Jog-a-thon

We will be having our 13th annual Jog-a-thon on Friday, October 18! Forms went home today and are due the day of the Jog-a-thon. There are extra Jog-a-thon forms in the office and on the website (click on the Jog-a-thon calendar event). This is a big fundraiser every year for our school. Last year we made over $19,000! The money we earn goes towards classroom funds, our athletic program, and helps fund Games events the older grades attend.

New this year! 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.

The Jog-a-thon is more than just a fundraiser though, it is an integral experience of Games class. Unlike the Olympiad and Medieval Games which students get to experience just once, the Jog-a-thon is an annual event they get to participate in every year throughout the grades. They get to reflect back on past experiences, look forward to future experiences, and see their progress year to year. The fact that it also makes money for our school is an added bonus.

A lot of what we do in Waldorf education is to help children build their will forces, and one of the best ways to do that is through challenging experiences. Games class is a great place for children to learn how to deal with challenging experiences: taking turns, getting tagged/being "out," working as a team, learning to move their bodies in a way that may not come easy for them, failing at something at first but continuing to try, and building physical endurance. All bigger lessons that will translate to other aspects of life. 

The Jog-a-thon likewise is a great activity for students to challenge themselves, to push themselves to their limit, to do something they didn’t think they were capable of, to set a goal for themselves and try to achieve it, or to just participate even if they didn’t want to. Challenging experiences should be designed to not be too easy, but also not so difficult they can’t be completed. This is why there are different lengths of time for the different grades, all chosen to be achievable for the age of the students.

One of the most satisfying moments of every Jog-a-thon is when a student marvels at how many laps they did and how many miles it translates to, and their sense of pride in themselves for accomplishing it, whether they did 6 laps or 30. It’s also sweet to see the students celebrate each other’s accomplishments as well. They cheer the students who ran the most, but also cheer the students to whom they know 6 laps is a lot of effort. Even if a student walks the entire time, there is still a sense of accomplishment that they did something physical for a sustained period of time. It is such a transformative experience for some students throughout the years, similar to what is seen at the Olympiad or Medieval Games. 

Games class and games activities/events are just as integral to our education as all the other subjects at our school and therefore shouldn’t be seen as something optional to opt out of. If a student has an injury or illness that prevents participation, they can still participate by cheering on their classmates. If families don’t want to participate in the fundraising side of the Jog-a-thon, that’s perfectly fine, there is no requirement to do so. Participation in the Jog-a-thon itself is expected for all 1st-8th grade students, in whatever form that takes (running, jogging, walking, cheering.)

We will need parent volunteers, especially in the lower grades, to help mark laps, attend to the water stations, set-up the tables, and clean-up afterwards. If you can help on the day of please let Ms. Cori know,  cori.royer@madronetrail.org or just show up the day of. You will need to be a registered volunteer to participate, and you still have time to get that done! Click here to get started with your application.

The classes will be running at the following times:

6th-8th grade: 9:00-10:00 am

1st grade: 11:10-11:40 am

2nd-3rd grade: 11:45-12:30 pm

4th-5th: 1:45-2:45 pm

Parent Council

Hello Parents!

Please note our location is different!

Our second Parent Council Meeting is coming up this Monday October 7th @6pm at Wild River Pizza (2684 N Pacific Hwy, Medford, OR 97501.) Please feel free to come at 5:30pm if you would like to order drinks and food and visit.

Our Parent Council meeting will cover updates about the first month of school, Jog-a-thon, and the Halloween Parade. As well as important updates from our Committees! Your voice is important!

Lastly, thank you to all those dedicated parents who showed up to our last parent council meeting! Staying informed and involved makes a huge difference in both our school and your children's school experience. I am grateful for each of you.

If you have any questions or comments please reach out.

Sincerely,

Megan Shaw

Parent Council Chair

meganzshaw@gmail.com

Madrone Trail Shirts and Hoodies

The pre-order window is now closed! We had a total of 149 shirts and hoodies ordered, 100 of which were our limited edition 8th grade design. Thank you for supporting our school! Our order is now in production so look out for updates in the Friday Update for when they are ready to be picked up at school.

Stewardship Day

Farm to School Committee

Are you passionate about local food systems, gardening, and sustainability? Do you have ties to local farming and food production? Or simply a desire to contribute your talents to a worthy project? Yes?! Then please join us at the farm-to-school committee meeting on Tuesday, October 8th at 3:30 pm in Ms. Nancy's room.

The primary goal of the farm-to-school committee is to support our gardening education & nutrition programs while promoting local, sustainable agriculture through focused initiatives on and off campus. We will tour existing garden spaces on campus, assign committee roles, and agree on priority projects to address.

We hope to see you there!

Guidelines for Illness at School

With cold and flu season approaching here are some helpful guidelines to help determine if you should send your child to school:

Meal Program and Farm-to-School Update

In this edition…

Pickled jalapeño mania, volunteer opportunities, an herbaceous fall garden project, food preservation workshops, and a comforting recipe to try with the family this weekend… 

3rd graders Tanner & Liam Ruse getting ready to enjoy beef stroganoff and their favorite salad bar veggies

Featured Menu Item: housemade pickled jalapeños 

When we pickled some jalapeños a few weeks ago for Taco Bowl Tuesday, we figured the occasional teacher would appreciate the effort – and were we wrong! The kids have been loving them and we can barely keep them in stock despite our warnings to proceed with caution! And to boot: we are currently sourcing our jalapeños (organic) from Fry Family Farm while we can. Pickled jalapeños are available on the salad bar on Tuesdays for lunch and Thursday mornings with breakfast quesadillas. The best part about making our own: no food coloring or preservatives!

Specials – October 7-10

Sandwich: Caprese (organic, local slicer tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella, and pesto spread), back by popular demand and this time served on a whole wheat ciabatta roll

Soup: Jalapeño chicken & cheddar chowder, served with bread & butter

A Note About Soup & Sandwich Specials 

Sandwich and soup specials each week are “while supplies last." They often feature items that are more costly or we don’t stock on a regular basis. 

Cheeseburger Soup Recipe

Speaking of which…. Our Cheeseburger Soup was wildly popular this week. In case your student asks you to make it, click the link above for the recipe that inspired our school version!

Volunteer in the Kitchen or Garden

We have ample opportunities for parents to help out with kitchen or garden projects throughout the week (or even weekends.) If you would like to contribute some time toward your annual volunteer hours, please send your availability to Chef Evan!

Kitchen Herb Garden Project

The Farm-to-School committee’s first official project will be the construction of a kitchen herb garden. We will be scheduling a work party soon. If you’d like to help out with this or future farm-to-school projects, drop Chef Evan a line! 

Food Preservation Workshops

Are you interested in fermentation or food preservation? Want to improve your gut health and encourage your kids to try new vegetables? Chef Evan and friends will be announcing some workshops for this fall and early winter that will address vegetable fermentation and preservation. Participants (adults and students) will take home fermented items to enjoy while also helping stock up on reserves for the lunch program. Think pickled beets, dilly beans, kraut, and even kimchi! Contact Chef Evan if you are interested in helping facilitate or signing up as a student! Be on the lookout for dates and more details!

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, sweet potato crackers (similar to a graham cracker), and goldfish (whole wheat, no artificial flavors or colors). Milk is also available. 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.

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

Looking Towards Halloween

We will be celebrating Halloween at school on Thursday, October 31. At Madrone Trail, this means we will have a parade of costumes after lunch and then individual class celebrations afterwards. Please do not send your child in their costume to school, or apply elaborate makeup they will have to wear all day as it is very distracting for the first part of the day. Kindergarten classes will be doing their own celebrations, look for specifics in your class emails from Miss Josclyn and Miss Gina.

As you look to purchase or make your child's Halloween costume this year please observe our school guidelines surrounding the Halloween costumes that they wear at school. If students would like to dress up in something that is outside these guidelines, we encourage them to do that on Halloween night instead of at school.

• Bring your costume to change into before the parade. Parade will be at 1:30 pm on the track.
• Homemade costumes are encouraged.
• Costumes must follow the school dress code.
• Keep face paint, make-up, and hair simple (you’re going to be applying it all at school.)
• You must be able to sit, walk, hear, and see with your costume on (face masks can only be worn during the parade)
• No costumes that are gory/scary.
• No prop weapons.

Community Offering from The Siskiyou School

This event will be held at The Siskiyou School in Pine Hall on Wednesday, October 16 at 6:30 pm.

Community Offering

For more information or to register visit the website: https://secure.getmeregistered.com/get_information.php?event_id=140175

Offerings from Nina Gallwey

Visit the website for registration and more info on each event: ohanafamilyresources.com

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.