From the Director

Dear Families,

I have been dealing with several discipline issues lately so I thought I would weigh in on the subject. First, I do not like the term “discipline.” As defined, discipline is the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. I see my role as someone who uses unfortunate occurrences to teach proper behavior. When I was running a behavior school, we had some major behaviors to deal with. Our approach was; “Kids do well if they can.” In other words, if students are misbehaving, it is because they do not possess the skills to behave in a pro-social manner. We identified “lagging skills” and taught pro-social behavior. 

Students will often “tattle” in order to see the offender “punished.” Sometimes it is appropriate to demonstrate on a larger scale the consequences of poor choices, but generally speaking, behavior instruction is best kept private. The Waldorf approach to discipline is multi-faceted, holistic, and sometimes subtle, with many overlapping strategies. When a child does act in an inappropriate way, instead of a direct reprimand, which may result in fear and embarrassment, indirect teaching stories may be used, allowing the child to use their intelligence to learn why the behavior was inappropriate. Waldorf schools aim to graduate students who are self-confident, self-sufficient and self-directed, with the ability to know and ask for what they want. We also strive to instill integrity, compassion, respect, and a sense of responsibility and love for the world. Crucial to all these traits is the ability to discern appropriate boundaries.

Another strategy is for teachers to model the behavior they wish to see in the student. If children are being too loud and aggressive, the teacher will redirect their behavior by being quiet and gentle. If a child has physically hurt another, they are shown how to physically comfort and console the hurt child, and encouraged to do the same. As Steiner puts it, we are creating our class community. Like I mentioned last week, we hold our class and school community as a unified collective. 

WELCOME NEW MADRONE TRAIL STAFF MEMBERS

We would like to introduce three new staff members to the Madrone Trail family. Ashley Reed is our new Kindergarten Assistant. Her role is to "float” between our two kindergarten classrooms and offer additional assistance to our kinders and Sprouts. As we are about to open our kitchen and start our food program, we have hired two additional staff to assist Chef Evan. Stephanie Corwin and James Crouch will be making sure our students are well fed this spring!

SEVERE WEATHER PROCEDURES 

Madrone Trail follows the decisions made by the Medford School District regarding severe weather procedures. Please refer to social media or media announcements for guidance from MSD. We will also try to post an update on our website and send out an email.

In the event school needs to be delayed, canceled, or released early (due to an unexpected weather event occurring during school hours), the following decisions are possible:

Normal school hours – snow routes: some bus routes in higher elevations change due to snow or slick road conditions. Snow routes are posted ahead of time at: www.medford.k12.or.us/snow

Cancellation:  School and district are closed.  

Two-hour delayed start – regular routes OR snow routes: School begins two hours after regularly scheduled start time. Regular bus routes or snow routes may run, depending on road conditions. 

Releasing school early – normal routes OR snow routes: School is released early due to hazardous road conditions. Buses may run regular routes or snow routes, depending on road conditions.

COFFEE WITH ADMINISTRATION 

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 long weekend,

~Kendall Roberts

Director

kendall.roberts@madronetrail.org

Stewardship Day

Stewardship Day last weekend was an incredible success thanks to all the families that came out in service of our school. We were able to accomplish an enormous number of tasks including spring cleaning and organizing of the sheds in our field, relocating our bunny hutch back into the kinder yard, sanding and staining deck boards for replacing our outdoor stairs, and planting bulbs and mulching garden beds around campus. The day was a real demonstration of the power and possibility of our community in action. We are so grateful for all the effort and look forward to our next Stewardship Day in April! 

Auction Update

Win tickets to Stephen Marley!

Stephen Marley is playing the Historic Ashland Armory on Friday, February 24th (the night before the auction). We were gifted 4 tickets to give away as a promo for the auction. Here's how to win.... Purchase tickets to the auction by this Monday, February 20th at 11:59 pm (with dinner or no dinner) if you haven't already, then go to our auction event page here and find the post about the Stephen Marley show. Tag a friend in the comments and you'll be entered to win. Easy-peasy! We will give away two sets of tickets. Volunteers and Madrone Trail staff receiving comped tickets may also enter! Good luck!

Only 4 Days Left to Purchase Tix w/ Dinner!

Monday, February 20th at 11:59 pm will be the last day to purchase auction tickets with dinner! Don't miss out on our Brazilian and Caribbean-inspired menu prepared by our very own kitchen crew! Buy tickets now! $20 tickets are also available without dinner up until the event and at the door if not sold out.

We are also still in need of a few more volunteers. Check this spreadsheet for positions that are still open (in red) and email us to sign up! Time is dwindling to sponsor the auction in the form of cash or in-kind donations. Please reach out to learn more! Email: auction@madronetrail.org

Class Baskets Preview 

The silent auction will feature our class baskets. Thank you to all of the parents who have donated as well as our parent reps and teachers who've helped to organize! There is still time to contribute to your student's class basket.

Here's a preview of the themes:

Daisy Blossom Kindergarten Cooking/Baking

Little Hummingbirds Kindergarten All Natural Wellness

Willow Class- 1st grade Barbecue/Picnic

Otter Class- 2nd grade Outdoor/Hiking/Camping

Marigold Class- 3rd grade Sushi & Saki

Sunflower Class- 4th grade Self-Care

Blackberry Class- 5th grade Gardening

Butterfly Class- 6th grade Arts & Crafts

Blue Heron Class- 7th grade Book Worm

Raven Class- 8th grade Date Night

Thanks to our generous sponsors!

Lost and Found

Lost and Found will be donated on Thursday, February 24.



7th grade Fundraiser

The Blue Heron Class recently published a book of original poetry and will be selling copies for $5 each. These books will make a great gift for birthdays or Mother's Day, or will simply make a lovely addition to any bookshelf!

Books will be available before and after school and at lunch recess starting on Tuesday, February 21st. 

Get them before they're gone!

Lunch Program Update

We have received numerous free & reduced lunch applications and allergy forms back, thank you! It's now time to make sure you are setup with your EZ school account so that you can add funds (if applicable) and pre-order meals for your student. Please do not wait until the last minute since we may not be able to help you right away if you need assistance setting up your account. We will not be able to serve your student if they do not have an EZ school lunch account! Set-up instructions and complete information about the program can be found here on our website. Any questions, comments, or feedback can be directed to Chef Evan at evan.wilson@madronetrail.org.

From the Athletic Director

Hey everyone, we are wrapping up girls’ basketball this next week. The girls' last game is Wednesday 5:00 pm @ Sacred Heart. Come check it out!

This week our girls won on Monday, 24-10, and fell short on Wednesday, 12-16. They played both games tough.

Notable performances Monday

Maddy Bevers 14 points

JoJo Gervasi 2 points and 3 steals

Charley Furrer 4 steals and 1 rebound

Natasha Wright 3 rebounds and 1 steal

Track and Field

Participation forms went home Thursday. If your 6th-8th grader is interested and did not get one, please email me. Practices will most likely be at Madrone after school 4-5 days per week when we do not have meets, starting March 1st.

If you need a sports physical and want to come on the 25th, Nurse Practitioner, Sarah Roberson will be providing them for $20 at Madrone 11:30am-2:00pm. Please use the link provided to sign up for a time slot.

Go Dragons!

~Jeff Roberson

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

Sprouts Program 2023-2024

As we look towards next year, we are offering Open House sessions for families interested in the Sprout Preschool Program for 2023-2024. We also have a few spots still open this year. This is a chance to see the classrooms and meet both of our teachers. You can read the teachers' bios on our website here.  

Our Sprouts Preschool Program is a mixed-age Kindergarten classroom joining 6 sprouts and 14 kindergartners for each class.

For families interested in the Sprout Preschool Program at Madrone Trail, please review the following criteria:

1. Child must be 4 years of age by June 1st, 2023 to be considered for the 23-24 school year.
2. Child must be potty trained.
3. Child must be able to be away from parents for at least a four hour period.
4. Note: Enrollment into Sprouts program does not guarantee a spot in Kindergarten

**If the child will not be 5 yrs of age by June 1st prior to the school year they are

interested in enrolling, in they will be eligible to apply for the Sprout Program.

Applications will be emailed out to everyone who have submitted the Sprouts Program Interest Form, linked below. This form is required in order to receive an application, as it confirms that your child has met the initial criteria to be considered for the program.

Open House Offerings:

March 10th, 11:00am - 12:00pm

April 14th, 11:00am - 12:00pm

For further details, contact the Office Manager at taurie.michele@madronetrail.org

Board Update

Hello Madrone Trail Community!

As always, the Board has been hard at work doing various things for our school. January 30th we met to discuss collaborative leadership in our school as part of the process to assist the faculty in their quest to become full members the Waldorf Alliance. It was a great time of discussion and evaluating what collaborative leadership looks like right now, how we are doing well and innovating in this area, and identifying areas where we can grow to be even stronger in our collaborative leadership. We desire to help foster a community where board, faculty and staff, and parents are able to work together with clarity and harmony in order create an educational atmosphere where students can thrive.

In addition to this, we have been conducting exit interviews with last year’s 8th grade students. We do this in order to see how well we are doing in preparing kids for the next stage of education in high school. It has been a valuable process that has provided insight into ways we excel and things we can improve upon. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive as a whole. Related to this, we are starting to look ahead to the annual climate survey and hope to get ample feedback from all our parents and community members.

This year we are up to renegotiate our charter with Medford School District. Those talks have begun and will soon culminate with a contract that will enable us to educate and develop children to the best of our potential for the next 5 years.

Many of our board members are actively involved in helping with our annual auction, others are working on the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, others are working with parent council, others have been hard at work building next year’s budget, others are always hunting for different grants and thinking about how to best reside funds for our school. We strive to be as active as possible in the school community and helpful wherever it is needed.

The board of directors is always willing and ready to hear from any of our community members who would like to communicate with us about what is happening at Madrone Trail. If you have any questions or comments please reach out by sending us an email at board@madronetrail.org

Interested in Being a Substitute at Madrone Trail?

Review our current Indeed Job listings for each position and apply today!

Substitute Teacher Assistant

Substitute Teacher

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.