From the Director

Dear Families,

Last week we had some prominent community members visit our campus. I derive great joy in showing off our wonderful little school, so I was in my element. I had arranged with one of the teachers to bring the group into their classroom so they could get a feel for how Waldorf classrooms operate. I usually choose a kindergarten classroom because at that level, visitors are less likely to cause a disruption to the educational environment. It also doesn’t hurt when it is a Wednesday, which is baking day! I am privileged to receive a warm, buttered roll each week, delivered by several precious little hands and smiling faces. It’s clearly the highlight of my week! I mean, look at me. Do I look like I would turn down anything containing carbohydrates?

Visitors are usually very impressed by what they see, as well as what they don’t see. A bunch of children staring at computer screens just doesn’t impress anyone. At the end of the tour, the leader of the group made the comment, “It is so peaceful here, and that’s not the case with the schools we visit, and we visit a lot of them!” What an amazing compliment! This is our secret sauce. Our approach to education, and our environment make children feel at ease, and that they belong.

A Waldorf school can evoke feelings of warmth, simplicity, and comfort. Materials emphasize function. Children feel focused on what matters most—imaginative play with peers and time with their teacher. Physical movement and flow are considered necessary in brain development and learning. Waldorf schools are also quite colorful, as I discovered on day one. Now if you look around at most state and other independent schools there is often a one-color-fits-all scheme, generally in shades of institutional green. This is simply not the case in a Waldorf school.

Being in a Waldorf early-education classroom — with its pale-pink walls and an altar-like table filled with objects from nature — is “like being in a watercolor world,” a Times reporter wrote in 1977. If we look into a Waldorf school classroom we see the deliberate and consciously considered use of color. Although not every Waldorf school is exactly the same in its choice of colors there is often a general consistency based on a response to the stages of child development.

The Waldorf classroom colors evolve from these warm, reddish tones in the early grades, through energetic orange/yellow around third grade, into the middle spectrum greens around fourth and fifth grade. It is here at the half-way-point of childhood that a kind of balance is achieved just before the onset of puberty. Green is the balanced color between light and darkness, and meets this age group in a harmonious way. From sixth grade on, various shades of blue dominate, and even lavender, lilac, and violet tones are indicated for the more inwardly active, thoughtful work of the upper school adolescent. However, craft rooms, such as Handwork, are often appropriately painted with warm colors, and spaces for eating are aided by appetite sympathetic golden-orange colors.

The interior colors in a Waldorf school are meant to support the child’s general phase of development at the same time as to enhance the educational experience for the particular grade level. Each classroom is a unique space for a specific age group and its activities. Therefore, each classroom wears a color appropriate to that space, the age of the students, and what generally takes place in it.

Another important aspect to the color environment in a Waldorf school is the transparency of color. The color treatment, called lazure, is not a standard, industrial flat paint but a medium that involves several watercolor-like applications veiled over each other to create rather subtle hue variations as well as a translucent effect. The reason for this is that with a lazured room, one does not experience the boundary of the wall as abruptly as with the flat painted surface. It is as though one can “breathe” beyond the surface of the wall and not feel as contained or bound by the room’s walls.

I was in the band room at a middle school in Ashland recently. A gentle snow was falling outside. It was truly a magical moment, but as I looked out the basement window where the classroom is located, my view was a concrete retaining wall, thus killing the magical vibe.The walls were covered with posters, digital clocks, smart boards, and technology was everywhere. It was overwhelming. In special education they drilled into us that less is more. If it does not provide information such as a schedule, or the classic alphabet, then it doesn’t belong on the wall.

I realize that our metal ramp leading to the new modular is quite unsightly. However, we do have a plan to make that area align with the beauty we have come to expect at a Waldorf School. I want to thank all of you that have given us the gift of your time on Stewardship Days. Together we will continue to beautify our campus, so that no matter who comes to visit, they will feel welcome and relaxed!

Have a wonderful weekend,

~Kendall Roberts

Director

kendall.roberts@madronetrail.org

Re-enrollment Forms

Please fill out our Re-Enrollment form if your child will be returning to Madrone Trail for the 2023-2024 school year. If you are planning on enrolling your child elsewhere, please indicate that on the form. All families need to fill out the Re-enrollment Form before May 30. Fill one out for each child. Thanks! We have only received 93 responses so far!

Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences

We are having our Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences starting after school on Wednesday, May 24-Friday, May 26. There will be no school Thursday and Friday. Please sign-up to schedule a time to meet with your child's teacher.

Yearbooks

Yearbooks are arriving soon! We have ordered extra so if you forgot to pre-order and would like one, you can reserve one starting next week. They are $20, payable in the office. Get yours soon, we will run out!

Climate Survey

Hello Madrone Trail Community!

The year is quickly drawing to a close and it has been a great year! The board has been hard at work behind the scenes doing all we can to make this school the best it can be for our students and families. That work is aided by hearing feedback from our school community. Please fill out this year's Climate Survey to let the board and school know your thoughts on this past school year.

As always, if you have any questions or want to talk with the board you can catch us on campus or send us an email at board@madronetrail.org

For the Good of the School,

Madrone Trail Board of Directors

From the Athletic Diretor

Track and Field

On May 10th our 7th and 8th graders competed in the Southern Oregon Small Schools District Championships, which included 13 schools. We did very well with several top 5, 10 and top 20 finishes.

May 10th (7th-8th district championships) South Medford High

Top 10 finishes

Maddy Bevers               3:11.17 (4th), 3000M (4th), shot put 23’7” (10th)

Andrea Stanislawski    100M 15.13 (9th), 200M 31.33 (6th)

Lyra Ayres                    100M Hurdles 21.41 (3rd), Javelin 55’5” (6th)

Sidra Price                    3000M 14:18.44 (5th), 100M Hurdles 30.16 (14th)

Anastasia Lamont        Javelin 51’5” (9th)

Ariel Wentz                   400M 1:34.20 (8th)

Cruz Cervantes             100M 12.91 (4th), 200M 26.05 (2nd)

Isaac Richardson          400M 1:14.35 (10th)

Zephaniah Moon           Long Jump 14’2” (7^th)

Women’s 4x100 Relay Team Andrea, Satya, Emily, Maddy 1:05.93 (10th)

Men’s 4x100 Relay Team Zeph, Isaac, Theo K, Cruz 54.27 (4th)

Top 20 finishes

Andrea Stanislawski     Shot put 22’1” (12th)

Emily Emry                  Shot put 20’8” (16th), Javelin 49’3” (12th)

Satya Pinney                 200M 35.58 (18th)

Anastasia Lamont        200M 35.60 (19th)

Theo Kingzett               100M 13.74 (19th), 200M 28.28 (14th)

Zephaniah Moon            100M 13.08 (11th)

Nova Star                     400M 1:16.62 (11th)

Braden Johnsen            Long jump 10’10” (19th)

Track Awards Night

Track Awards Night was Tuesday, May 16th and was a ton of fun. It was great being one of the presenters of this year’s participation and special track awards. Track and Field at Madrone is a really awesome season as it fits so well with a lot of the things our students learn at a young age through games class and movement with their teachers. (5th grade parents; we are excited to have your students as part of our track program next year when they are in 6th grade)

Track Special Awards (2023)

6th Grade Female Athlete of the Year (Josephine Gervasi)

1st (3), 2nd (4), 3rd (3) 4th (1) for 34 total points

6th Grade Male Athlete of the Year (Titus Stewart)

1st (5), 2nd (2), 3rd (3) for 37 total points

7th Grade Male Athlete of the Year (Theo Kingzett)

1st (5), 2nd (3), 3rd (2) for 38 total points

8th Grade Female Athlete of the Year (Andrea Stanislawski)

1st (1), 2nd (4), 3rd (2), 4th (2) for 23 total points

8th Grade Male Athlete of the Year (Cruz Cervantes)

1st (5), 2nd (3), 3rd (2), 4th (2) for 40 total points

(Note; Cruz’ 200 M time of 26.05 is ranked 109th in Oregon)

Field King (Roman Roberson)

1st (3), 2nd (1), 3rd(1), 4th (4) for 24 Field event points

Most Improved (Sidra Price)

2nd (2), 3rd (5), 4th (2) for 18 total points

Most Inspirational (Zephaniah Moon)

 1st (3), 2nd (6), 4th (1) for 34 total points

MVP/ Field Queen (Maddy Bevers)

1st (8), 2nd (2), 3rd (1), 4th (1) for 49 total points

(Note: Maddy’s 3000M Time of 13:40 is ranked 81st in Oregon) 

Community Opportunity

Junior Comets Flag Football

Who: Co-Ed, for boys and girls 2nd-6th grade

Registration: Open now through August 4th (https://www.juniorcometsports.com/registration-information1.html)

When: Skills evaluation August 5th, 9am-12pm at Mae Richardson Elementary. (Come any time between 9 and 12 and plan on being there about 30 minutes)

Practice begins as early as August 14th. Games Begin September 9th and end October 28th

https://www.juniorcometsports.com/)

Go Dragons!

~Jeff Roberson

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

Staffing Announcement

We have previously announced that Mr. Nicholas, the current 5th grade teacher, will be looping back to 1st grade next year. After much consideration, we have chosen Mr. Barbee, our current Math and Science Teacher, to be next year's 6th grade teacher. You can read his bio on our website here. Mr. Barbee has spent some time with the Blackberry class in recent weeks and is already familiar with the students. We are fortunate that he is willing to step into a new role at our school!

Auction Items Still For Sale

We have a few leftover items available from our Auction Event! Please take a look below and see if your family would like to utilize any of these gifts. You can purchase these items at the front office during regular office hours, thank you!

PRICE-- ITEM DESCRIPTION--- VALUE

$75-- YMCA Gift Certificate-- $100

$55-- Northwest Pizza Gift Certificate-- $75

$115-- NACI Astrology Reading-- $190

$35-- F45 Fitness Training 2 x 1 week passes-- $80

$115-- Time to Thrive Life Coaching – 1 hour session-- $200

$95-- Champion Karate – 1 month pass & $100 registration coupon-- $149

$95-- Champion Karate – 1 month pass & $100 registration coupon-- $149

$115-- Saraleno Dance Company – 1 private lesson & 1 month membership-- $180

2023-2024 Calendar

Important dates to note-

• First Day of School: August 28
• Winter Break: December 16-January 1
• Spring Break: March 23-April 7
• Last Day of School: June 6

Community Event-- Tomorrow

Parent Education Offering-- Happening Next Week

Summer is upon us…are you ready to hold firm yet loving boundaries with your children?  

Join Satya Beneventi, former Madrone Trail parent, for a complimentary talk on Building Loving Boundaries. 

Where: The Jacksonville Public Library, 340 West C Street 

When: May 23rd @ 10:30 - 11:30am 

Space is limited. Learn more & sign-up by clicking the banner below

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.