When all the world is cold and quiet
And stars twinkle in the dark dark sky
We can sometimes wonder if we’ll ever hear
The summer laughter beneath a rainbow sky.
Oh, but winter has a magic all its own
With frost and snow and candlelight;
We snuggle down tight in blankets warm
And listen to wondrous tales throughout the night.
Join us in celebrating midwinter, the darkest time of the year, and the festivals of light this time engenders. Check out the Winter Faire activities posted online, the free Health and Wellness Webinar, and the many other activities that Parent Council is sponsoring (see below). We are full of gratitude for their innovation and community spirit this year!
Also, we are starting to plan for next academic year, which can’t come soon enough! Please be sure to submit your forms to enroll for 2021-2022. We want to see you here at Mountain Song again when the worst of the pandemic will be behind us.
In the meantime, please plan for a safe and healthy Winter Break.
❤
Dr. Teresa Woods
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Mountain Song on FOX21 News Wednesday |
Many families are looking for ways to keep children engaged with crafts and activities this winter. This past Wednesday, FOX21 News showcased Mountain Song to provide Colorado Springs families a few new ideas for winter crafts and activities they can do together. We are proud to be a reliable source of information and inspiration for our larger community.
Be sure to check out the story here!
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Learning Plan Update
Continue Remote Learning January 6 - 22
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The Executive Leadership Team distributed a letter yesterday to notify families that Mountain Song Community School will continue in full Remote Learning at the start of next Semester, January 6 - January 22. The full letter can be found here.
This decision follows recent EPCPH guidance to consider a post-holiday period of remote learning to monitor school community spread from holiday travel and gatherings prior to returning for in-person learning.
We will maintain our current school schedule upon return from Winter Break on Wednesday, January 6th. Teachers will communicate with families specific details about their class schedules.
We are actively exploring with staff how we can bring back more students to in-person learning after January 22. We will communicate our learning plan for the January 25 - February 12 phase block by January 15.
We implore our community to stay vigilant and keep practicing and modeling the hygiene, distancing, and masking practices that yield lower virus transmission. Please consider the holiday guidance linked here to lower the community spread and under control. Lowering the spread will help us bring back students to in-person learning as soon as possible.
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Mountain Song Winter Break
December 21 - January 5
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The last day of the first semester is Friday, December 18th, with Winter Break following. There will be no school from December 21st through January 5th. School resumes on Wednesday, January 6th.
Mountain Song has partnered with Innovation Learning to provide child care during the Winter Break. Click here for schedule, programming and enrollment details. Deadline to register is December 11th.
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FREE Health and Wellness Seminar - Tonight! |
Attention Mountain Song Families! Please join the Parent Council next Friday, December 11th at 6pm for a free Health and Wellness Webinar led by Licensed Social Worker, Yoga Instructor and Breathwork Facilitator, Sarah Savino.
We will be discussing ways to manage anxiety and stress during this challenging time, and you will receive some practical tools and resources to help you stay healthy in mind and body.
Topic: Health and Wellness Webinar
Time: Dec 11, 2020 06:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 859 7251 9001
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Accepting Intent to Enroll Forms for the 2021-2022 School Year |
Families interested in enrolling their children in Kindergarten through Grade 8 classes or our Homeschool Enrichment Program must submit a SY21-22 Intent to Enroll form by January 31, 2021 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 9, 2021. 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.
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Confirmation of Continued Enrollment for 2021-22 School Year |
Current Mountain Song families must complete and submit a Confirmation of Continued Enrollment form for their students by January 31st.
We are providing an electronic version of the Confirmation of Continued Enrollment form. Please click here or visit our website at www.mountainsongschool.com/enrollment to fill in the Google Form and submit it electronically by January 31st.
Every year we survey our families about whether or not they intend on bringing their children back to Mountain Song the following school year. We use this information to determine our enrollment projections. Because this information is so valuable, we ask all our families to fill in these forms, even if their children will not return to Mountain Song next fall. If you intend to re-enroll your student(s) in Mountain Song next year, this form is essential to ensure placement.
If you have other children you are interested in enrolling for the first time at Mountain Song next school year, please fill in the SY21/22 Intent to Enroll form by clicking here or visiting our website at www.mountainsongschool.com/enrollment.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Kreger at skreger@mountainsongschool.com.
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As the winter holidays approach, we are faced with decisions about whether we should gather with family and friends, as well as figuring out how to celebrate during the pandemic. Some of the resources below may be helpful as you plan for this time this year.
The Simplicity Parenting Podcast with Kim John Payne is full of practical parenting tips for helping children grow in developmentally appropriate ways, in offering security and love to them while also cultivating discipline, self-regulation, and resilience. Kim John Payne has been to Mountain Song several times, and is deeply aligned with Waldorf education.
The Child Mind Institute’s article on Holidays During the Pandemic offers suggestions from mental health experts on how we can reduce stress, help kids (and parents) cope, and form new creative traditions this year.
The Children and Nature Network Families Page will be music to many parents’ ears in showing how time in nature strengthens family bonds. This resource also offers numerous ideas, insights, and activities for enjoying the outdoors with your family (be sure to scroll down the page to see them all).
We very much wish you a healthy and safe holiday break.
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Parent Council -- Winter Gift Drop Off to Teachers |
As the holidays and Winter Break approach, we want to take a moment to show our teachers how much we appreciate all of their hard work. The Parent Council is collecting notes, cards, drawings, etc. for all of our teachers! Please bring your gifts of appreciation to the school during Packet Pick-Up (Tue/Thu 12-4pm), where we will have a gift bag for each teacher. Simply drop your item in the correct bag and we will see that your teacher receives it. We will collect these through the last Packet Pick-Up on December 17th. Let’s show our teachers how much we value everything they have done to serve our children through this incredibly difficult time!
Mountain Song Parent Council
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Aspen 7th Grade Fundraiser: Book Sale |
Support the fundraising efforts of Mrs. McCabe’s Aspen Class while shopping for holiday gifts! All of the books in this sale are written by local authors who are alumni families. All proceeds will go directly to Mrs. McCabe's Aspen Class funds to help them go on a trip next year.
The fundraiser is open now until 5 pm on Thursday, December 17th. Books will be delivered to your door. We guarantee The Solstice Badger books will be delivered before the Winter Solstice (December 21st). All other books will be delivered by Monday, December 21st.
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Red Oak 3rd Grade Citrus Fundraiser
December 17th Noon to 5 pm
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Support Mrs. Arzate’s Red Oak 3rd grade class with our Citrus Fundraiser! We are partnering with Mountain Freshies this year to purchase citrus fruit from small farms in Arizona. We will be selling 5-pound bags of citrus at Packet Pick-Up at the school Thursday, December 17 th , Noon - 5:00 p.m. We will accept cash, check, or card at the time of pick up!
Volunteers will wear gloves and masks while handling the produce and at pickup.
- Organic certified Armistead Farms oranges - $15
- Lemons from B&B Farms - $17
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Tangerines from B&B Farms - $17
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Packet and supply distributions continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12pm-4pm.
If you need to pick up packets or supplies, please carefully observe the following protocols. It is imperative that we follow strict safety procedures.
Drive-Through Instructions
- From Kiowa Street, drive through the parking lot next to the gym.
- Stop your car by the picnic table next to the gym door.
- You must stay in your vehicle.
- If no attendant is visible - give one short beep on the horn to let the attendant know you are there.
- Roll down the passenger side window - to keep social distance and communicate the name(s) of student and the teacher’s name.
- Attendant will hand the packet(s) through the passenger side window.
- Drive straight through the backside of the school and exit onto Bijou Street.
Teachers will communicate directly with you about any supplies available for pick-up weekly.
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Winter Festivals are upon us and Mountain Song has embraced creativity with remote festivals. Please take a moment to peruse the Festivals page by Parent Council.
There are crafts to brighten our winter windows, tabletops, and more. There are recipes to inspire us to try something new, warm our souls, and tickle our taste buds. You will also find stories that will warm our hearts.
As a Waldorf-inspired school, Mountain Song festivals are a vital part of our education. The festivals provide nourishment to the individual and bring the community together in meaningful ways. The festival is an anniversary that brings to a community the richness of story and song, light and food, and celebrates our shared humanity while marking the passage of time.
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Ag Arts Needs Spice Jars! |
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The harvest of summer and fall will season us this winter!
We need clean, glass spice jars! We have plucked and picked, snipped and dried herbs and spices such as dill, fennel, rosemary, sage, bay, lavender, and lemon verbena. We will be preparing them for packaging soon. Agricultural Arts plans to sell our harvest by the jar this winter. There will be single harvest jars and some wonderful blends. So, let’s reuse some of those expired jars in the pantry! Please send in your clean glass spice jars today!
Label your donation “Ag Arts” and drop them off at the gym during supplies pick up Tuesdays or Thursdays 12pm to 4pm. We will get them from the gym and start filling them from our garden harvest!
The more jars we receive, the more we can fill.
The more we fill, the more we can sell!
Thank you for supporting Ag Arts!
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December Farm Volunteers Needed! |
Our garden has gone to sleep except for some greenhouse plants. We need volunteers to help us keep our animals fed through December. We have 2 bunnies, 4 chickens, and many fish that require our warmth and attention.
Now that we are in full Remote Learning again, we need volunteers daily. We have slots open for December Farm volunteers! If interested, please volunteer via our Sign-Up Genius.
This is a wonderful way for you and your family to safely engage with our school garden. If you haven't volunteered in the garden before, please contact Mr. Adam at awright@mountainsongschool.com so he can arrange a time for you to be trained.
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2020 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. This year we are continuing to ask families, faculty and friends to join others in considering giving the gift that keeps on giving by signing up for a small monthly recurring gift.
Signing up is simple on Mountain Song Community School's secure online giving page. Just select an amount to give per month and click on “recurring donation." Those who sign up for a monthly gift will be honored with a special Waldorf star in the school, and will receive a SY20-21 Mountain Song Community School Monthly Donor decal.
Together, small recurring automatic gifts can really add up, and - combined with others - a monthly gift of just $10, $20 or $50 can provide significant and transformational resources for our school to support. End-of-year one-time contributions are also simple to make and have an immediate impact.
Please consider joining the Song by signing up for a monthly recurring gift. Together we can truly make a difference!
Sincerely,
The Mountain Song Community School Development Committee
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Parent Council Meeting Dates |
The mission of the Parent Council is to facilitate parent involvement and to support teachers in preserving the vision of the school. Please support Mountain Song by joining one of these Parent Council committees. |
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Do you long to know more about Waldorf festivals? Maybe you love to craft and want to help find a safe way to celebrate each festival this year. Would you like to help create online, interactive festivals?
Please join:
Festivals Committee
Meets 2nd Wednesday each month at 4pm
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Do you care for the physical and emotional health of our community? Would you enjoy supporting our Waldorf community by involvement with Mountain Song’s media policy, food program, and dress code?
Please join:
Health and Wellness/Hospitality Committee
Meets 2nd Tuesday each month at 4pm
Next Meeting January 12th at 4 pm on this Zoom link
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Are you a natural communicator and enjoy coordinating? Parent Council seeks a Chair to host monthly meetings, help coordinate committees, act as a liaison between staff and parent council, and communicate with the Board Liaison.
Please join:
Parent Council
Meets 3rd Thursday each month at 4pm
Next Meeting January 14th at 4 pm on this Zoom link
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All Parent Council committees seek volunteers. Remember, involvement on the Parent Council committee satisfies volunteer requirements for Mountain Song! Please reach out to Cambria at pcchair@mountainsongschool.com if you are interested.
The school's Board of Directors also has committees that are seeking volunteers. Please reach out to them at board@mountainsongschool.com for more information.
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Federal Impact Aid Forms
Are Due December 11th
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If your family is connected to a federal organization or property, please complete and return the survey by December 11 so you can be counted. Mountain Song can benefit from Federal Impact Aid Funds which help level the playing field. Read here for more information.
Click HERE to fill in the Federal Impact Aid Form 2020.
Every year, we survey our families to count how many federally connected students are enrolled in our school. Why? Because the federal government reimburses schools for loss of tax revenue for families that are federally connected (the federal government is exempt from paying property taxes). Be sure to be counted so Mountain Song can benefit from these efforts to level the playing field!
Federally connected students are those connected to members of uniformed services, to federal properties such as Indian lands, national parks, VA hospitals, national labs, federally subsidized low-rent housing, and whose parents work on federal property. Depending on the number of federally connected students we have at our school, we may be eligible to receive additional federal funds.
If you or a member of your household is federally connected, please be sure to be counted by completing this form and returning it to the school by December 11, 2020. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sarah Kreger.
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Get Social with Mountain Song |
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Article or announcement contributions must be submitted to Ms. Sŏnia Cruz by Tuesday at 5 p.m. for inclusion in each week’s Songbird newsletter, typically distributed on Fridays. (scruz@mountainsongschool.com)
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Mountain Song School Calendar |
Mark your calendar with these important Mountain Song Community School dates.
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Mountain Song Community School | 2904 West Kiowa St, Colorado Springs, CO 80904 |
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Looking for past issues of the Songbird or to sign up new recipients click here.
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