Upcoming Dates to Remember
March 18
Half Day for Kindergarten
Full Moon Fire 5:00 pm
March 21 - 25
Spring Break!
March 22
Futures Committee Meeting 3:30 pm
March 28
School Resumes
March 29
Simplicity Parenting 6:00 pm
March 31
Vision Screening (in-school for students)
April 1 - 2
Parent & Community Enrichment Conference
April 5
MSCS Board of Directors 6:00 pm
April 11
School Accountability Committee 6:00 pm
|
|
Happy Spring Break!
March 21-25
|
Wishing everyone a safe and joyful Spring Break next week! As a reminder, we will be closed March 21-25. School resumes on Monday March 28th.
March 20th is the Spring Equinox, the moment between winter and summer in which the length of daylight is balanced with the length of nighttime. As the Spring sun warms the land, water, and air, we can sense the Earth breathing its deep breaths of life. We hope everyone gets the chance to step into the wonder of the natural world with such balance and breath on the first day of Spring and throughout the week!
|
|
Vision screening will take place here at Mountain Song on Thursday, March 31st at no cost for students. Students who need to be screened should have already received a parent information letter. Consent forms must be signed before students can be screened, and can be turned in at the front office. The consent forms can also be accessed here.
|
|
Event Schedule Overview
Friday, April 1, 2022
6:30pm Keynote Talk: What Is Waldorf Education and What Does It Mean in Our Current Times? Dr. Liz Beaven, Executive Director, Alliance for Public Waldorf Education.
Saturday, April 2, 2022
8:30 am Coffee and Tea Time Together
9:00 am Opening Talk: The Seven Rs of Waldorf Education: How We Take the Education of Our Children Beyond Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Donald Samson, Pedagogical Coordinator, Mountain Song Community School.
10:00 am Workshop Series #1: Choose one of the following workshops to attend.
-
Why Social Emotional Learning Matters, Kim Butler, Director of Operations
-
Biodynamic Farming In the Ag. Arts Curriculum, Adam Wright, Ag. Arts Teacher and Coordinator
-
Singing Through the Grades, Amy Siebert, 3rd Grade Teacher
-
Form Drawing, Ellie Arzate, 4th Grade Teacher
11:00 am Workshop Series #2: Choose one of the following workshops to attend.
-
Sculpting and How It Sculpts Us as Human Beings, Ieeda Banach, 4th Grade Teacher
-
Music Exploration, Deanna Bray, Music Teacher
-
Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Painting, Katie White, 5th Grade Teacher
-
The Power of Play, Arielle Castle, Kindergarten Teacher
12:00 pm Lunch Break & Book Signing with Donald Samson
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Documentary Movie Screening: Chasing Childhood followed by Discussion Panel
We hope you can join us for this exciting and enriching weekend!
|
|
Celebrating Mr. Donald Samson
Saturday April 2
|
The wisdom of the Waldorf-inspired approach has been deeply nurtured at Mountain Song by our Pedagogical Coordinator, Mr. Donald Samson, for the last five years as he has mentored and guided our teachers. It is with all our well wishes that we announce he will be retiring at the end of this year (as he notes, “retiring again!”). We will celebrate his many treasured gifts to us at our Parent & Community Enrichment Conference on Saturday, April 2nd, when he will provide a morning talk to the community and offer a book signing at lunch time.
Donald has taught both children and adults for over thirty years and has been teaching the Waldorf curriculum since 1989. He was a grades class teacher for nineteen years, and then taught history, geography and literature in high school. Donald has mentored fellow teachers since 2013. He was a founding staff member of Juniper Ridge Community School in Grand Junction, and then joined Mountain Song in 2017. When he can steal time out of a week, he writes fantasy novels for young readers that the whole family can enjoy and has recently published a new book. His fantasy chronicle, The Star Trilogy, was inspired from stories he originally told in his class. You can learn more about his books at: www.donaldsamsonbooks.com.
Donald will be available to sign his most recent book, The Yonder, as well as his popular Star Trilogy, during the Parent & Community Enrichment Conference. They will be available for purchase by cash, check or Venmo. 15% of book sales will be donated to Mountain Song Community School.
Please join us in celebrating the wise and joyful soul of Donald Samson as he tries to retire once again, and shower him with as much love as he has bestowed upon us!
|
|
Handwork is an important part of the Waldorf curriculum. It brings balance to the creative and intellectual mind, while also strengthening concentration and fine motor skills.
“The heart of the Waldorf method is that education is an art; it must speak to the child’s experience. To educate the whole child, his heart and his will must be reached, as well as the mind.” - Rudolf Steiner
|
|
CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) Testing will occur during the weeks of April 11 - April 22, 2022. Teachers will be directly communicating the class schedules for testing with parents.
|
|
Join us for Simplicity Parenting Classes with Ms. Stacie Warren, to learn Waldorf approaches to supporting your children, so they are ready to launch into the world with resiliency!
No cost to our families; a $175 value. All Mountain Song families are invited to attend any or all of the sessions, hosted here at the school (2904 W Kiowa St, Colorado Springs, CO 80904). Click HERE to learn more.
Upcoming Class Dates & Times*:
*Due to the discussion-based format of the class and our attempt to create a safe space where attendees are comfortable sharing their trials and triumphs in parenting, this class is only being offered in-person and there will not be a Zoom option.
|
|
Ag Arts Volunteers Needed for Spring Break and Weekends |
We are looking for garden volunteers to help out during weekends and over the Spring Break! Duties include caring for the animals and watering the greenhouse.
Mr. Adam Wright
Agricultural Arts Coordinator and Teacher
|
|
Waldorf Schools in Ukraine |
The Friends of Waldorf Education has organized efforts to support Waldorf families fleeing the war in Ukraine. Donations help with funding relief, accommodations for refugees, and emergency education.
|
|
Spring Track Series with Mountain Song!
Registration OPEN now through April 16, 2022
|
We offer a non-competitive, youth program to introduce running to young athletes grades K-5, in a safe and fun environment. The focus is on self-improvement, being an encouraging teammate, and making new friends. Practices consist of running games and workouts with a strong focus on fun!
Practice meets at Thorndale Park, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30 – 4:30pm, beginning Tuesday, April 12th. Races meet at Harrison High School, Sunday afternoons at 3:00 pm on: April 24th, May 1st and May 8th.
Runners MUST be registered prior to their first practice.
Cost: $65 registration through April 10th, then an additional $10/runner fee applies
Financial Aid is available February 10th – March 25th through every kid sports.
For questions or interest in volunteering, please contact Coach Stephanie Ryan at
|
|
Looking for a fun activity over the Spring Break?!
Skate City has generously extended a discount for Mountain Song families!
|
|
We are hiring for the following positions:
Please refer to our website and/or pick up an application at the front office.
|
|
2021-2022 Calendar and Schedule |
|
Please find the 2021-2022 school calendars and daily schedule for grades 1-8 at the links below.
|
|
Mountain Song Community School | 2904 West Kiowa St, Colorado Springs, CO 80904 |
|
Looking for past issues of the Songbird or to sign up new recipients click here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
