more to improve our security.  And so it will be that the staff will meet Wednesday to discuss how to improve our crisis plan and how to better train our children to handle any emergency.  As the President said last night, we haven’t done enough.  I am positive that school leaders and their staffs around the country, and even around the world, are questioning their security today and thinking of ways to improve it.  Discussions with parents this morning and with teachers have already resulted in some good ideas for improvement.  First and foremost, you may experience some delays in opening the front door.  If Jen or anyone manning the desk does not recognize you, you will be asked to identify yourself as you are spoken to on the buzzer. 

Because of fire escape regulations, we cannot lock the back gated area or the gate that leads from the parking lot to the learning cottage.  This is one of those issues that will require unique plans that all children and adults in the building understand.  Also, any parent who is in to substitute must see Jen in the morning to review the crisis plan (once revised).  I am sure that you are anxious to know that we are addressing any gaps in our security, and I can assure you that we are doing so immediately.  We will develop a new crisis plan and more drills will be carried out along with our monthly fire drills.

This morning, a few parents hugged me as I waited by the front door.  I think this meant that they trust us to take care of their children.  Indeed, this is our highest priority.  The students will remember that the first meeting we had in September was focused on the fact that safety comes first.  If children do not feel safe, it is much harder to focus on learning.  I spoke to the students this morning about how they can support each other and how they must consider how they treat each other.  I spoke briefly about being bullied, which seems to accompany the profile of many who perpetrate such acts.  Then, following our meeting, two students came to me to ask if they could conduct a peer mediation group in which students can discuss issues they may be having with each other.

This is the kind of student we have here.  You are the kind of parents who make them so thoughtful and caring.  This makes our job so much easier.  Thank you.

                Finally, the flag is appropriately at half-mast today and I am thinking of leaving it that way – lest we forget.

                Have a great holiday break, and hug ’em hard!

Cheers,

Steve

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

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

             Last week, I began my message by praising our eighth graders for the excellent test-taking behaviors they displayed, such as going back and carefully checking their work.  My friend at the assessment office was quick to grade our tests and returned them in one day.  The results are that our eighth graders scored an average of 88 percent on the reading portion of the test and an average of 87 percent on the math.  This is a little above the results we have seen over the years as our students consistently score in the 80s.

I believe that these scores also demonstrate the fine job that our teachers do in preparing our students for every situation.  Remember, most of the eighth grade students are taking a standardized test for the first time.  Also, the version of the test they took is meant to assess students at the end of grade eight.  Our students took the test only three months into the school year!  The reason they took the test so early is that the city-wide high schools need the results for admission to their programs, a process that begins this month.  So, congratulations to our students, their teachers and parents for doing such excellent work!

            One aspect of our Friday staff meetings is the focus on professional development.  I am a firm believer that teachers and administrators must always be learners, constantly improving their craft and the services that we provide for students.  Therefore, every staff meeting includes an aspect of this learning.  Other staff meetings, such as the one we had last Friday, focus specifically on the professional development of the staff.

This week, we focused on several articles that the teachers read concerning how we meet the needs of students who challenge us academically, socially and behaviorally.  The four articles we read were titled, “First Discover Their Strengths”; “How Other Countries Do Discipline”; “Cracking the Behavior Code”; and “Ferrari Engines, Bicycle Brakes”.  Each of the articles provided us with good insight and stimulated great discussion, and we certainly learned a lot from the articles and each other.

You can probably guess the content of the articles by the titles, but the last one may puzzle you.  The author of “Ferrari Engines, Bicycle Brakes” makes the case that students with ADHD have brains that run like a race car engine, but are governed by a weak ability to slow down and stop the impulsivity that accompanies such a racing train of thought.  The author makes a good case for being positive about ADHD because he feels that all a student needs is better “brakes” – a set of strategies to slow down.  In fact, he feels that the impulsivity that accompanies ADHD is a sure sign of creativity.  Distractibility is a sign of curiosity, and hyperactivity is a sign of energy.  So, those of you who may have thought you were ADHD or were diagnosed as such when you were students, congratulations! Your creativity, curiosity and energy have probably served you well.  And while you may have not had teachers who were so positive about the abilities you have, we are embracing any of your children who may be in the same race. At GreenMount we do provide the opportunities for Ferrari brains to thrive. Our program welcomes the curious, the creative and the energetic.  We celebrate the different ways children learn and we give the drummer drums to drum; the talker times to debate; and the ponderer things to ponder.  We are still working on those brakes.

Cheers,

Steve

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

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                I would like to start today with singing the praises of our eighth grade students.  On Thursday and Friday, they took the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), which is required as part of the admissions process to high school.  Our students know the importance of this test for them, and I must say how well they “tested”.  I’ll have the results in a week or so, but the one thing I can guarantee is that they did their very best.  Their test-taking behaviors were excellent.  For most, a standardized test is something new and could be intimidating, but I am proud to say that our eighth graders focused, persisted, and used every minute allotted to stay on task and perform at their best.

The test consisted of two parts.  The first part, the reading and language arts section, involved 100 minutes of responding to passages for comprehension and language skills.  Each section was divided into 50-minute tests, and every student finished with time to spare - some with as much as 20 minutes left.  But did they stop to rest?  Did they put their tired heads down for a nap?  No, they immediately went back to check their work and persisted in that effort until time was called.  The next day, during their math test, I saw the same behaviors.  This kind of dedication and attention to task is typical of our eighth graders and I marvel at how they “attack” the challenges that come before them.  These students are our end product, so-to-speak, and are proof of the work that our teachers do at every level to come to this place in the learning process.  And it’s only December 3!

                Last week, I also had the privilege of working with the 7/8 homeroom as we discussed some of the workings of their brains.  That’s right, we were discussing the adolescent brain!  I know that many of you would consider this very scary territory, but actually, it was great fun.  Kids at this age are especially amazing.  Their brains have great plasticity and are capable of many surprising feats.

Just for fun, I introduced them to a mental exercise of memorization and some strategies for memorizing a long passage, most of which was nonsense.  I was very surprised when, after only 20 minutes or so, nearly every student could recite the passage.  I have used this passage many times in the past, but never have so many been able to memorize it so quickly.

Afterwards, we analyzed why they had been so successful with this new learning.  Basically, it boiled down to the fact that the learning was unique and challenging.  The passage had a rhythm, which is something that the brain - especially the adolescent brain - likes.  Also, these students have been taught to persist, to accomplish seemingly difficult tasks. Finally, the new learning was fun!

Yes, learning can be fun. And when it is fun, challenging, and interesting, students like ours will gobble it up.  This somewhat silly exercise is a lesson for all of us who are learners and teachers.  Make learning fun and students will accept any challenge that goes along with it.

                So, I guess you now want to know what the passage is.  Okay, but remember, your brains lack the plasticity of an adolescent.  It is just the simple act of counting to ten:

1 hen

2 ducks

3 squawking geese

4 limerick oysters

5 corpulent porpoises

6 pairs of Donald L. Verzo’s tweezers

7 thousand Macedonians in full battle array

8 brass monkeys from the ancient, sacred crypts of Egypt

9 sympathetic, apathetic, diabetic professors on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth

10 jolly blue denizens of the deep who haul and stall around the corner of 5^th and Main quibblying and quabbling all at the same time

                Try to memorize this in 20 minutes.  By the way, the record for reciting this stands at 16 seconds!

Cheers,

Steve