From the Director

Dear Families,

Few experiences in life can compare to holding your newborn child in your arms for the first time. I have been blessed with that overwhelming joy three times in my life, each one deeply moving in its own right. However, during spring break, I experienced the absolute pleasure of holding my newborn granddaughter for the first time! I was amazed how awesome that felt! It gave me an even stronger bond with my daughter, and provided another special moment with my wife as well, as we shared in this experience. These moments provide the foundation for our lives, and solidifies the importance of what we do for children. As I looked at her precious little face, I thought of her future, her education, and how one day soon she will be knitting in handwork, running around in games class, participating in main lesson, and learning Spanish, all in a developmentally appropriate way. It got me thinking on how Rudolf Steiner developed his educational pedagogy. What elements of his educational approach are timeless, as opposed to concepts that must change with the times. Steiner developed his ideas for education in the aftermath of World War I, and focused on imaginative, aesthetic, and holistic methods to support children to reach their full potential as creative, intelligent, and well-rounded human beings. So where do the arts fit in?

Years ago, I was in the Louvre Museum in Paris looking at the Mona Lisa. People were gathered all around this painting that was encased in bulletproof glass. It was smaller than I expected, and not that impressive to be honest. The appreciation of the great artworks is lost on me. I just don’t get it most of the time. I like nice colors and cool scenes. I am not sure what makes an expensive piece of art, I just know what I like. I turned around and looked behind me. On the wall was a massive painting at least thirty feet wide. It depicted an afternoon in the country where families were playing, picnicking, and running around with horses and dogs in what looked like somewhere around 1700. I marveled at the creativity and the ability of the artist to bring the image in their mind to life. It was absolutely amazing! Yet it went unnoticed in the presence of the Mona Lisa.

Artistic endeavors sharpen two very important human skills: the ability to shape, or see, and the ability to perceive, or distinguish. When practiced over time using diverse techniques across a variety of subjects, something very special emerges: the ability to shape and perceive new ways of looking at the world. There is extensive research on the benefits of art in schools. Including how the arts bring joy, foster creativity, increase engagement, build determination and problem solving, and help students acquire complex skills. However, new research suggests that teachers can also use art as an effective teaching tool to help students remember and master difficult academic subjects. 

Arts integrated academics is central to how we teach in Waldorf education. Likewise, we know that incorporating music, drama, poetry, visual arts, and movement all help our students engage, retain concepts, and develop a lifelong love of learning. Our students may not produce the next Mona Lisa, or they might, who knows? I just hope they enjoy the process as much as I enjoy watching them learn!

COFFEE WITH ADMINISTRATION - I want to hear from you!

I will be making myself available each week after our assembly for a “Coffee with the Administration” discussion. This will be an informal get together where you are free to ask questions, raise concerns, share ideas and provide me the opportunity to seek feedback from you. So I invite you to stay for a few minutes after each assembly and sample Chef Evan’s special blend while we chat!

Have a wonderful weekend,

~Kendall Roberts

Director

kendall.roberts@madronetrail.org

Auction Survey-- This time the link works!

As our final wrap up for the Auction, we would like to hear from you! If you attended the Auction please fill out the survey to let us know your thoughts. If you did NOT attend the Auction, we would like to hear from you as well! Your feedback is valuable to us. Sorry the link did not work for some of you last time, but it should now!

Yearbook-- Today is the Last Day to Pre-Order!

Yearbooks are $20 and the link to order closes tonight!

If you forget to order, we will be purchasing extra for sale when they arrive, but that's no guarantee we will have enough for everyone. Gets yours today.

May Faire Update

May Faire is coming May 6th. Please start signing up to volunteer so we can have a wonderful event. Each class booth needs a main contact who ensures slots are covered and each class must provide their own booth supplies, canopy, and table if needed. Volunteers are also needed for ticket sales, bake sale, food tent, and flower crown booths. All slots are 1 hour except for the food tent we are asking for 2 hour slots.

Stay tuned next week for booth and food menu details.

Our next May Faire Committee Meeting is April 18, 3:30 pm, in the Handwork room (former 8th grade room.)

Food Program News

Spring is here! It is so exciting for the students to be able to eat outside now! A few quick announcements from the kitchen crew...

IMPORTANT REMINDER: The deadline to order hot lunch and breakfast sandwiches for next week is tomorrow at noon. About a quarter of our regular students were not on our pre-order lists on Monday. Ordering monthly is not advisable since it is very easy to forget towards the end of the month to order again. I highly encourage parents to go ahead and order for the rest of the school year. We were lenient this week since everyone is still getting used to the program, and we allowed late orders but this creates a significant amount of extra logistical work for our kitchen staff each day. WE WILL NOT ACCEPT REQUESTS FOR HOT LUNCH AFTER NOON ON SATURDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK, NO EXCEPTIONS (FOR REAL THIS TIME). Cold sack lunches are available to students who have an EZ account if they are not on our list.

New Kitchen Assistant

Please help us to welcome a new addition to the kitchen team, Lisa Murphy! Lisa is a Madrone Trail parent and has years of experience in the food industry. It was obvious right away that she is a great fit! We had our smoothest week yet and are very excited to have a complete crew.

Featured next week...

• Salad bar veggie: baby corn
• Jam: orange marmalade

From the Athletic Director

Track and Field

Our track team has competed in 2 meets since our last Friday Update. On Thursday April 6th, we competed at Ashland Middle school against Ashland, Hedrick, Sacred Heart, and Happy Camp. On Wednesday April 12th, we competed at Crater High against Hanby, Lorna Byrne, Rogue River, Sacred Heart, Shady Cove, and the Valley School. Our athletes did very well and we are super proud of their hard work and dedication.

Notable Performances by grade

April 6th Ashland Meet

6th Grade

Josephine Gervasi: 1500M 6:47.75 (2nd), Javelin 36’9” (3rd)

Nora Costa: Javelin 23’5” (7th)

Titus Stewart: 200M 35.33 (1st), 3000M 13:51.74 (1st), Long Jump 9’4” (6th)

Theo Gerig: 1500M 6:26.44 (4th), Javelin 63’1” (5th)

Roman Roberson: 100M 16.82 (4th), Shot Put 22’8” (1st), Javelin 66’1” (3rd)

Silas Moon: 100M 16.56 (3rd), Javelin 52’9” (6th), Long Jump 10’9” (3rd)

Luke Walker: Shot put 18’3” (4th), Javelin 67’1” (2nd), Long Jump 9’2” (7th)

Madrone 6th 4x100 men’s relay team 1:05.74 (2nd) Roman, Theo, Silas, Titus

Madrone 6th 4x100 women’s relay team 1:10.88 (3rd) Fiona, Skye, Nora, Natasha

7th Grade

Emily Emry: Javelin 41’10” (7th), Shot put 17’2” (5th)

Sidra Price: 3000M 14:59.54 (3rd), Shot Put 18’7” (3rd)

Ariel Wentz: 400M 1:43.22 (9th)        

Maddy Bevers: Shot Put 24’8” (1st), 3000M 13:49.57 (2nd), 100M Hurdles 25.37 (6th)

Satya Pinney: Shot Put 18’2” (4th), Javelin 28’4” (7th)

Isaac Richardson: 200M 32.92 (5th), Javelin 85’5” (1st)

Madrone 7th 4x100 women’s relay team 1:11.49 (3rd) Emily, Ariel, Satya, Maddy

8th Grade

Andrea Stanislawski: 100M 16.62 (4th), 200M 34.48 (2nd), Shot Put 24’4” (4th)

Lyra Ayres: 100M H 23.64 (7th), Javelin 45’7” (5th)

Zephaniah Moon: 100M 13.86 (4th), Javelin 74’2” (8th), Long Jump 13’8” (2nd)

Cruz Cervantes: 100M 14.29 (7th), 200M 28.53 (3rd)

Madrone 7th/8th 4 x 100 relay team 59.16 (3rd) Cruz, Zeph, Nova, Isaac

April 12th Crater Meet

6th Grade

Josephine Gervasi: 3000M 16:02.21 (3rd), Javelin 34’9” (4th)

Titus Stewart: 200M 35.35 (1st), 3000M 14:23.38 (3rd), Long Jump 10’2.5” (5th)

Theo Gerig: 1500M 6:47.66 (1st), Javelin 54’6” (4th)

Roman Roberson: 100M 15.62 (4th), Shot Put 21’3” (4th), Javelin 62’4” (1st)

Silas Moon: Javelin 52’9” (6th)

7th Grade

Emily Emry: Javelin 34’3” (5th)

Sidra Price: 3000M 14:59.62 (3rd)

Anastasia Lamont: Shot Put 16’0” (7th), Javelin 39’2” (4th)

Maddy Bevers: 800M 3:18.91 (1st), 3000M 13:51.98 (1st), Shot Put 21’0” (2nd)

Satya Pinney: Shot Put 16’0” (7th), Javelin 28’4” (7th)

Isaac Richardson: 200M 35.26 (4th), 400M 1:17.51 (3rd)

Nova Star: Javelin 49’11” (7th) Note: learned how to throw Javelin 2 days before!

Theo Kingzett: 100M 14.09 (5th), 200M 32.06 (3rd)

Madrone 6th/7th 4 x 100 women’s relay team 1:08.16 (7th) Natasha, Satya, Sidra, Maddy

8th Grade

Andrea Stanislawski: 100M 15.40 (2nd), 200M 32.72 (2nd), Shot Put 24’4” (1st)

Lyra Ayres: 200M 36.59 (5th), Javelin 52’1” (2nd)

Zephaniah Moon: 100M 13.13 (2nd) 

Cruz Cervantes: 100M 13.30 (3rd), 200M 27.19 (1st) 

Braden Johnson: 200M 32.13 (8th), Long Jump 10’8” (8th)

Madrone 7th/8th 4 x 100 men’s relay team 55.72 (3rd) Cruz, Zeph, Braden, Isaac

Madrone 7th/8th 4 x 100 women’s relay team 1:08.05 (6th) Emily, Anastasia, Lyra, Andrea

Upcoming Meets- Come support your Dragons

Wednesday, April 19th @ White Mountain Middle School (3:45 pm)

Tuesday, April 25th @ Saint Mary’s (4:00 pm)

Thursday, April 27th (7th and 8th only) @ Illinois Valley High (3:45 pm)

Track Sponsors

We have already announced many of our 2023 track team sponsors including; Body Right Studios, Rise up Artisan Bread, S & D Performance, New Foundations Property Management, Alpha Heating and Air, West Orthodontics, Curtius Plumbing and Mechanical, Red Lily Vineyards, and CALYX CPA. Thank you to these amazing companies for their support!

I am proud to announce our final 2 sponsors-

Rothfus Family Dental

At Rothfus Family Dental, it’s our goal to provide you with the highest level of dental care in a safe and caring environment. We want to be there for your entire family, whether you’re 2 or 102.

Rothfus Family Dental in Medford, Oregon Providing most aspects of dentistry in one location makes us a true Medford, Oregon general dental practice. We also utilize the most advanced dental techniques, equipment and materials, so that the dentistry you receive will last for many years to come.

Earning your trust and treating you how we would want to be treated is the basis we want to build our dental relationship on. We want to be your dental care provider for a lifetime, and we want to make you a raving fan of our office.

We provide Medford, Oregon family dentistry and Rogue Valley dental services. Call us today to schedule a dental appointment. You’ll be happy you did, because at Rothfus Family Dental, we are… “Making Smiles Happen, Daily.”

https://rothfusfamilydental.com/ 

541-858-7994

Bartlett Tree Service

Bartlett Tree Service LLC is a full-service tree care company located in Central Point, Oregon. We are specialists in plant disease treatment and prevention, we are certified arborists and offer a variety of other solutions to ensure the health and longevity of your trees. This includes tree pruning, brush chipping, stump grinding, stump removal, and more. When a tree is dead, and a hazard or is requested by the client to be removed, we carefully, and skillfully remove it. Making sure your property is safe and hazard free! As professionals, we passionately deliver our services to the homeowners and business owners in the region. Our aim is to deliver the best quality tree services as per your needs and budget!

https://www.bartletttreeservice.com/ 

541-779-6067

State Testing

The window for taking our state-wide assessment, the SBAC, is now open. Students in 3rd-8th grade are tested annually in Language Arts and Math, and 5th and 8th graders are tested in Science as well. As per Oregon law, parents and guardians have the right to opt their children out of this assessment. In order to do this, you will need to meet in person with our School Test Coordinator, Ms. Cori, to sign the opt-out form. Please email her to set-up a time to meet if you wish to opt your child out of state testing, cori.royer@madronetrail.org. New this year, 3rd, 5th, and 8th graders do not have to take the Spring I-ready assessment so they can focus all of their attention on the SBAC.

An Easy Way To Support Madrone Trail

If you shop at Fred Meyer there is an easy way to earn money for our school! You only need to set it up once, then you are good to go! Unfortunately Amazon is no longer offering the Amazon Smile program anymore.

The Fred Meyer Community Rewards program donates to local schools, community organizations, and non-profits. Go to their website and click on the link to "Link your Rewards Card now." You will need to create a log-in if you don't have one already, or sign-in if you do. Search for Madrone Trail Public Charter School, and select us as your charity of choice. Every time you use your Fred Meyer Reward Card it will donate a small portion to our school. Last quarter our school earned $49.47 from 29 families, the more families we can get to do this the better!

Thanks for your support!

Parent Education Offered

Former Madrone Trail parent, Satya Beneventi, is Your Partner in Parenting and is deeply passionate about her work as a Parent Coach. Satya offers Individual, Couple & Group sessions. Click the image below to take the quiz and learn how to better connect with your child. 

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.