No Bus Service-Next Friday

Next Friday, December 8 is the second of three school days that MSD does not have school, but we do. Therefore we will have no bus service that day. Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

From the Director

Dear Madrone Family,

There has always been discussion surrounding the spiritual aspects of Waldorf education. According to the Biodynamic Association, "Long before many of his contemporaries, Rudolf Steiner came to the conclusion that western civilization would gradually bring destruction to itself and the earth if it did not begin to develop an objective understanding of the spiritual world and its interrelationship with the physical world. Steiner's spiritual-scientific methods and insights have given birth to practical holistic innovations in many fields, including education, banking, medicine, psychology, the arts and, not least, agriculture." Rudolf Steiner developed his own, idiosyncratic philosophy, which he styled as Anthroposophy. Waldorf Answers defines anthroposophy as follows:

"Anthroposophy is a human-oriented spiritual philosophy that reflects and speaks to the basic deep spiritual questions of humanity, to our basic artistic needs, to the need to relate to the world out of a scientific attitude of mind, and to the need to develop a relation to the world in complete freedom and based on completely individual judgments and decisions."

The festivals we celebrate as a part of Waldorf education are some of the most beautiful displays of our spiritual connection, and offer an opportunity for our students to display their talents, and reflect on matters outside of themselves. I personally feel that this aspect of Waldorf education opens their minds to a greater way of thinking; kind of like listening to a complex musical composition.

We will soon celebrate the Spiral of Light. The Spiral of Light is a quiet and peaceful way to commemorate the start of the holiday season. Many Waldorf schools observe Spiral of Light celebrations, which is a reverent tradition meant to announce the eventual return of the light and our inner light that radiates in the darkness. This is a celebration of quiet confidence, of carrying light in darkness, of sharing that light with others. During the Spiral of Light festival, we sit in silence in a darkened room, listening to soft songs by a single as a single candle is lit in the center of a spiral of evergreen boughs, a symbol of life amidst the dead of winter. Then, as quiet music plays, each child, in turn, takes a candle already placed in an apple, into the center of that spiral and lights it, then places the apple with the lit candle along the path on the way out of the spiral. The lights brighten the path for those who come after. Each child walks alone, at his or her own pace, in his or her own way. Not all of our classes use an apple but you get the gist.

As a child, I naturally looked forward to Christmas. Yes, the gifts were a major draw, but for me it was more about the entire tradition. We would go to my grandparents’ house, which was always toasty warm, and smelled like fresh baked bread. Unlike the summers on the farm, the ground was wet, with puddles covered in ice. I would put on the tall rubber boots and jump on the puddles, breaking the ice and sending water splashing in all directions. I would do my best to split logs for the fire, and follow my grandpa across the corral while the mud oozed over my boots. On more than one occasion, I got stuck in the mud, and either fell on my face or walked right out of my boots, which were stuck firmly in the mire. At the end of the day, we would sit around the fire, in the glow of the Christmas lights, listening to carols on the record player, the sound of the cuckoo clock, and the deep snoring of my grandpa as he “rested his eyes”. I miss those days. I miss those people. Nevertheless, I have the memories. I am glad that there was a strong spiritual component to my upbringing. Whenever life gets chaotic, my spirituality becomes my grounding force. 

So as we head into the darkness of winter, remember that the light is on its way. Whenever darkness seems to overwhelm our days, remember that it is fleeting, because the warmth of brighter days sits just on the edge of the horizon!

Have a great weekend,

~Kendall Roberts

Director

kendall.roberts@madronetrail.org

Board Update

On behalf of the board, we hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving with your family and loved ones! As part of giving thanks this past week, we wanted to specifically give thanks to the amazing teachers and staff we have at Madrone Trail! In going through parent conferences last week, the dedication of our staff was on full display, showing us how deeply they care about our students. They acknowledge each student individually, yet also try to raise the class up as a group, regardless of where their strengths and weaknesses may be. Additionally, several specialty teachers shared their personal observations of our students, which further demonstrated that every student is being “seen.” Madrone Trail is truly blessed to have such amazing staff.

School years can definitely be a grind, and it doesn’t take long for burnout to set it. At our last board meeting, we discussed ways to give our staff the positive vibes they need to keep doing the amazing work that they do. Accordingly, we are going to test out a Kudos & Concerns feedback mechanism. If you’d like to give a shout-out to a staff member, to be shared at a Faculty Meeting or other appropriate time, please let us know! If something else is on your mind, you can share that too, and we’ll see what we can do to help navigate that pain point. Here’s the survey to collect such feedback, and have a great holiday season.

Kitchen Update

The Spiral of Light celebration will affect breakfast next week as well as lunch on Thursday

Gammon Hall plays many roles: gym, cafeteria, theatre.... next week our small yet beloved and versatile space will be transformed for the Spiral of Light. This beautiful tradition is an exciting celebration of the seasonal transition into the darker and colder winter months. It is an opportunity to hold space as a community and for silent inner reflection. The kitchen team will be doing our best to go about our culinary duties as quietly as possible -- we apologize in advance for the occasional clink and clang.

Breakfast! Because the event will begin at 8:45 am, if your student is arriving after 8:30 they will need to come to the front door by the porch for their meal. This will be a logistical challenge for our kitchen staff so please be patient and kind as this set-up is not ideal for them.

Lunch on Thursday. Many people love the smell of a fresh burger cooking on the griddle. However, it is quite an overpowering and pervasive aroma. To respect the Spiral and decrease the chance of distraction or what may be unpleasant odors to some, we will not be serving burgers or veggie burgers next Thursday. Instead we will offer our Wednesday menu again (we know, not ideal but we have to make sacrifices sometimes to accommodate our needs as a school.) If you have signed up for a burger in EZ app, you can change your pre-order and if you don't, your student will be able to request a sandwich or fresh, hot delicious soup instead. Our daily menus for the rest of the week will not be affected and lunch service will take place through the service window as usual.

Thank you for understanding. Enjoy the Spiral!

Auction Update

Auction planning is coming along. We can’t wait to share more details about the 2024 auction! We will need a solid group of volunteers to ensure the event goes smoothly and is fun for all. Volunteering means a complimentary ticket and dinner! There are many roles to fill including work leading up to the event that still qualify for comped tickets.

Email auction@madronetrail.org and our volunteer coordinator will reach out to you with details. 

The auction will take place on Saturday, March 2 at the Historic Ashland Armory. Be sure to save the date!

Jog-a-thon Update

We have had a little over $19,500 in pledges turned in so far! That's the most we have ever gotten! We have collected around $17,500 of those pledges as of today. If you haven't turned your money in it's not too late! Get it to Ms. Cori or your child's class teacher as soon as possible.

From the Athletic Director

Boys' Basketball

Our boys are on a 4-game winning streak with 4 games to go. On Monday they played RVA and won 54-2 and on Wednesday they played Rogue River and won 39-27.

Notable Performances

Monday

Theo Gerig- 18 points, 12 rebounds

Luke Walker- 14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals

Titus Stewart- 10 points, 5 assists, 3 steals

Solomon Stricker- 6 points, 1 steal, 2 assists

Wednesday

Silas Moon- 13 points, 4 steals

Luke Walker- 7 points, 4 rebounds, 5 steals

Titus Stewart- 7 points, 10 assists

Roman Roberson- 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists

Lincoln Stegall- 4 rebounds, 1 steal

Peter Lummer- 2 rebounds, 1 assist

Mason Goldey- 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block

Khai Knoop- 4 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block

Upcoming Games

Monday 12/4 Home vs. Butte Falls (4:00)

Wednesday 12/6 @ Ruch (5:00)

Monday 12/11 Home vs. The Valley School (4:00)

Wednesday 12/13 @ Lorna Byrne (5:30)

Cooking Club

Cooking Club made spring rolls on Tuesday and French Bread pizza on Thursday. I’m jealous every time I see the pics! Two more weeks until Cooking Club is over.

Go Dragons!

~Jeff Roberson

Athletic Director

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

Library Wish List

Many families have expressed interest in donating books to our school library. The Library Committee has put together an Amazon Wish List for books we would like to have in our library. This is not an exhaustive list, more books will be added from time to time. If you have any of these books at home you would like to donate, we would love to have them. You can also easily purchase any of these books off this wishlist by adding them to your cart, and then selecting Madrone Trail as your shipping address (it will be one of your options as you checkout). Thank you for supporting our library!

Ugly Holiday Sweater Day

Pictures for Yearbook

If you have taken any pictures this year from Assemblies, Sports Events, Field trips or any other school activity, that we could use in the Yearbook, please send full size images to Ms. Nancy at nancy.escherich@madronetrail.org Thanks!

Bottles and Cans Fundraiser

WE NEED YOUR BOTTLES AND CANS!! 

Starting November 15th, BottleDrop will match 20% of all donations to participating organizations through December 2nd. If you have not had a chance to donate, this is a great time to support our 8th Grade Class with their fundraising efforts for their end of the year trip.

This holiday season, BottleDrop Give is contributing up to $65,000 to the Blue Bag Fundraisers (non-profit organizations) through their 7th annual Holiday Give. Full details are available on their Holiday Give page.

Our school is registered to participate so please save up your donations and contribute as much as possible! Only funds raised November 15 – December 2 are eligible for matching through this amazing event.

Do you have your own GREEN BAG BottleDrop Account? You can donate directly from your BottleDrop Account by searching for our school! Click the link to find our school. Matching funds will be deposited to our BottleDrop Give account by December 30. You can find more details about the 8th Grade BottleDrop Fundraiser here. 

Thank you for your continued support!

Immunization Deadline

All students need to be up to date on their immunizations and have the necessary documentation turned in OR have their exemptions filed by January 17, 2024. Note: 13 year olds are required to get the TDap booster, so if your child is in 7th grade, they will need this one before the deadline. Exemption information can be found here. Sherrie will be sending out email reminders to those who are not up to date before Winter Break. If you have any questions, let Sherrie know, sherrie.gasper@madronetrail.org or 541-842-3657

Substitute Teachers and Assistants Wanted

We are always looking for more Substitute Teachers and Substitute Assistants to be on call throughout the year. If you are interested, please check out our Indeed ads here: SubstituteTeacher and Substitute Teacher Assistant

Community Event--TOMORROW

Community Offering

Community Offering

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.