Michaelmas

Festivals are a vital part of Waldorf education. Madrone Trail celebrates the rhythm of the year through festivals honoring the seasons and the natural world. As we celebrate and mark the passage of the seasons through art, music, and story, we deepen our connection to the rhythms of nature and our relationships with each other and create community. Many of our festivals are celebrated community-wide. Some festivals are celebrated with the children during school.

Our first festival is Michaelmas, which will be celebrated on Friday, September 30th, from 2:15-3:00 pm. Michaelmas, as it is observed in Waldorf schools, is the "festival of courage." Michael, the archangel who inspires courage, is associated with this festival at harvest time. The students will hear a story of a knight conquering the dragon, sing songs of courage, and enjoy dragon bread and cider. Through this community festival, we celebrate the apples and wheat harvested in the fall, while preparing ourselves for the inner wakefulness and courage needed for the winter months ahead.

Class teachers will be sending out emails with details of what each class needs to bring to make this festival a success. For those courageous parents wanting to make dragon bread, below are a few recipes to help guide you, along with some pictures of dragon bread throughout the years. They can also be found on our website.

Dragon Bread Recipe from the Washington Waldorf School

Sweet Sourdough Dragon Bread Recipe

Gluten Free Dragon Bread Recipe

Dragon Bread Examples

No Buses- Wednesday, September 28

As a reminder, there are a few days this school year in which we are in session when MSD is closed. On those days we will still receive school lunches, but no bus service for morning pick-up or afternoon drop-off. Please arrange alternate transportation. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Change in Office Staff

Ms. Tess, our Office Manager, recently received a job offer she couldn't refuse, and will be sadly leaving our school. It was a difficult decision for her, but we wish her all the best. We have hired a new Office Manager, Taurie Michele, who started with us this week. She will be here full-time starting the first week of October. Look for her bio and pic in future Friday Updates.

8th grade Fundraiser

Unfortunately, we will no longer be able to sell pizza on Wednesdays as one of our 8th grade fundraisers. To replace it, we are working on a plan to offer scratch-made soups as a lunch option. We will be launching this soon and are in need of parent volunteers from any grade, but especially 8th, able and willing to shop for and prep/cook soups in our on-site kitchen. Please email Evan, our Kitchen Manager, evan.wilson@madronetrail.org, if interested. 

Details about this offer to our community will be announced soon. 

From the Athletic Director

Cross Country

On Wednesday our Madrone Trail cross country team had their first meet, hosted by Cascade Christian. Our 4 runners did great!

Men’s division

Canyon Livdahl: 11th place with a time of 13:18.1

Lucas Zeigler: 20th place with a time of 15.29.1

Women’s division

Maddy Bevers: 3rd place with a time of 13:41.3

Sidra Price: 15th place with a time of 16:56.5

Way to go Madrone Trail runners! Next week is the Max King Invitational at the Jackson County Expo center with 22 middle school teams being represented.

Record watch: Maddy Bevers' time of 13:41.3 is very close to the all time women’s Madrone Trail record set last time we had a team in 2016. The time to beat is 13:34.4

Basketball Club

Basketball Club will be 9am-10am this Saturday at the same location. Parents should have gotten an email and a text about the time change.

Upcoming SOMSAC Sports

Our goal this year is to partner with Sacred Heart to also offer middle school boys and girls basketball as well as Track and Field. Approximate dates are listed below, but I want our middle school parents to start considering these opportunities now. All three will be offered to 6th-8th graders. Please do not let experience level deter your child from participating. If they are interested, then now is the time to try it out.

SOMSAC Sports will take place only during the school week

Boy's Basketball: Late October-Early December

Girl's Basketball: Early January-Mid February

Track and Field: Early March-Mid May  

Community Sports Opportunity

Jr. Comets Boy's Basketball

Who: 1st-7th Grade

Cost: $50 (1 player) $90 (2 players) Max family $120

Registration is open now until Saturday Oct. 29th at https://jrcometsports.leagueapps.com/leagues/basketball

Skills evaluation Saturday, Oct. 29^th at the Scenic Middle School gym 12-3pm.

Season runs November 7th-January 21st with games on the weekends.

Note: 6th-8th graders- I believe it would be possible to play Junior Comets basketball AND our school SOMSAC team.

Junior Comets Girl's registration will begin in December.

Thanks everyone,

~Jeff Roberson

Athletic Director

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

Teacher and Assistant Substitutes

Madrone Trail is always looking to add to our substitute list for teachers and assistants. If you are interested or know someone who is, please email office@madronetrail.org to get started on the process of becoming one.