From the Director

Greetings Madrone Trail Parents and Families,

It’s been a wonderful opening this fall, and it continues to be a pleasure and a gift to serve this community. It’s a joy to be with your children and I thank you for sending them to us. We have so many people stepping up to help out in so many ways, it’s heartwarming. It really feels like a family here.

There are lots of improvements happening on our campus and with these updates we are identifying some surplus items. If you or your business has an interest in a bike rack or a horizontal file cabinet, please reach out to me directly. We are purging these items and would appreciate any donation you might make in return. 

Thanks for reading your Friday Updates each week, as this is the primary way we communicate important information with our families. Hope you all have a nice weekend, please stop by any time. 

Andy Bracco

Executive Director

andy.bracco@madronetrail.org

From the Office

The office sent home registration packets for all returning students last week. If you haven't gotten one by now, or have questions filling it out, let Ms. Sherrie know. (sherrie.gasper@madronetrail.org, 541-842-3657)

If you are needing to change your after school pick up plans please call before 2:30 pm if possible. It is difficult to get the proper communication to students at the very end of the day due to a variety of reasons. Also please ensure your students know their pick up plan in advance. We have had confusion for some of the bus riders if they are supposed to ride the bus or not.

Madrone Trail Shirts and Hoodies

Madrone Trail shirts and hoodies are now for sale! Pre-order yours now until Friday, September 27. Once the pre-order window closes they will go into production and be delivered to school for pickup, hopefully before our Jog-a-thon on Friday, October 18.

We have our classic Madrone Trail Dragon design available again in forest green and sand, along with two new colors this year, indigo blue and dark brown. We also have a new limited edition design available in garnet red, black, and white that was designed by 8th grader Theo Gerig as a fundraiser for the 8th grade class. Not all styles are available in all colors due to limited selection, sorry!

Order yours today from the link below! After the pre-order window closes prices will go up to accommodate the higher cost of print on demand. Items will be available the rest of the school year, but choices for pick up will be directly from Moxley Media or shipped for a cost.

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Cori, cori.royer@madronetrail.org

From the Parent Council Chair

Hello Parents!

Our first Parent Council meeting is this Monday, Sept. 9th @ 6pm at Bella Union. Please feel free to come at 5:30pm to order food and chat before the meeting commences. We will be located on the back deck. This is a child free event. 

We will be orienting everyone to parent council duties this week! Administration, faculty and the board will fill us in on what has been happening over the summer as well as beginning of the year need-to-knows.

Thank you to everyone who showed up to Parent Night last night! It was a huge success and we got a copious amount of volunteers signed up. 

As always, if you have any questions please reach out and I look forward to seeing you all this Monday!

Sincerely, 

Megan Shaw

Parent Council Chair

meganzavive@gmail.com

Meal Program Update

Some reviews we have gotten this week:

“Thanks a lot Chef Evan… now my kid is begging me for a salad bar at home every night!” - Kelly Stofflet

"This sandwich was so amazing today. I had to take a photo, the tomatoes were so beautiful and the sandwich was so tasty!! Thanks for this level and quality of food. Yummmm." - Miss Josclyn

We are happy to report that this week went much smoother and with the exception of running out of our wildly popular turkey pesto sandwich, every student received the meal they wanted! AND we posted another record with 179 lunches served on Thursday. We appreciate everyone for their patience and understanding, especially our wonderful students, as we adapt to our new reality! 

Our salad bar is overflowing with colorful, local produce and the students enjoyed organic melon this week. Next week we draw inspiration from different corners of the globe for our soup and sandwich specials. Read on to learn more!

Seeking Paid or Volunteer Kitchen Help!

To keep up with this demand, we are eagerly seeking paid (or volunteer) dishwashers to help us clean up from 1:00-3:15 pm every school day. We also welcome volunteer help at any time throughout the day. This can be low commitment around your schedule. Please contact Chef Evan for more info.

Thank you to Steven Gidley and Lauren Kemple for jumping into the dish pit this week! 

What’s Organic & Local This Week?

We are taking full advantage of the fall bounty of local, organic produce from our partner farms. Here’s what we have been serving:

Rusted Gate Farm: Ground Beef

Ella Bella Farm: Sweet orange peppers, cucumbers, honeydew

Wandering Roots Farm: Watermelon, cantaloupe, walla walla onions, jalapeños, multicolor sweet peppers, zucchini, kale, carrots, tomatoes, spring mix

Other items that are always organic and non-GMO: Dave’s Killer Bread, Cascade Organics Granola, and our tempeh and tofu!  

Specials September 9-13

Sandwich/Wrap: Waldorf Chicken Wrap

Mayo-based chicken salad with celery, grapes, walnuts, and green onions wrapped together with a spring mix and Monterey Jack Cheese

Soup: Ukrainian Style Borscht w/ Rusted Gate Beef

Delicious beet stew with carrots, cabbage, and potatoes served with sour cream and fresh dill

A Note About Soup & Sandwich Specials 

Sandwich specials each week are “while supplies last." They often feature items that are more costly or we don’t stock on a regular basis. Soups will run for the duration of the week and are made fresh from scratch 2-3 times per week. 

Allergens & Ingredients

If you have not yet completed our allergen form, please take the time to do so, especially if your student has food allergies or dietary restrictions. The form is here. As far as ingredients are concerned, we are working on providing this information in a transparent way via our school website. In the meantime, if you have specific questions about ingredients, feel free to reach out to Chef Evan.

Snacks

We are currently serving fresh fruit, raisins, string cheese, and goldfish (whole wheat, no artificial flavors or colors). Believe it or not, the nutrition requirements for snacks are even stricter than for breakfast and lunch and we are limited by what is available through our food supplier. We plan on adding more choices when possible.

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

Oregon Battle of the Books starts next week!

Mrs. Richardson will be visiting the 6th-8th grade to talk about OBOB (Oregon Battle of the Books) and all the fun things we get to do during the year. If your child is interested, you can check out the reading list at: https://www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org/2024-2025-titles/ (Madrone Trail only participates in the 6th-8th category)

From the Athletic Director

Next week both Cross Country and Volleyball have their first competitions! Come out and support your dragons. Always remember that the personal growth obtained through participation in sport will always be more valuable than any win could be.

Cross Country

Tuesday, September 10th Jackson County Expo Center

Girls run at 3:00 pm, Boys run at 3:30 pm

Representing Madrone Trail will be: Juno Battisti, Caroline Percy, Delia Sanders, John Richardson, and Theo Gerig. Way to go Dragon runners!

Volleyball

Monday, September 9th @ Rogue Valley Adventist (3675 S. Stage Road)

1 game at 4:00 pm

Wednesday, September 11th @ Ruch (156 Upper Applegate Road)

1 game at 4:00 pm

Representing Madrone Trail will be: Rowan Botillier, Roya Cipriano, Evie Hague, Lyla Emptage, Adrianna Oakes, Corinne Sanders, and Natasha Wright. Way to go Dragon Volleyball players!

NEW CLUB OFFERING

This Fall Tim Stewart (Last year’s Boys' Basketball coach) will be offering Basketball Club.

Who: 6th-8th graders (Coed) 16 max (6 spots left)

When: Mondays and Thursday 3:30-5:00 pm September 9th through October 10th

Cost: $75

Where: Madrone Trail gym

Reminder: The Sport Physical does not need to be submitted to join a club, but the Madrone participation form does.

Go Dragons!

Jeff Roberson

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

From the Library

The library is always looking for book donations! We have created an Amazon wishlist that makes it easy to purchase from, or peruse it to see if you may have a copy of something you would like to donate.

Local Scouting Opportunities

For information on more scouting opportunities in Jacksonville, Medford, Ashland, Central Point, and Eagle Point, please visit www.BeAScout.org

Offerings from Nina Gallwey

Dear Parents,

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

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.