Dates to Remember
December 7 - Winter Faire

December 10 - Middle School Winter Concert

December 13 & 16 - Vision and Hearing Screening

December 17 - MSCS Board of Directors Meeting

December 23 - January 7 -- Winter Break -- NO SCHOOL

January 6-7 - Teacher Work Days

January 7 - MSCS Board of Directors Meeting

January 8 -- School Resumes
Winter Faire
Please join us for our annual Winter Faire, Saturday, December 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m
Winter Faire is coming!  

December 7th, 10am to 2 pm. at Mountain Song Community School.

Come share in the warmth and light of the holiday season!

Presale Price: 25 coins for $20

Presale Dates:
Wednesday, December 4th after school
Thursday, December 5th after school
Friday, December 6th noon pick up and after school.

Winter Faire Class Performance times:
10:15am - 10:30am - McCabe’s 6 th  Grade Aspen Class
10:30am - 10:45am - Tafoya’s 7 th  Grade Willow Class
10:45am - 11:00am - Feldman’s 1 st  Grade Lodgepole Pine Class
11:00am - 11:15am - Siebert’s 1 st  Grade Hawthorn Class
11:15am - 11:30am - Dolce’s 7 th  Grade Redwood Class
11:30am - 11:45am - Manz-Jackson’s 4 th  Grade Mountain Maple Class
11:45am - 12:00pm - Lang/Ellington’s 5 th  Grade Juniper Class
12:00pm - 12:15pm - Arzate’s 2 nd  Grade Blue Spruce Class
12:15pm - 12:30pm - Smith’s 3 rd  Grade Evergreen Class
12:30pm - 12:45pm - Donati’s 2 nd  Grade Red Oaks Class

Prices:
Soup – 4 coins
Drinks – 2 coins
Candles – 4 coins
Bath salt – 3 coins
Savory bake sale – 1-5 coins
Sweet bake sale – 1-5 coins
Reach for the stars – 1 coin
Peg dolls – 2 coins
Ornaments – 2 coins
Wands – 1 coin
Waldorf stars – 1 coin
Fishing game – 1 coin
Cocoa kits – 2 coins
Pouches – 2 coins
Dragon quest – 3 coins
Pop-up shop – up to 10 coins

Proceeds from Winter Faire benefit our classroom fundraising goals, Parent Council budgets, and the Festivals annual budget.
 
Thank you from the Festivals Committee
Volunteers ( Greatly ) Needed: Vision and Hearing Screenings - Dec. 13 and 16
CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS: Mountain Song's eyes and ears need you! We need 6 - 8 volunteers to conduct the hearing and vision screenings under the guidance of our consulting nurse, Kimberly Nowland, on Friday, December 13, and for make-ups on Monday, December 16.

Ms. Nowland will provide training to all volunteers on Friday, December 13, so please do not hesitate if you've never done this type of volunteering before. Lunch from Qdoba will be provided. We ask that volunteers be available from 8:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m., as we expect it to take all day to conduct all of the screenings. However, the more volunteers we have helping, the faster we can screen classes and finish the day. We will also need volunteers for make-up screenings on Monday, December 16th only until noon.  

Please email Kate Pettey ( kpettey@mountainsongschool.com ), or leave a message on the attendance line (719-203-6364, option 1) if you are able to help.
Vision and Hearing Screenings December 13th
On December 13th, we will be conducting our annual vision and hearing screenings per state mandate. Make-up screenings will occur on Monday, December 16th. We will screen all K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th graders. In addition, we will screen the following students from all grades: 

  • Students who are new to MSCS this year
  • Students who received referrals from the nurse last year or students whose teachers refer them this year
  • Students with 504 plans
  • Students with new IEPs or whose IEPs will go under triennial review this year

If you do not want your child screened, please inform Kate Pettey at the front office in person or by email ( kpettey@mountainsongschool.com ) no later than December 12th. Please include your child's name and grade, as well as your preference not to have them screened for the 2019-20 academic year.
‘Tis the Season'
Middle School Choir Winter Concert
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
6:30 p.m.
Dear Mountain Song Community,

Our Middle School students have been working diligently to prepare and present present a fun, festive musical celebration of the season for our families and friends on Tuesday evening, December 10, at 6:30 p.m.  This exciting, eclectic program features a tapestry of musical textures and colors including “The Nutcracker...in About 3 Minutes,” Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” the beautiful and timeless “Dona Nobis Pacem,” and much more. 

We hope you invite all of your family, friends, and neighbors to this delightful event to celebrate the season with us here at Mountain Song. All age groups will enjoy this brief 30-minute presentation that will leave you time to visit afterwards and still get the children in bed at a decent hour. But please come early to get a good seat. The gym will definitely be full. We look forward to seeing you and wrapping this gift of music with the smiles and faces of your delightful children. 

Warm wishes,

Mike Harris (Mr. Mike)
Middle School Choir Director 
Mountain Song Community School
Winter Holiday Giving Tree
The Winter Holiday Giving Tree is officially in its place in the entryway, but you can look for it at the Winter Faire on Saturday as well! 

Please take a tag and return it along with the item(s) to the office by December 16th. Please know that your contribution is making a big difference in the hearts and minds of the Mountain Song Families who receive your generous gifts. ♥️

Thank you for your generosity,
Parent Council
Dismissal Safety
Dear Families,

I’m writing to express a real concern about safety at dismissal time. Our primary objective at dismissal is to supervise the safe transfer of children from being under the care of school personnel to being under the care of designated family or friends.  

Naturally, parents also like to visit at this time, while multiple ages of children, including toddlers, play on the playground. It can be a fun visiting and play time, yet in these circumstances, multiple safety concerns arise. Unfortunately, we have experienced an increase in the number of children’s injuries at dismissal time, including a recent one that prompted emergency responders to be called. This trend requires us to put greater safety measures in place in the near future.

While the Executive Leadership Team and the Safety Committee work internally to structure a safer dismissal process, we also appeal to you to help in these ways:  

  • If you only have children in the elementary grades who dismiss at 2:55 p.m., we kindly ask that you linger no longer than 10 minutes, that is, until 3:05 p.m.
  • If you have children in both elementary and middle school grades, and need to wait with your younger children for your middle school students who dismiss at 3:10 p.m., please directly supervise your younger children in close proximity, and linger no longer than 10 minutes after the middle school students are dismissed, that is, until 3:20 p.m.
  • Keep the pick-up-and-go lanes in front and on the side of the building moving. These are pick-up and go lanes, and they are not for parking.  
  • Consider serving as a volunteer if you are willing to be trained, wear orange vests, and serve as monitors for traffic and playground safety.
  • Please abide by Mountain Song’s Playground Rules.
  • Please remember that our after-care program operates after school, and we need to clear the playground after dismissal so they can conduct their program.

Thank you for attending to the safety, care, and nurturing of our Mountain Song children!

Dr. Teresa M. Woods
Accepting Intent to Enroll Forms for the 2020-2021 School Year
Families interested in enrolling their children in Kindergarten through Grade 8 classes or our Homeschool Enrichment Program must submit a SY 20-21 Intent to Enroll form by January 31, 2020 to place their child(ren) in the Enrollment Lottery . The Intent to Enroll forms are also available at the front office .  The lottery will occur on Tuesday, February 11, 2020. If your child is selected in the lottery, enrollment packets will be sent to you from our Director of School Performance after confirmation in February. Please contact Sarah Kreger with questions at skreger@mountainsongschool.com .
6th Grade Aspen Class Fundraiser
Today is the last day to order your Christmas cactus and support the 6th Grade Aspen Class! These beautiful festive cacti will bloom for the holidays year after year. The cacti will be delivered next week and pick up will be after school on Friday, December 13th.
2019 Mountain Song Community School Annual Appeal
(November 15 – December 31)

The Mountain Song Community School Annual Appeal is an important time for Mountain Song Community School where we ask families, friends, and other members of our community to support the school with a philanthropic gift.

Save the Date: Grandparents Day
Thursday, March 19th
We are very excited to announce our second annual Grandparents Day Celebration on Thursday, March 19th. At MSCS, we love and appreciate our grandparents, and believe they are to be honored, treasured and celebrated. In order to send our grandparents a special invitation from the school, we need your help. Please provide us with the mailing and email addresses of the grandparents. We need this information in order to get invitations and information out. To reply with the requested information you can simply click the button below, fill out the needed information and hit submit.
Volunteers Needed for the Farm
The Farm is in Need of Volunteers! This is a very integral part of our school, so please consider using some of your volunteer hours to keep The Farm up and running. Children are more than welcome to help and are encouraged to participate. Links are now live for signing up for Fall/Winter and Winter/Spring volunteer hours. See below:  



Thank you! Parent Council
Songbird Contributions
Article or announcement contributions must be submitted to Dr. Woods by Tuesday at 5 p.m. for inclusion in each week’s Songbird newsletter, typically distributed on Fridays. ( twoods@mountainsongschool.com )
Mountain Song School Event Calendar
Mark your calendar with these important Mountain Song Community School dates.

Mountain Song Community School | 2904 West Kiowa St, Colorado Springs, CO 80904