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Upcoming Dates to Remember
September 1
Inaugural Coffee and Conversation 8:45-9:30 a.m.
Supply Fees Due

September 4
Labor Day - NO SCHOOL

September 5
NO SCHOOL - Grades K-3 – Assessment Day
Normal School - Grades 4-8

September 11
Skate City Fundraising Night 5-7 p.m.

September 12
Landsharks Begins

September 19
Picture Day

September 29
Festival of Courage (in-school festival)

September 30
Stone Soup Harvest Festival 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

October 2
Urban Air Fundraising Night

November 17
Half Day for Kindergarten

November 20-24
Fall Break

December 1
Winter Spiral (in-school festival) 

December 9
Winter Faire

From the Director
Teresa M. Woods, Ph.D.
Executive Director
K-3 Assessment Day Tuesday, September 5th 
Normal School Day for Grades 4-8
The beginning-of-year K-3 Assessment Day is Tuesday, September 5th. This will not be a typical school day for grades K-3. Instead, please bring your K-3 children to school only in their assessment time slot during which they will be assessed for reading.  

Please sign-up directly with your K-3 class teacher for a Tuesday assessment time slot if you haven’t already. Your K-3 grade child will only need to be here for the duration of his/her testing time slot.  

Grades 4-8 will have a normal school day. If you are bringing a K-3 child in for testing, please help us keep the classroom and hallway spaces calm and quiet as grades 4-8 will be in normal session. Thank you for your support.  

For more information about literacy assessment and instruction, see the Colorado READ Act Information for Parents.
Coffee & Conversation
We are so excited to invite you to our inaugural Coffee & Conversation TODAY, September 1st to discuss rhythms and cycles in the world of Waldorf with our executive director, Dr. Teresa Woods. 

Can’t make it this morning? We’re offering this each Friday morning after our weekly assembly. Please make sure you check in at the front desk! 

Assembly 8:20 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. (in the Gym)
Coffee & Conversation 8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (Homeschool Room)

If you have any questions, please contact Lauren Ferrara, our Marketing & Communications Director, at lferrara@mountainsongschool.org
We Have Chickens!
Why did Beethoven not want to go to the garden? 
The chickens were going ‘Bach Bach Bach’
-as told by Mr. Karl Johnson
Have you gotten a glimpse of our new chickens? We now have… 
  • One black Orpington
  • Two splash laced red Wyandottes
  • Two Silverudd Blues (also known as Isbars)
  • Two Spitzhauben cross (¾ Spitzhaubens and ¼ splash laced red Wyandotte)

Two of our chickens are adults and four are teenagers. Our adults are already laying eggs! They’re spending much of their time in the coop as they adjust to their new home. We are letting two students at a time inside the coop to pet them, with hopes that our chickens will soon be roaming their gated area. 

Please ensure the compost you bring to our garden is suitable for our chickens and that it keeps our garden beautiful! We love your compost, but not your trash!

We got our new friends from Jim Brattrud, a local breeder and friend of Ms. Ieeda Banach. 
Stone Soup Harvest Festival
Saturday, September 30th
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
We're so excited to welcome our community to Mountain Song’s Stone Soup Harvest Festival, thanks to our dedicated Parent Circle. You can expect crafts, stories & delicious soup as we celebrate 10 years of Mountain Song and kick off our Annual Fund! 

As you may know, Stone Soup is a European folk tale about a stranger passing through a village and a community coming together to share what they had. The villagers learn that true happiness comes through sharing and caring! In that vein, we look to you to make this a festival to remember. 

Please sign up to donate or volunteer here!

We’re also accepting donations in the gym the week prior to Harvest Festival, from September 25th-September 29th. We need…
  • Apples 
  • Potatoes 
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Onions
  • Green beans 
  • Sweet potatoes 
  • Pumpkins
Homemade or store-bought bread (please label if donations are gluten-free)
Apple cider (shelf-stable please) 

On Friday, September 29th, bring your own pots, knives and cutting boards and come to the gym to help chop the vegetables for our Stone Soup. If you’re able, please be prepared to bring supplies home to cook the soup prior to the festival Saturday morning. Children are welcome to help!

If you have any questions or would like to help, please contact Parent Circle’s Michelle Jaramillo at pcchair@mountainsongschool.com.
Homeschool Spotlight
Our Frontier Online Homeschool Enrichment class began this week and had a lovely start to their new year by holding the 1st Annual Frontier Virtual Rose Ceremony for the K-2 Class on their first day. In the spirit of a traditional Waldorf Rose Ceremony, older students presented younger students with a rose to help welcome and encourage them on their journey through the grades. Since this is a multi-grade class (K-2) and none of the current students have experienced their own Rose Ceremony before, all of the students were presented a rose. Some exchanges happened in real life, thanks to an older sibling or nearby peer. Others were truly virtual.

Since Waldorf education includes a lot of student art, and we have some really talented artists among our group, the older students were asked to draw, color, paint or create a rose to give or mail to their assigned younger student. 

Everyone had smiles on their faces on this special day!

Did you know we’re accepting new students to Mountain Song until October 1st? We do have some spots in our grades as well as both our in-person and Frontier online homeschool enrichment programs. Please spread the word!
LGBTQIA+ After School Club
We are happy to announce we are offering our LGBTQ+ club again this year, with Mx. Jessie back as the club sponsor, assisted by a rotating group of supportive faculty and staff members.  

This club will be held Mondays from 3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. in Mx. Jessie’s classroom (downstairs) beginning September 11th for students 5th-8th grade.

Meetings will include crafts, board games, social and emotional wellness, LGBTQIA+ advocacy and education, and community outreach.  

Thank you all for your continued support! We know the kiddos are excited to get started and we are too! 

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to Mx.Jessie Stege.
Skate City Fundraiser
September 11th
Join your friends at Mountain Song for an evening of roller skating on Tuesday, September 11th from 5-7 p.m. These evenings provide our families with healthy, fun and screen-free entertainment at reduced prices, while also raising money for our school!

Admission is $7 and you can rent skates for $4! If at least 50 skaters attend, we'll raise $150 for our school that night!
Mark your calendar for our other Skate City fundraising nights on November 6th, January 29th, and March 4th

This school year, we are also planning fundraising nights at Urban Air on October 2nd, December 4th, February 5th & April 1st, where Mountain Song receives 20% of the cost of each admission. Make sure you mention Mountain Song!
Landsharks Running Club
It’s not too late to sign up for Landsharks, a non-competitive youth program to introduce running to young athletes in grades K-6 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 with an emphasis on fun!

The Mountain Song team will meet at Thorndale Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m., beginning Tuesday, September 12th. Cross-country style meets will be held on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m. at Trailblazer Elementary on September 17th, 24th, and October 1st.

Cost: $78/runner 

Questions? Please email Christine Biermann, Landsharks coach and Mountain Song parent, or via phone (315) 877-5680.
Get Social
For a peek into the classroom, we hope you'll follow along on Instagram and Facebook
We also invite you all to join our Mountain Song Families Facebook Group, where parents, staff & board members can participate in the Mountain Song community online. It’s a great place for arranging carpools, planning class activities, looking for volunteers, or friendly chatting about upcoming Mountain Song events. 
Click on picture above or here for video
“Magical moments await! See you soon, Mountain Song.” 
Monday, August 28th, 2023
We also invite you to share your favorite moments and memories over the past 10 years here as we compile stories to celebrate the history of our school.
Support our School
As you likely know, we ask that parents use their time and talents for the betterment of our students and our school. Eager to jump in? There are many ways you can help.
VOLUNTEER/DONATE TO STONE SOUP 
Sign up here!

JOIN A COMMITTEE
Please email MSCS board member Becky Mikita at bmikita@mountainsongschool.org to join a committee.

VOLUNTEER IN THE GARDEN
Sign up here!

MAKE A RECURRING DONATION
Please email Tyler Dearing, our Advancement Officer, at tdearing@mountainsongschool.org if you have any questions.
Approved SY 23-24
Mountain Song Community School | 2904 West Kiowa St, Colorado Springs, CO 80904
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