Parent/Teacher Conferences--NEXT WEEK

There will be no school Monday, November 25 through Friday, November 29. The Friday Update will also take a break next week, and will again resume on Friday, Decemeber 6.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be on Monday, November 25 and Tuesday, November 26. Please use the link below to sign-up for your slot if you haven't already.

From the Director

Greeting Madrone Trail Parents and Families,

In the spirit of the season, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude. I am deeply thankful for our school and community. I’d like to acknowledge and honor the privilege we share in working, teaching, and learning together in peace and harmony.

As an educator, I couldn’t imagine a better team of colleagues than the incredible faculty and staff at Madrone Trail. Every one of our students brings joy and inspiration, and their parents are integral to the magic and love that fill our classrooms.

Thank you for welcoming me into this community and for entrusting us with the important work of guiding your children’s development and education.

Enjoy this time with your student during the break. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Andy Bracco

Director

andy.bracco@madronetrail.org

From the Board

Hello Madrone Trail!

This last month the board has been hard at work in several different ways to make sure our school and our students can thrive. A couple of weeks ago we went away for the weekend for a board retreat. It was wonderful time of team bonding and strategic planning for the next several years. It was helpful to get away from the normal tasks of life to be able to think big picture and not be distracted by the tyranny of the urgent. 

We also had two board members attend the charter school conference in order to network with other charter schools and learn many things that will greatly benefit our school. 

As a result of both of these things we have been able to set some short term goals and begin thinking more long term. We hope to bring to our school as much value as we can and set it up to thrive for years to come.

Currently, our school is doing really well and is financially very stable as the budget is looking right on track. 

We hope you all have a wonderful fall break and if there are any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out board@madronetrail.org.

For the good of the school,

Madrone Trail Board of Directors

Ski Club

Ski Club is happening again this year!

Who: 4th-8th graders, any ability level

When: Friday nights, January 10, 17, 24, 31 (make up day)

How: Register online, December 6-20

Need to know:

• The cost is very affordable and an hour lesson will be given to all students at their specific ability levels, scholarships will be available if needed.
• Orientation Meeting for parents and students: Friday, December 6th from 3:30 to 5:00 pm
• No transportation provided, parents will need to coordinate to get students to the mountain.
• Contact Mr. Niq with any questions.

Ski Club Coordinator,

Niq Allen

niq.allen@madronetrail.org

Play Performance

You and your family are cordially invited to attend a performance of the Oberufer Shepherd's Play at Madrone Trail on Wednesday, December 18th at 2:00 pm. This 17th century folk-retelling of the classic Nativity Story will be performed by a small troupe of local Waldorf educators and other friends of the southern Oregon Waldorf community. 

The play is not just for children! Families are encouraged to attend together, but Madrone Trail staff are organizing volunteers to arrange for extended after-school care on that Wednesday in case you would like your child to attend. More details forthcoming! 

Meal Program Update

The kitchen crew is very excited to offer a new menu after Thanksgiving Break! 

The menu changes reflect our mission to serve as many students as possible while maintaining quality and sustainability of sourced ingredients during the winter months. A few considerations behind the new menu… 

• We are keeping (or slightly modifying) menu items that are extremely popular
• Fresh ingredients produced locally are not abundant or even available during the winter months and we need to adjust to accommodate (e.g., this is why we will not offer fresh berries with granola during breakfast)
• While our sandwich specials have been very popular, we will put these on hold to make more soup over the winter months – sandwich specials will likely return in the spring when we expect soup to be less popular
• We want to keep introducing students to new flavors and culinary concepts, hence our new Foreign Friday concept

We know change can be difficult sometimes, but it is also one of life’s best lessons. Please forgive us in advance for the berries….

Feel free to always reach out to me if you have any concerns about allergens, ingredients, feedback, etc. 

Health Inspection

The local health department stopped by last week and we are proud to say that we received an A+ report card (100%). Our crew takes food safety very seriously, so we are grateful for this validation!

GENERAL PROGRAM INFO

If you missed the last updates with general information about the program, including snack policy and EZ app, please see the Friday Update from August 23.

Chef Evan

evan.wilson@madronetrail.org

Farm to School Update

Exciting News for Madrone Trail!

We’ve partnered with Rogue Produce to bring two great initiatives to our school:

1. Local Food Deliveries: Enjoy fresh, locally-sourced produce delivered to Madrone Trail every Friday afternoon.
2. Food Scrap Pick-Up: Help us reduce waste! Weekly food scraps are collected and donated to local farms, creating compost to grow the food we love.

To support this program, Rogue Produce is offering a Farmer’s Market Membership for just $10/month. Members can shop their Online Farmer’s Market, enjoy free delivery to Madrone Trail, and access exclusive weekly sales.

Rogue Produce will reduce our compost pick-up fees as our community signs up for the program. Join us in building a sustainable and healthy community! 

Learn more about Rogue Produce here and contact them with any questions about the online membership (541-301-3426).

Roll Up Your Sleeves for Farm to School!

Ms. Carrie has an ongoing list of projects around campus that could use a few extra helping hands! She will be available on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:15-3:15 pm on school days to direct. This is a great chance to earn your volunteer hours, support the gardening curriculum, and help build up our very own farm-to-school program at the same time. Tools and supplies will be provided. Bring gloves! In case you are curious, here is a list of current projects.

From the Athletic Director

Hey everyone, our Boys' Basketball teams continue to fight hard and improve each week. Come support your dragons!

Monday 11/18 Home vs. Ruch Varsity lost 42-45

Wednesday 11/20 @ Rogue Valley Adventist Varsity won 27-25 JV lost 15-22

The 2-point varsity win was a great comeback after starting the game down 1-10.

Boys' Basketball games after the break (Only 4 games left!)

Monday 12/2 @ Applegate (JV) only

Wednesday 12/4 Home (Rogue X) VS Sacred Heart

Monday 12/9 Home (Rogue X) VS The Valley School

Wednesday 12/11 @ Ruch

Shoot-a-Thon Results



On Thursday the boys shot 50 free throws for their shoot-a-thon. The top scorers by grade were

6th Ari Emptage with 34 and the overall best score

7th Mason Goldey with 18

8th Luke Walker with 33

Way to go everyone!

Special Thanks to our newest sponsor this year: S & D Performance

Go Dragons!

Jeff Roberson

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

Superior Auto & Diesel Repair

https://medforddieselrepair.com/

541-879-0719, 7645 4^th St., White City

S & D Performance is a family owned business. Integrity and communication are our priorities. When we are working with you, we want you to be informed. While we take care of your vehicle, we will inform you of our progress and when you get it back, it will be in working order.

Service & Repair

Our services include repairs and service for diesel and gas powered engines, auto and manual transmissions, suspensions, auto electrical, exhaust systems, radiators, brakes and auto AC.

Maintenance

Oil Change | Lube | Filter Change | Tuneups | Manufacturer Recommended Maintenance

Servicing

Autos, diesel trucks, Jeeps and off-road performance vehicles, along with fleet, insurance claims and extended warranties.

Concession Stand Fundraiser

Come cheer on the JV and Varsity Boys Basketball teams at their last two games at Rogue X on December 4th and 9th and support the 8th graders by buying some yummy snacks to make your experience at Rogue X a little tastier and give you fuel while you cheer on the Dragons!

Lost & Found

The Lost & Found will be taken on Thursday, December 5. Parent/Teacher Conferences is a great time to check the Lost & Found for missing items. Reminder that we do have clothing closet that children can get needed items from.

Jog-a-thon Update

We are so close! We have received a little over $20,500 in pledges so far! We have collected around $18,500 of those pledges already. If you haven't turned in your pledge sheet yet, it's not too late! Get it to Ms. Cori or your child's class teacher whenever you can.

Reminder: Jog-a-thon pledges can be paid in cash, checks made out to MTPCS, or paid online through the link on our website, madronetrail.org/donate (PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, credit/debit cards accepted) or by using the QR Code on the Jog-a-thon pledge form. If you are using the online payment option or writing a check you can pay for more than one student in a single transaction/check, just include all jogger's names and the amount going to each child if not split evenly.

If you have any questions or having any difficulty with the link, please contact Ms. Cori, cori.royer@madronetrail.org. Thanks for supporting our school!

Madrone Trail Shirts and Hoodies Update

Shirts and hoodies arrived at school on Thursday! Ms. Cori handed out all of the orders we received. If you ordered something and didn't receive it, find your confirmation email and contact Moxley Media at info@moxleymedia.com or 541-601-9053.

If you didn't order a shirt or hoodie, and would still like to get one, the website will reopen after Thanksgiving Break and the link will be included in future Friday Updates.

As a suggestion, write your child's name on the tag of their Madrone Trail hoodies so if they misplace theirs at school, it has a better chance of being returned to them since so many of them look the same!

Spotlight on Classes

In addition to a monthly article we are also going to start including a glimpse into different classes and what they are currently learning. This week we will be featuring first grade and Spanish.

If you missed the article last week "What makes Waldorf education so enduring and relevant more than 100 years after its inception?" you can read it on our website here.

Spotlight on First Grade

The Ladybug class has been working through our alphabet and pulling a letter out of our class story every 3 days! We just worked on the letter N. We are also working through the numbers 1-12 and creating pictures and stories for each one, and just did 12 today. We are adding numbers between 1-14 with our friend Mr. Positive Plus and started counting to 2s up to the 40s. We are watercoloring every Tuesday and Thursday and work with clay every Monday and Wednesday. We visit our class oak tree on Fridays and do tracing, coloring, and art in our nature journals.

Spotlight on Spanish

The students have been busy in Spanish class. Grade 5 finished up a Day of the Dead unit by making sugar skulls earlier this month. The 8th grade is the first grade at Madrone Trail to start speaking and conjugating in the imperfect (past tense)! The 1st-3rd grade are creating art pages of our morning verse.

Winter Weather Procedures

As winter approaches, this is a reminder that 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. We will also add info to the homepage of our school website. When in doubt, if Medford closes, we close!

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 https://msd549c.com/busroutes.
• Cancellation:  School and district are closed.  Essential safety personnel may be asked to work if safe to do so.
• 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.

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.