Dates to Remember
August 26-30 - Teacher PD and Work Days

August 27 - Homeschool Enrichment Open House

August 28 - All School Back-to-School Night

September 2 - Labor Day

September 3 - First Day of School 1-8

September 4 - First Day of School K

Back-to-School Night
Attendance is Essential
All Grades Back-to-School Parent Meeting: Wednesday, August 28
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Meet in MSCS Gymnasium, Progress to Classrooms


This critical information meeting will introduce you to the returning and new staff at Mountain Song, allow you to complete and turn in necessary paperwork, receive a Parent Handbook, and learn more about the new school year. All parents will be able to sign up for volunteer opportunities. 
On behalf of all the teachers, the MSCS Executive Leadership Team, and the MSCS Board of Directors, we look forward to seeing you and to welcoming you to our school year! We will have booths to turn in registration paperwork. Please try to fill these out ahead of time and make sure that you've provided the school with all the necessary forms, listed below. If you have questions about the listed materials, please contact Sarah White at sarahwhite@mountainsongschool.com   or (719) 203-6364.

SY 2019-20 Forms for All New and Returning Students: 

Supply Fees   (not for homeschool students)

Medical Records  :
Immunization Records  *  (please contact the front desk for medical or non-medical exemption forms to be signed yearly)
If your child has any medical needs or takes medication at school, please contact our school nurse, Kimberly Nowland, at knowland@mountainsongschool.com  .

For  returning  families, we request that you sign our revised Parent Agreement Letters. The revised letters are below: 

Additional Information:  2019-2020 Parent Handbook

This Year’s Daily Schedule
The 2019-2020 Mountain Song Community School daily schedule is below as well as a link to a printable (PDF). In the mornings, doors will open at 8:00 a.m., school will start at 8:15 a.m., and students will be tardy after 8:15 a.m. Please note that the time school starts and the time after which students are tardy will be the same. School will start 15 minutes later than last year, with dismissal in the afternoon also being 15 minutes later.
This Year’s School Calendar
New Aftercare Provider: Innovation Learning
We are happy to announce our new relationship with the aftercare provider, Innovation Learning. Based on our research of various programs, we feel that Innovation Learning will be able to provide an after-school program that closely aligns with our Waldorf approach while at the same time bringing competitive pricing for you. 

Please see flyer below for information on their program and how to register.

The MSCS Executive Leadership Team
Home School Enrichment Program Open House 
Tuesday, August 27
5:30 - 7:30
We look forward to seeing our returning home school enrichment families and meeting our new students and families at our Home School Open House on Tuesday August 27th between 5:30 and 7:30. We will be in the Home School Classroom on the upstairs level of the school.

Middle School home school students making beeswax candles last year

More New Staffing
We have some new personnel changes to announce. We hope you will join us in sending our appreciation and love with those who are leaving, and in warmly welcoming our new hires to our Mountain Song Community.
 
We are sad to have received Mrs. Laura Hassell’s resignation as Games and Movement teacher as she moves forward with new projects. We wish her all the very best in her new path, which we know will be wonderful, and we definitely look forward to her visits from time to time. Laura has given so much of her heart, hands, and clear-sighted leadership to the students and community. Her years of tilling the soil here, and planting and nurturing this beautiful school, have gifted us with a legacy of organizational structure, outstanding teaching, and compassionate relationships among students, parents, and staff. We send you off with our love and never-ending appreciation, Laura! 
Mrs. Hassell’s departure would be even sadder if it weren’t for our good fortune in hiring our new Games and Movement teacher, Ms. Denise Neal , who will be able to take on the role with expertise and energy. Ms. Neal holds teaching certificates in Physical Education K-12, Reading K-12, and Elementary K-8. She brings a wealth of experience, having been a pre-school teacher, elementary teacher, elementary music teacher, librarian, elementary physical education teacher, and athletic director. We are delighted to have her joining our faculty!  
I am also happy to announce that our new Middle School Math teacher is Mr. Eli Peake , who has just moved to Colorado Springs from Columbia, Missouri. He holds a BS in Mathematics (Honors Program) from Eckerd College in Florida, and an MA in Mathematics from University of Missouri. He has experience teaching and tutoring different ages of students in math, as well as teaching as a martial arts instructor. We are so pleased to be welcoming Mr. Peake to our Mountain Song Community!

We also have very strong assistants joining the Agricultural Arts program to assist Mr. Adam Wright. We couldn’t be happier that Doña Anita Schilichting will be working with our students again this year as part-time Agricultural Arts Assistant. The team will also benefit from the outstanding gardening skill and teaching expertise of Ms. Shannon Huard , who holds a B.S. in Horticulture, an M.A. in Elementary Education, and a Colorado teaching license. She has most recently been the Agricultural Arts Teacher for pre-schoolers at Blue Skies Exploration Academy.
Finally, Ms. Griffin Olson , an experienced and Colorado-licensed elementary teacher, will be rounding out the Agricultural Arts program as an assistant. Ms. Olson has taught at a Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning for the last three years, has been immersed in horticultural work at a local tree farm this summer, and is currently enrolled in a Horticulture Therapy degree program, which is a perfect fit for her work in our school program. Ms. Olson will also be assisting in other aspects of the school. We are so excited about this wonderful team working with Mr. Adam Wright in bringing the Agricultural Arts program to each of the classes twice a week. 
Finally, our front desk will look a little different this year. We are sadly saying good-bye to Ms. Rachel Johnson at the front desk post, but are happy to know she will still be involved in the school as a class representative on the Parent Council. In her stead, we are welcoming Ms. Katherine DeLeon , who has worked in such a front-desk school position before (and so knows the importance of the role), and who has recently moved to Colorado Springs from New Jersey.
Please introduce yourself to our wonderful new additions, and join me in welcoming them to Mountain Song Community School!  

Dr. Teresa Woods
Help Us Spread the Word
We have 2019-2020 enrollment opportunities still available for 6th, 7th & 8th Grades.
It's Time To Run!!
The Landsharks Running Club is an after-school running club for students in grades Kindergarten through 6th. Practice times will be 3-4pm Monday and Friday starting September 9th. Practices consist of running games and workouts with a strong focus on fun. Races are held on Sunday afternoons at the Bear Creek Park. Kindergarten and 1st grade race distances are either .5 miles or 1 mile. The 2nd - 6th grade race distances are either 1 mile or 1.5 miles. Race dates are Sept. 22nd, 29th, and Oct 6th. Cost is $60 - Financial Aid is available through Landsharks. Register online at www.Landsharksrunningclub.com . All participants must be registered prior to their first practice. I look forward to seeing our Mountain Song students.  

-- Mr. Dan Kurschner

Congratulations

Sarah White is now Sarah Kreger

Ms. Sarah White, Mountain Song’s Director of School Performance, married Mr. Greg Kreger this summer, and she is now happily known as Mrs. Sarah Kreger. Our most joyous congratulations to the wonderful couple!

From the Principal: 
August Preparations and the Capacity for Imagination
Mountain Song Community School is starting to hum with activity as teachers prepare classrooms and curricula, families tour the school, and enrollment paperwork arrives on our desks. We are again preparing to welcome students and families for the start of a vibrant new school year. In this light, I have been reflecting on the fact that in order to prepare anything, we need the capacity to anticipate, to think into the future, to imagine. The Waldorf approach at Mountain Song places the development of imagination high on the list of capacities we cultivate in or students.
"Please look through our Songbird newsletter for the upcoming events, calendars, schedules, and announcements that will help you prepare for the new school year."
Celebrating 100 Years of Waldorf Education
One hundred years after the first Waldorf School was founded in Stuttgart, Germany in September 1919, over 1,000 Waldorf schools thrive today throughout the world in nearly 90 countries. While many Waldorf schools in the United States are private, Mountain Song Community School is among the growing number of public Waldorf charter schools. As such, Mountain Song belongs to the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education .

Click here if you would like to learn more about this worldwide movement and the 100 year celebrations of Waldorf education. And below, enjoy one of the videos created for this special year, to highlight some of the cultural challenges Waldorf educators meet in different countries.

Notes from the Farm
The Farm is in Need of Volunteers over the summer months! 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 encouraged to participate. Links are now live for signing up for Fall/Winter and Winter/Spring volunteer hours. See below:
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 )
We Need Your Help
As a public charter school, Mountain Song Community School is proud to provide quality Waldorf education at no cost.  Yet the funds we receive as a charter school are less than what a typical Colorado public school receives.

At the same time, we are responsible for additional expenses, such as our facilities and maintenance costs.  The expenses associated with the building lease, instructional and learning materials, staffing, special programs, and field trips continue to increase each year. In order to provide the valuable programming that makes Waldorf education exceptional, we rely on community donations to reach our annual fundraising goals. Please consider signing up for a small monthly recurring contribution today.
Mountain Song Community School | 2904 West Kiowa St, Colorado Springs, CO 80904