From the Assistant Director

Madrone Trail Community,

We had a successful first week of school! We had a lovely Rose Ceremony the first day of school to welcome the first graders into the grades. They met their eighth grade buddies, whom they will do many activities together with throughout the year. It was a full circle moment for me watching my daughter meet her mini me first grade buddy, when just a few years ago (it feels like) she was the little one meeting her older buddy at her Rose Ceremony.

The weather has been beautiful, which has not always been the case the first week of school. I have spent many first week of schools teaching Games class indoors, which is never ideal. Let's hope it lasts! It has been a pleasure to welcome back returning students and meet the new ones. We had very little turnover of students from last year to this one, so each class already feels solid and well-formed, from the wide-eyed first graders who experienced their first Games class to the seasoned eighth graders who begin their last year at our school.

Each school year starts a little different than the last, and the first few weeks are a time for strengthening old practices and learning new routines not only for our students, but our staff and parents. Thank you for your patience as we all work out the kinks and find our way to smooth practices in all that we do. Here's to another successful school year!

Enjoy the long weekend,

Cori Royer

Assistant Director and Games Teacher

cori.royer@madronetrail.org

From the Office

The office sent home registration packets for all returning students on Thursday. If you don't get one by the start of September, or have questions filling it out, let Ms. Sherrie know. (sherrie.gasper@madronetrail.org, 541-842-3657)

If you are needing to change your after school pick up plans please call before 2:30 pm if possible. It is difficult to get the proper communication to students at the very end of the day due to a variety of reasons.

Parent Night

Parent Night will be on Thursday, September 5 from 5:00-7:00 pm.

The schedule is as follows:

5:00-5:40 pm: 1st-4th grade class meetings

5:45-6:15 pm: All School Welcome

6:20-7:00 pm: 5th-7th grade class meetings

Kindergarten and 8th grade parents will have their class meetings on a different night. Kindergarten and 8th grade parents are encouraged to attend the All School Welcome portion of the evening.

We ask that no children attend and there will be no childcare provided. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

Meal Program Update

It was wonderful to welcome all the students back this week and see how happy they are to be at school again. This week brought many exciting developments in our meal program, along with a few challenges I'd like to address.

On Wednesday, we served a record 168 lunches—over 30 more than our busiest day last year! Our salad bar is more vibrant and nutritious than ever, featuring organic, locally grown produce from farms like Wondering Roots and Ella Bella. For the first time, K-2 students are coming to the kitchen to choose their entrees, fruits and veggies, which is a delightful new experience.

With these positive changes, we also faced some growing pains. I apologize to those who didn’t receive the meals they were expecting. I’m working hard to ensure a smoother second week, and our dedicated admins are helping us find long-term solutions to support the program’s growth.

Together, we’re committed to ensuring students are happy, healthy, and excited about their meals every day. I’m incredibly grateful for your support, patience, and understanding, and I’m always open to your feedback.

A Glorious Abundance!

Thanks to a USDA Farm-to-School grant, we have a robust budget this year to spend on locally grown and produced ingredients, and we're fully embracing the abundance of fresh, local produce. Last week’s sandwich special featured line-caught tuna from Port Orford, and this week, students will enjoy more locally grown and organic produce from Wondering Roots and Ella Bella, including tomatoes, sweet peppers, various melons, cucumbers, zucchini, and onions. We continue to source our beef from Rusted Gate Farm, which is featured in our beef stroganoff on Fridays and will be included in our soup special this week. We are also actively working to source pork and eggs locally, but finding sustainable suppliers has been challenging. If you have any ideas or leads on these items, please share them with Chef Evan. This week, our sun butter sandwiches and yogurt parfaits were served with jam we made in-house from our very own campus peach tree!

A Note About Soup & Sandwich Specials 

Sandwich specials each week are “while supplies last." They often feature items that are more costly or we don’t stock on a regular basis. Soups will run for the duration of the week and are made fresh from scratch 2-3 times per week. 

Allergens & Ingredients

If you have not yet completed our allergen form, please take the time to do so, especially if your student has food allergies or dietary restrictions. The form is here. As far as ingredients are concerned, we are working on providing this information in a transparent way via our school website. In the meantime, if you have specific questions about ingredients, feel free to reach out to Chef Evan.

Specials: September 3-6

• Sandwich: Turkey Pesto w/ Havarti, Ella Bella slicer tomatoes, green leaf lettuce
• Soup: Stuffed Pepper w/ Zucchini & Rusted Gate Beef, served with bread & butter

Snacks

We are currently serving fresh fruit, raisins, string cheese, and goldfish (whole wheat, no artificial flavors or colors). Believe it or not, the nutrition requirements for snacks are even stricter than for breakfast and lunch and we are limited by what is available through our food supplier. We plan on adding more choices when possible.

Kitchen Subs & Volunteers

We have received a few responses for kitchen subs, thank you! We could also use volunteer hours to help with cleaning and dishes after lunch each school day. If you are willing to roll up your sleeves and are available around 1:30 pm on a given school day, we would love to hear from you.

GENERAL PROGRAM INFO

If you missed the last updates with general information about the program, including snack policy and EZ app, please see the Friday Update from August 23.

Chef Evan

evan.wilson@madronetrail.org

From the Athletic Director

The first week of school is in the books and I have enjoyed visiting the middle school classes to talk about our sport and club offerings this year. It’s been great to see excited hands in the air when passing out the athletic participation forms. Be sure to get those turned in to Ms. Sherrie prior to attending any practices.

Fees:

Clubs: $75

Sports: $100

Scholarships and payment plans are available, but will need to be applied for in the office.

Sports Physicals: A sport physical is required to participate in any school sport that our 6th-8th graders are participating in. They last for 2 years. If you played a sport last year and had your sport physical completed last year, you are covered for this year. If you need to have a sport physical done; these can be completed at your PCP. The forms are attached; however your PCP should do them as well. If you are playing a fall sport and are having trouble getting in to see your PCP in a timely manner, email me and I can help facilitate getting one done at one of our sponsors, Complete Care.

Fall

Cross Country and Girls Volleyball (6th-8th)

Cross Country: Races are 3,000 Meters (1.8 miles)

Practices: Monday, Tuesday, And Thursday 3:30-5:00 pm

Volleyball:

Official first practice: Tuesday, September 4th, 3:30-4:30 pm at the Santo Center

Cutoff date to register: We will stop taking new registrations for both Cross Country and Volleyball on September 6th.

We also still need a volleyball coach: Please email me if you are interested and I will get you more information.

NEW CLUB OFFERING

This Fall, Tim Stewart (Last year’s Boys' Basketball coach) will be offering a Basketball Club.

Who: 6th-8th graders (Coed) 16 students max

When: Mondays and Thursdays 3:30-5:00 pm, September 9th-October 10th

Cost: $75

Where: Madrone Trail gym

Reminder: The Sport Physical does not need to be submitted to join a club, but the Madrone participation form does.

Drivers: For our sport programs to be successful we have needed parent drivers every year to help get kids to away practices and meets. The private vehicle form is below. If you are interested in helping out in this way, please bring that form (available in the office as well) and your driver’s license and insurance to Ms. Sherrie in the office. Feel free to email me any questions.

Go Dragons!

Jeff Roberson

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

From the Library

Please bring any overdue books from last year to the library or to the front office. Students will not be able to check out any new books until they return their books from last year. The library will be fully open and ready to check out books starting September 9.

If your child is new to Madrone Trail this year, or has not yet been entered into the library system, please fill out the form linked below.

New this year: in partnership with Ms. Nancy, the library will be checking out knitting needles and crochet hooks!

It's going to be a great year for the Madrone Trail Library. If you have any questions, please email me.

Saul Harper

saul.harper@madronetrail.org

Volunteering at School

To be a volunteer in the classroom or to attend field trips, you are required to pass a background check through MSD. These expire after a few years, so if you have not filled it out in awhile, you will need to again. These typically take a few weeks to process, so now is the time to fill it out so you are ready to go for the first volunteering opportunities this school year. Thanks!

Sprouts Program 2024-2025-- Updated Age Cut Off

We still have openings for the 2024-2025 Sprouts Preschool Program. Interested families who have not yet filled out the Sprouts Preschool Program Interest Form should fill out the form to get on the list. Once you have submitted the form, the program manager will send further details about the program, teacher bios, cost, etc., for your review so you can make the best decision for your family. Applications will be sent out to families who have submitted their form.

Your child must meet the following criteria to be eligible to apply:

1. Child must be 4 years of age by December 1st, 2024 to be considered for the 24-25 school year. 

2. Child must be potty trained.

3. Child must be able to be away from parents for at least a four hour period.

4. Note: Enrollment into the Sprouts program does not guarantee a spot in Kindergarten

For further questions, please contact: office@madronetrail.org

Wednesday After School Program

Visit their website for more information: https://elementsnatureschool.com/wilderness-wednesdays

Offerings from Nina Gallwey

Dear Parents,

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the last beautiful days of summer! 

Please see our September Offerings below. Not included on the flyer are on-going support for your parenting:

• One-on-One Parent Coaching Sessions
• Sand Tray for children ages 6-12. Learn more here
• Private mentoring/sensory sessions for children ages 6-14 years. 

September’s Parent Coffee them is Seeing Your Child Anew: Parenting with Perspective.  An evening date for this talk will also be offered in October. 

There will also be a day long deep dive on October 5. Stepping Into The Heart Of Childhood:  Supporting the Emotional Health of Children will be an inspirational and rich day to gift to yourself and the children you love. 

I hope to see you soon. May your journey be one of courage, joy, deep healing, and surprises!

Best,

Nina

Community Offering

Follow this link to sign-up: https://www.mercyflights.com/combined-group/

Quote of the Day

Handlettered by Ms. Cori

MADRONE TRAIL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

www.madronetrail.org

Madrone Trail Public Charter School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or age in its programs and activities.