From the Director

Dear Madrone Trail Parents and Families,

This past week the energy has been high as the Madrone Trail teachers and staff have been busy preparing to welcome back your family.

One of the most important responsibilities of a leadership team is hiring the right people. I couldn’t be more proud of the work the hiring committee has done going into this school year, as we have assembled an excellent team of caring adults for the children this fall. I am very confident in the quality and dedicated to the children this group brings to us next week.

I would like to acknowledge our wonderful office staff as Kelly Stofflet and Sherrie Gasper kept the lights on, paid the bills and enrolled students this summer while teachers went away for a much deserved vacation.

I would also like to acknowledge Niq Allen and Carrie Campbell for their concerted effort to get the campus ready for school this fall. The campus is beautiful, and will shine even brighter with the arrival of your students on Monday.

I hope your students will join us for breakfast and lunch this year as we welcome back full-time kitchen manager Chef Evan, and his colleagues Chef Sas and Chef Clinton. As you may know, we prepare all of our own meals at Madrone Trail from scratch. We use as many local and organic products as possible, and are committed to providing healthy, delicious, nutrition to our students as part of our curriculum. Breakfast and lunch are completely free to all families, regardless of income. Even better, there is no need to pre-order meals this year! Please read further and stay tuned for more information about this exciting nutrition program re-launch.

We have had good luck with smoke this summer, but in the case of heavy smoke we are required to cancel all outdoor activities when the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeds 150. This means that all lunches, recesses, and Games classes will be held indoors. Fingers crossed we will not need to implement this!

We are all looking forward to a great year at Madrone Trail and are happy you are here to experience it with us.

~Andy Bracco

Executive Director

andy.bracco@madronetrail.org

Climate Survey- last chance to fill it out

From the Office

The office will be sending home registration packets for all returning students the first week of school. 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)

Please do not register your student using Medford School District's online registration system. Madrone Trail is not one of the school options, and will cause problems with our rosters if you do. Thank you.

Meal Program Update

If you missed last week’s update, please read on for important general information about this year’s nutrition program!

Specials August 26-30

- Port Orford Albacore Tuna Salad Sandwich w/ Havarti, Ella Bella farm tomatoes, Wandering Roots spring mix

- Italian Sausage & Kale Soup (Zuppa Toscana)

We still need coverage for the first day of school and for two entire weeks during the second half of September - both for pre-arranged outages. Experience is not required. Please contact Chef Evan if you are interested! 

GENERAL PROGRAM INFO

Paper versions of this information will be mailed out to new parents or included in registration packs for returning families, but here is the Friday Update version! 

BIG NEWS: pre-orders are NOT required this year! Snacks will still require funds on your EZ app account, but breakfast and lunch are free this year so besides snacks you will not need to bother with EZ app! 

Kitchen Staff Updates

Chef Evan is back with us full-time! We’re also thrilled to welcome back Chef Sas and introduce a new member, Clinton Hall. Chef Clinton brings a positive energy and a wealth of experience, having served as Executive Baker at Fry Family Farm and Hot Bar Chef at the Ashland Food Co-op. His background working with children as an after-school teacher for the YMCA also adds valuable perspective to our team. Be sure to stop by and say hello when school starts—we’d love to see you!

Free Breakfast & Lunch for All!

Breakfast and lunch are still free for students in grades K-8, and this year, there's no need to pre-order! That’s right—no more logging into EZ App to make menu selections. Students simply come to the service window and choose from the menu. Please note: the daily breakfast specials on the enclosed menu are available while supplies last and may not be available after 8:40 AM. Daily offers like oatmeal and yogurt parfaits are guaranteed until 9 AM. Daily lunch specials are also guaranteed.

Snacks & EZ App

Just when you thought you could forget about EZ App… not quite! Our snack policy is still in effect. To purchase snack items, students must have a positive balance in their EZ App account. If you had a balance remaining at the end of last school year, it has rolled over and is available for use. Please note: students with a negative or $0 balance will not be able to receive snacks. We're currently finalizing our snack menu for this fall—be sure to check next week’s Friday update for the details!

New Families: If you would like your student to be able to purchase snacks, please visit this link and view the instructions on setting up EZ App. If your students were enrolled by August 15, an EZ App account has already been created for them. However, you will still need to activate your parent account. If you are enrolling late, please contact Chef Evan for help setting up your student’s account.

Returning Families with New Students: If you already have an EZ App account but a sibling is starting at Madrone Trail this year, you will need to link their account to yours. Please see step 4 of the EZ app instructions for guidance. If you've forgotten your password, you can reset it using the EZ App link provided.

Allergens & Dietary Restrictions

If your student has any allergies or dietary restrictions, please complete this form. If you have previously submitted a form and there are no changes, you may skip this step. However, please notify us of any updates and be sure to complete a form for any new students.

Chef Evan is available to help and answer any questions you may have (evan.wilson@madronetrail.org)

Here’s to a fabulous school year! 

From the Athletic Director

Fall sports are just around the corner. We will once again be offering cross Country and Girls’ Volleyball for 6th-8th graders. Please review last week’s Friday Update for a comprehensive view of our clubs and sports here at Madrone that are offered throughout the year. Before signing up for any sport, please remember that sports are a huge time commitment during the school week and discuss that commitment with your student athlete. Tentative meet and game schedules are posted below. It is a little early to put these out, and sometimes changes do happen, but I wanted parents to be able to see what it looks like. Also, attached is the sport physical form and Madrone Trail athletic participation form. (Please consider printing and filling out prior to next week)

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

First practice: August 27th (3:30-4:30; Meet in the gym)

Volleyball: We partner with Sacred Heart to have enough players for volleyball. Sacred Heart’s gym floor is being redone and is not currently available. We are still finalizing practice locations. The tentative plan is for the first practice to be at the sand courts at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park on Thursday, August 29th at 3:30-5:00 pm. Update emails will be sent directly to the students who are registered between now and then as things may change. Drivers will be needed. More information on that below.

Please email me ASAP if your athlete is interested in one of these 2 fall sports. We are starting practice next week.

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 year Miss Amanda will be offering a Yoga club. This will take place during our winter 2 block. The plan so far is for it to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the gym, 3:30-4:30 Jan. 14th-March 4th for interested 5th-8th graders. In the meantime we are looking for Yoga Mats to be donated. The goal is 20 mats.

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 Miss Sherrie in the office. Feel free to email me any questions.

Go Dragons!

~Jeff Roberson

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

From the Parent Council

I'm happy to say the Parent Council is up and running and already has 16 dedicated parents and faculty members this year! We are still looking for representatives for 3rd Grade, 6th Grade and our incoming Kindergarten classes. Every class needs two parents to help the year run smoothly. If this is your first year with Madrone Trail, or first time hearing about the Parent Council I encourage you to come to a meeting! Our first meeting is September 9th, 6pm at Bella Union. Come enjoy dinner, get caught up on the latest school news, ask questions and get to know our school a little better!

If you have any questions or are interested in Parent Council please reach out to me.

~Megan Shaw

Parent Council Chair

megan.shaw@madronetrail.org

From the Library

Our Madrone Trail library continues to grow and expand its service to our school community, thanks in large part to the hard work of Megan Shaw and the library parent committee. Book donations have increased our library collection significantly, to include arts and crafts, parenting (Kim John Payne), and Waldorf specific books. Parents can check out books on their child's account. Thank you to everyone who has donated books! On that note, 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

Bus Schedule

Parking Lot Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures

Drop Off: Parents/Guardians have two options this year for drop off.

• They can pull up to the drop off zone and drop off their students as we did last year. Please use only this entrance and not the gate by the crosswalk. After dropping off students, turn left and exit through the parking lot. DO NOT drive on the track in the morning.
• Parents/guardians can also park and walk their students to class. Please use the crosswalk and walkways to navigate the parking lot. 
• Students can be dropped off starting at 7:45 am. Students dropped off between 7:45 am and 8:30 am will go to the playground where they will be supervised by a staff member or to the gym starting at 8:00 am to get breakfast.
• Students getting food need to get their breakfast immediately upon arriving at school, and not play on the playground first. Breakfast will be served until 9:00 am.

Pick Up: As with drop off, parents/guardians will have two options this year. 

• They can use our pick up lane (the track) and have their students (3rd-8th) delivered to their car as we did last year.
• They can park and walk in. THIS IS REQUIRED FOR K-2.
• NOTE: If your K-2nd grader has a responsible older sibling in 4th grade or above, you can make an arrangement with those students' teachers to have the older child pick up the younger one to be picked up in the pick up line. 
• To make the pick up line go quicker, we will have 3rd-5th grade out in the courtyard and 6th-8th grade in the field. If you are walking in, please wait for those classes in the courtyard and pick them up from there. Do not go to the classroom. Pick up time will be between 3:15-3:30 pm (1:15-1:30 pm on Weds.) Please arrive in the pick up line or the courtyard no earlier than 3:00 pm (1:00 pm on Weds.)

Please be patient with us and new parents the first few weeks as we all get into the rhythm of drop and pick up routines.

Also, please note drop off and pick up time is not the time to engage in conversation with your child's class teacher, as they will be busy getting ready for the start of the day, and ensuring all students get to where they need to go in the afternoon. If you would like to discuss something with a teacher, please email them to arrange a time to meet or talk on the phone.

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 beginning of the 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.