From the Assistant Director

Dear Madrone Trail Family,

Most of you have heard by now that our beloved Director, Kendall Roberts, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at home yesterday morning. We are all still in shock and are grieving in various ways. He was truly a blessing to our school, and will be greatly missed. We appreciate your understanding for closing school suddenly today. Yesterday was one of the hardest days we have had to face as a community but we got through it with grace and love. Today we needed to breathe and prepare for what will be coming next.

On Monday, December 11, we will have MSD's grief counselor, Jill Jeter, at school starting at 8:30 am as well as an organization called Winterspring to help students, teachers, and community members who are going through the grieving process. Please feel free to utilize their services if you or your child need to.

We will keep you updated as to any memorial services or celebrations of life that will be planned. We have already sent flowers to his family and arranged for some meals to be provided this weekend. We also plan on dropping off any cards made by the students after Christmas.

Kendall had already completed his Friday Update for this week so I am including it below as a way to honor him and his dedication to our school.

~Cori Royer

Assistant Director and Games Teacher

In Memory of our Director

Dear Madrone Family,

Last week, Board members Kelly Ruse, Kelly Stofflet, Erik Johnsen, and I attended the Oregon Charter School Conference. We met with several charter school leaders, board members, legislators, and the Oregon department of Education to discuss a variety of topics pertaining to charter schools across Oregon. It was time well spent as we discussed special education, school nutrition programs, school board practices, legislative updates, and a variety of other topics. It got me thinking about the purpose of charter schools. Therefore, I thought I would briefly step away from my Waldorf journey and talk about who we are as a charter school.

A charter school is a tuition-free school of choice that is publicly funded but independently run. Charter schools are among the nation’s highest performing public schools. Data from Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes shows charter school students outpace their peers who attend other types of public schools in Reading and Math. Conceived in 1991 in Minnesota as a means to loosen red tape around public schools and free up educators to innovate. Charters have since grown into a national movement that spans 44 states plus the District of Columbia, and includes around 7,000 schools and 3 million students, according to federal figures. Oregon passed its charter school law in 1999, making it the 35th state to enact such a measure. Charter school legislation had been introduced three times before, but failed each time. There are currently 133 charter schools operating in Oregon.

There are several types of charter schools in Oregon. There are four charter schools sponsored by the Medford School District. LOGOS (K-12) is a home school model, The Valley School (6-8) is Montessori based, Madrone Trail is Waldorf, and Kids Unlimited (K-8) is a yearlong school offering numerous enrichment programs, and offers school into the summer months. Other types of charter schools in Oregon include Virtual charter schools, online/distance learning charter schools, as well as others, each with a unique educational approach and focus. 

A charter school in Oregon is a public school operated by a group of parents, teachers and/or community members as a semi-autonomous school of choice within a school district. It is given the authority to operate under a contract or "charter" between the members of the charter school community and the local board of education (sponsor). Under Oregon law, a charter school is a separate legal entity operating under a binding agreement with a sponsor. A public charter school is subject to certain laws pertaining to school district public schools, is released from others and must operate consistent with the charter agreement. Madrone Trail Public Charter School is “authorized”, or sponsored by the Medford School District. 

This arrangement is what charter school advocates refer to as the “charter bargain”: more freedom for more accountability. The regulations that charters avoid, or how the schools are funded depends on each state’s law. In Oregon, the sponsoring district can take up to 20% of the funding allocated to a K-8 charter school. Other states take between 1% and 5%. The Medford School District takes the full 20% from Madrone Trail. Oregon as a whole represents one of the largest funding disparities in the Nation, ranking almost dead last. 



Madrone Trail is proud to offer one of the best educational options for students in the Rogue Valley! We love our students, we love our families, and we are dedicated to serving our students through high quality Waldorf education. Despite our challenges, we are here to stay! Thank you all for your ongoing support and dedication to our amazing school!

~Kendall Roberts

Director

From the Board

Hello Madrone Trail Community,

As we start to process the tragedy of losing Mr. Roberts so suddenly we want you all to know we will continue to work to support students, faculty, and the community as a whole. A few of our board members had the privilege to spend a few days last week with Mr. Roberts at the Oregon state Charter school conference. Connections were made with other charters schools in our community and beyond. Mr. Roberts was excited to cultivate relationships and bring Madrone to the table every chance he got. He spoke about the Kindergarten classes bringing him treats and watching them as they got ready to brave the elements in the Kinder-yard. He also talked about what our faculty had taught him about community and the amazement he had watching teachers draw, sing, and tell stories every day. He was a true champion for us and of our school. His presence will be missed, but his reach will be felt for a long time to come. Keep his loved ones in your thoughts as they also work to move though this time.

We will be holding a Question and Answer period before our next board meeting on Thursday, 12/14, starting at 3:30pm. Please feel free to come by the gym for cookies and hot cider. The regular board meeting will begin at 4:30pm. We look forward to connecting with you in the days, weeks, and months to come. Please reach out to any or all of the board if we can be of service to you, your students, or your family. We can be reached via email at board@madronetrail.org.

Additionally, we are happy to share with you that we have arranged for Ms. Julie Barry to serve as our Interim Director next week. Julie has had a very accomplished career, most recently serving as Principal of Ruch Outdoor Community School, and bringing that school from the brink of closure to a sought-out destination for families in the Medford School District. Ms. Barry was a friend and resource to several past Directors of Madrone Trail, and has an appreciation for our approach to education. Please give her a warm welcome and thanks for assisting the school through this difficult time.

In service to the school,

The Madrone Trail Board of Directors

Ski Club

Greeting Madrone Trail Snow Dragons!

Ski Club is on the horizon and will be starting right away in January. It is open to all students in good academic standing from grades 4-8 and doesn't require ANY experience or equipment aside from winter clothes! The mountain offers a package deal for gear, ticket and lessons that's very affordable. The dates are Fridays 1/5, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26 from 4-9 pm. 

Unfortunately, due to a shortage of bus drivers, parents will again be responsible for getting their kids up the mountain after school on Fridays. I will compile a list of everyone who's going and create a Google doc that will allow people to coordinate asking for and offering rides. The mountain has streamlined their registration system to make it fairly foolproof, and you can access this on the link below. Once you sign up, please email me with your name and phone number and how many children you registered and if you need a ride or have extra seats. The registration opens today, Dec. 8 and goes to the 29th of December. Please do not wait until the last minute to sign up. There might be complications with the website or you may forget to sign up and miss the deadline. That would be a bummer. 

Email me at mateo.tryllium@madronetrail.org with any questions or call the mountain at (541) 482.2897. Time to dust off those skis, throw some wax on 'em and as always, dance for snow!!!

Winter Weather Procedures

Madrone Trail follows the decisions made by the Medford School District regarding severe weather procedures. Please refer to social media or media announcements for guidance from MSD.

In the event school needs to be delayed, canceled, or released early (due to an unexpected weather event occurring during school hours), the following decisions are possible:

Normal school hours – snow routes: some bus routes in higher elevations change due to snow or slick road conditions. Snow routes are posted ahead of time at: www.medford.k12.or.us/snow

Cancellation:  School and district are closed.  

Two-hour delayed start – regular routes OR snow routes: School begins two hours after regularly scheduled start time. Regular bus routes or snow routes may run, depending on road conditions. 

Releasing school early – normal routes OR snow routes: School is released early due to hazardous road conditions. Buses may run regular routes or snow routes, depending on road conditions.

We will do our best to send updates to families as Special Announcement emails as well as on the homepage of our website, but just remember, is MSD closes, we do too!

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!

From the Athletic Director

This is obviously a very difficult time for our Madrone family with the sudden passing of our director, Mr. Roberts. As I think about him and his legacy from the perspective as the Athletic Director; I appreciate him even more. If you didn’t know, Mr. Roberts was an avid sports fan and a great supporter of our athletics program here at Madrone. I will sincerely miss talking sports with him.

Basketball

The game on Monday vs. New Hope was canceled due to New Hope having travel issues arise. On Wednesday we played at Ruch and won! That extends our win streak to 5 in a row!

Notable Madrone performances

Luke Walker: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals.

Titus Stewart: 8 points, 3 steals

Theo Gerig: 4 points, 9 rebounds

Khai Knoop: 15 rebounds, 3 steals.

Roman Roberson: 12 rebounds, 7 steals.

Last 2 games season games

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

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

Community Opportunity

Well…more basketball

YMCA winter basketball registration has opened and closes January 20th.

When: The season runs 1/20/23-3/09/23

Who: K-6th grade boys and girls

         (Kinder teams are coed, 1st-6th separate boys and girls league)

Cost: $75 (Scholarship and reduced fee options listed application process explained on the website)       *Free for volunteer coaches

Registration is open now

Register at https://rvymca.org/programs/120033?locations=13

We also have 2 more Athletic sponsors!

Go Dragons!

~Jeff Roberson

Athletic Director

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

Elevate Medicine Collective in Jacksonville has all-levels heated and non-heated yoga; small batch, consciously crafted herbal medicines and self-care products; and an organic, plant-based cafe serving wholesome baked goods, fresh juices, smoothies, elixirs, lattes, and a soup of the day. Check out their upcoming events including a a kids cooking class on 12/27 and brunch club on 1/14! 

225 E C St, Jacksonville

Curtius Plumbing and Mechanical, Inc. (CPMI) is committed to providing our community with the highest levels of customer service, quality of work and value for the dollar spent. We pledge to put our clients needs first and do all in our power to meet those needs. At CPMI our clients really do “come first”.

CPMI will be the company of choice for clients and employees who seek to hire and work with a contractor that makes integrity its highest priority.

We will not be satisfied until we are viewed by our community as being the standard to which all other businesses are measured. CPMI will continue to make community involvement a high priority.

1896 Delta Waters Rd. Medford 97504

(541) 857-8988

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!

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 Fundraiser

Community Offering

Workshop Offering

Workshop offering by former Madrone Trail parent, Satya Beneventi. Online event on Saturday, January 13th @ 9:00am - 12:00pm PST. Click on the image below to register.

Quote of the Day

Poem written by Sidra Price, 8th grade. Watercolor painting by Nan Stoutenburgh, 8th grade. 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.