September 29
Festival of Courage (in-school festival)
September 30
Stone Soup Harvest Festival 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Rummage Sale 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
October 2
Count Day
Urban Air Fundraising Night
October 6
Inaugural Mountain Song Adult Choir
Vision Screening
October 13-14
Parent Enrichment Conference
October 20-23
No School - Professional Development Days
October 27
Hearing Screening
November 1-2
No School - Parent Teacher Conferences
November 3
No School - Teacher Work Day
November 6
Skate City Fundraising Night
November 17
Half Day for Kindergarten
November 20-24
Fall Break
December 1
Winter Spiral (in-school festival)
December 9
Winter Faire
|
|
The CSI Team visited Mountain Song on Thursday. |
|
It’s been a busy and joy-filled week here at Mountain Song!
If you missed the good news about our test scores, we are movin’ on up… back into “Performance” rating. We invite you to dive deeper into what that means HERE.
Representatives from the Colorado Charter School Institute (CSI) were here on Thursday visiting classrooms and chatting with leadership, teachers, students and parents as we begin the process of renewing our charter for the next few years. Members of the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority (CECFA), our bond authorizer, also toured our school yesterday to see the fruits of their efforts - they really helped our dreams come true to purchase our building.
Our in-school Festival of Courage kicks off in just a few hours. Here’s a video from last year’s celebration so that you can see the special morning in store for your students. (Let’s keep this for grown-up eyes only and let the magic unfold in real life).
Of course, we look forward to seeing you tomorrow for our Stone Soup Harvest Festival from 11-2. That’s when we’re kicking off our Annual Fund and encouraging everyone that’s in a position to do so to Mark 10 Years with $10! And don’t forget the Rummage Sale starts at 9:00 on Saturday.
Finally, we had the privilege of sharing what ten years of a Waldorf-inspired education means to our community with the Colorado Springs Gazette. Be sure to grab a copy Saturday morning (or get a sneak peak online Friday night)!
Cheers to ten years,
|
|
Teresa M. Woods, Ph.D.
Executive Director
|
|
Last Chance to Enroll for 2023-2024
TODAY AT NOON
|
We are closing the doors for enrollment for this school year TODAY AT NOON. So, if you know of anyone hoping to enroll here at Mountain Song, please have them contact our registrar Mary Ann Major (mamajor@mountainsongschool.com) ASAP.
We still have a few openings in some of our classes and our homeschool programs (both in-person and online). Please note there are no openings in 4th or 6th grade.
We welcome anyone interested in learning more about our school to join us for a tour for prospective families for the 2024-2025 School Year! We’re offering group tours on the following dates…
Friday, October 13, 8:30am
Friday, November 10, 8:30am
Interested parties must sign up HERE. Space is limited. Adults only, please.
|
|
Stone Soup Harvest Festival
TOMORROW
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
|
|
We're so excited to welcome our community to Mountain Song’s Stone Soup Harvest Festival tomorrow, thanks to our dedicated Parent Circle. You can expect crafts, stories, a rummage sale, and of course, delicious soup. This year, we’re celebrating 10 years of Mountain Song and kicking off our Annual Fund!
After school TODAY, September 29th, bring your own pots, knives and cutting boards and come to the garden to help chop the vegetables for our Stone Soup. If you’re able, please be prepared to bring supplies home to cook the soup prior to the festival Saturday morning. We’re STILL accepting donations in the gym. We need…
- Butter
- Cheese
- Sour Cream
-
Bread rolls & artisan breads (baguettes, ciabatta, and the like) Please label if donations are gluten-free)
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onions
- Green beans
- Sweet potatoes
- Pumpkins
-
Apple cider (shelf-stable, please)
|
|
Today is the last day to donate to our community-wide Rummage Sale! If you have some good quality items to donate, please leave them at the table by the front desk.
Come shop during the Stone Soup Harvest Festival tomorrow from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. All funds go right back to our school! Thank you to our Becky Mikita for her tireless efforts organizing this!
|
|
Student October Count Day
Monday, October 2nd
|
Student October Count Day is when all public schools in Colorado report the number of enrolled students which impacts school budgets for the rest of the school year!
Make sure your student is counted!
All public schools in Colorado are allocated a budget based on the number of students enrolled in accordance with the Public School Finance Act (22-54-101, C.R.S.). We must provide documentation that your student was actively enrolled in the school on October Count Day. If your child is sick on Monday, do not fret. The state looks at student enrollment and attendance the five-days prior to and after Count Day. So long as we have proof that a student is enrolled and is attending within this 11-day window, we can count that student for funding. Please DON'T schedule family vacations or extended absences during this time.
|
|
Annual Vision Screening
Consent Forms Due TUESDAY
|
Next Friday, October 6th, we will be having our annual Vision Screening, sponsored by the Nob Hill Lions Club in association with the Colorado Lions Kidsight Program, at no cost to students. Consent forms must be signed in order for students to be screened, and returned to the front office or class teacher no later than Tuesday, October 3rd. The consent forms can also be accessed here, if you have not received one from your child's teacher.
Parent information letters will be sent home with students who have been referred for screening. You are also welcome to request vision screening for your own child.
Vision Screening Coordinator: Don Rose (719) 684-2021
|
|
Reminder: Visitors Must Sign In! |
Please sign in at the front desk if you are visiting, volunteering, or even quickly dropping off your child’s forgotten lunch. We have seen an increase in parents buzzing in at the front door, then heading straight upstairs or downstairs without so much as a stop at the front desk. Adults roaming the halls inside our school isn’t safe or acceptable. If you’re wondering if this pertains to you, it does. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students safe. |
|
“Cyber” isn’t a word you often hear associated with a Waldorf-inspired education, but here at Mountain Song, we know how important it is for our students to be good citizens online as well as face to face. That’s why our middle schoolers take part in Cyber Civics, a curriculum designed to help students build healthy relationships with technology.
This week, Ms. Banach and Mr. McCabe's 6th grade class discussed what it meant to be a digital citizen. Then, they broke into small groups to create their own digital communities. They brainstormed the mission of their group, named their group, created a logo and came up with a tagline. They also discussed rules for the group and measures they should take to keep their community members safe.
“I hope they walk away with an understanding that, even within a digital landscape, there’s a real person on the other side,” said Mr. McCabe.
The exercise was also a wonderful opportunity to embrace the challenges of working in groups!
|
|
Ag Arts has been busy cooking with fresh produce from the garden! In the past week, we have made dishes highlighting crops such as peaches, kale, and cucumbers! We've got rave reviews from our students--our 3rd graders even said our "cheesy" vegan kale chips were better than Doritos! As always, all of the recipes we make at school can easily be adapted to accommodate vegan, gluten-free, or other dietary needs. We hope you try some of these at home!
3rd Grade: Kale Chips (we used nutritional yeast instead of cheese)
|
|
Children love learning how dye takes to silk so beautifully & so effortlessly. Our Bluebell kindergartners got a special treat on Friday as they spent the morning on this special project.
September 25, 2023
For a peek into the classroom, we hope you'll follow along on Instagram and Facebook!
|
|
Mountain Song Adult Choir |
If you LOVE to sing, we would LOVE for you to join the Mountain Song Adult Choir! Rehearsals are Friday mornings from 9:35-10:35 a.m. in the homeschool room beginning on October 6th. Email Ms. Lijuaco at kjlijuaco@mountainsongschool.org to register.
|
|
Parent Enrichment Conference
Featuring Kim John Payne
|
|
There will be no Coffee & Conversation today, September 29th as we celebrate our in-school Festival of Courage.
We do look forward to seeing you next week and encourage you to listen to Kim John Payne’s Simplicity Parenting Podcast #139: Rhythm and Creative Family Flow ahead of time which we’ll discuss with our executive director, Dr. Teresa Woods.
Assembly 8:20 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. (in the Gym)
Coffee & Conversation 8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (Homeschool Room)
|
|
Fundraiser at Urban Air Adventure Park
October 2nd
|
Join your friends at Mountain Song for an evening at Urban Air Adventure Park on October 2nd! Our school receives 20% of the cost of each admission all day long, so make sure you mention Mountain Song!
The last fundraiser at Skate City raised $306 for our school… and provided a ton of fun for our 102 Mountain Song skaters! Thank you, EmmaLee Slimski, for organizing these wonderful evenings!
Mark your calendar for our other fundraising nights…
- November 6th (Skate City)
- December 4th (Urban Air)
- January 29th (Skate City)
- February 5th (Urban Air)
- March 4th (Skate City)
- April 1st (Urban Air)
|
|
Chalk art by Ms. Miranda Barness |
VOLUNTEER/DONATE TO STONE SOUP
Sign up here! Come chop veggies after school!
VOLUNTEER IN THE GARDEN
MARK 10 YEARS WITH $10
JOIN A COMMITTEE
|
|
Mountain Song Community School | 2904 West Kiowa St, Colorado Springs, CO 80904 |
|
Looking for past issues of the Songbird or to sign up new recipients click here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
