No Bus Service- Next Friday

As a reminder we have a few days each school year where Medford School District is not in session, but Madrone Trail is. When that happens there is no bus service available that day. The first of those days will be Friday, September 26. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Campus Safety Update

The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority. This month, we held our first fire drill on September 15th, giving everyone the opportunity to practice important safety procedures. Looking ahead, we will be conducting our first lockdown drill on October 7th.

In preparation, teachers will be working with their classes to ensure students understand what to expect and how to respond calmly and safely during the drill. These practice drills are an important part of creating a secure and prepared school environment.



Thank you for your continued support as we work together to keep our campus a safe place for learning.

Warm regards,

Kelly Ruse

Interim Executive Director

kelly.ruse@madronetrail.org

From the Office

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Please refer to the chart below in deciding if children should stay home when they are exhibiting symptoms.

Thank you for your support and cooperation in keeping our children, staff, and families safe and well.

From the Board

Hello Madrone Trail Family!

The school year is officially in full swing and it has been going great so far! This month we are spending time establishing goals for the year for us to pursue as the board of directors. We hope to really focus on fundraising and strategic planning as the big highlights. This will include working with stake holders from within and around our community so that we can have a really clear vision of where we want to be in the next 5-10 years while ensuring we have the financial stability and freedom to pursue that vision. 

We also spent time talking with our Interim Director, Kelly Ruse, about her goals for the year so that we can understand how to best support her and the school as she continues to lead us so well.

The board will be focusing on reviewing and updating all of our school policies. This is to ensure the we have all the things in place we need to protect the school and help it thrive. Review and updating of policies is and should be a normal part of board work. Many of the tasks the board spends time on seem boring or abstract but they are a vital piece of our community thriving.

We hope to continue building an amazing school that is able to provide the best possible atmosphere for all our students and their families. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to board@madronetrail.org.

For the good of the school,

Madrone Trail Board of Directors

Parent Square

We have many families still needing to register their account! We highly recommend all parents/guardians download the app to receive important news from the school. Parents can opt to get their news via email, text, or app notification. We will use this platform to quickly notify families about school closures due to snow amongst other things. The Friday Update itself will be sent via Parent Square soon. We are very excited about streamlining communication to and from school and families. If you are having difficulties logging in email Ms. Cori, cori.royer@madronetrail.org

Michaelmas

Festivals are a vital part of Waldorf education. Madrone Trail celebrates the rhythm of the year through festivals honoring the seasons and the natural world. As we celebrate and mark the passage of the seasons through art, music, and story, we deepen our connection to the rhythms of nature and our relationships with each other and create community. Many of our festivals are celebrated community-wide. Some festivals are celebrated with the children during school.

Our first festival is Michaelmas, which will be celebrated on Friday, September 26th, from 2:15-3:00 pm. Michaelmas, as it is observed in Waldorf schools, is the "festival of courage." Michael, the archangel who inspires courage, is associated with this festival at harvest time. The students will hear the ancient story of Michael conquering the dragon, sing songs of courage, and enjoy dragon bread and cider. Through this community festival, we celebrate the apples and wheat harvested in the fall, while preparing ourselves for the inner wakefulness and courage needed for the winter months ahead.

Class teachers and your class parent representatives will be sending out emails with details of what each class needs to bring to make this festival a success. For those courageous parents wanting to make dragon bread, below are a few recipes to help guide you, along with some pictures of dragon bread throughout the years. They can also be found on our website.

Dragon Bread Recipe from the Washington Waldorf School

Sweet Sourdough Dragon Bread Recipe

Gluten Free Dragon Bread Recipe

Dragon Bread Examples

From the Auction Committee

Hard to believe we are already thinking about the auction but it comes up quicker than we expect! We have our first meeting planned for September 30th, at 3:30 pm, in the 2nd grade classroom. Emails will be sent out to parents that put their info down at Family Night. If you couldn’t make it to Family Night and are still interested in the Auction Committee, please come! We need all skill sets. We would love to get a solid committee going now so we can get a theme chosen quickly and get this party started!

Hope to see you all there! If you have any questions email auction@madronetrail.org

From the Site Committee

Mark your calendars! The Madrone Trail Site Committee has been reborn and has big things planned for this school year. Kick-off Committee meeting is Thursday, Sept 25th 5-6:30PM in the woodworking classroom. Please join us to help plan and implement the future of our school's site and facilities. 

The Site Committee has four Stewardship Days planned for the year. Childcare and food included! Come one! Come all! Get those volunteer hours in! September 27th, October 18th, Jan 24th and April 18th. Saturdays, 9am-1pm. Stay tuned for more details coming soon. 

From the Athletic Director

Fall clubs and sports are in full swing. Look for results of our competitions below. Winter sports season starts in one month. Our school participates in Boys Basketball during that season. (October 20th-December 12th.) We will also be offering Yoga Club during this session. Look for more information below on both of these opportunities.

Note: (Girls Basketball will be during Winter Season 2, which runs January 5th-February 20th)

Boys Basketball

When: October 20th-December 12th (First 2 weeks practices Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays 3:30-5:30.) Once games start, games will be on Mondays and Wednesdays)

Who: 6th-8th grade boys (Capped at 24)

Where: Practices at Madrone Trail, games various locations

Cost: $100

Scholarships and payment plans are available. If you know you will need a scholarship, please register for one before Oct. 1st through Beyond the Fence.

https://www.beyondtf.org/

Hover over the tab in the top ribbon titled “our work.” Click “Apply.” Click “Individual Application” and fill out the required information.

Sports Physicals

Reminder: Sports physicals that are less than 2 years old are required before even participating in the first practice of any sports season. They are not required for club activities.

We have a low cost partnership with Nurse Practitioner Sarah Roberson to offer sports physical days to Madrone Trail athletes for only $20 each.

Our next day for this is Saturday, October 11th. More info and sign up times in the link below.

Note: If you know your student will need a sports physical done for Girls Basketball in Winter 2 or Track season in the Spring, feel free to sign up for this day. (Sarah will offer one more day prior to track season)

Sports Physicals Sign-Up

Yoga Club

Yoga Club is back. Our 2nd grade teacher, Emily Belcastro, is a certified yoga instructor and is running Yoga Club this year.

When: Tuesdays and Thursday 3:30-4:30, October 21st-December 18th.

Who: 4th-8th graders (15 participants)

Where: In the 3rd grade classroom

Cost: $75

There is a link to our new clubs form below (It is very similar to the sports form, but we are now separating the 2 forms)

Volleyball results this week

9/15 @ Rogue Valley Adventist (Varsity only)

Varsity: Lost 2 sets, won 1 set (15/25, 25/11, 11/15)

Coaches’ Standout: Lizzie Fortune

9/17 Home vs Lorna Byrne

Varsity: Lost 3 very close sets (19/25, 22/25, 13/15)

JV: Lost 3 sets (14/25, 17/25, 11/15)

Girls Volleyball games next week

(Home games are at Sacred Heart)

9/22 @ New Hope Christian, Varsity only @ 4:30

9/24 @ Rogue X vs The Valley School JV@4:00, Varsity @ 5:00

Cross Country results this week

9/18 @ North Mountain Park (This was a league meet with 4 teams (Madrone, Ashland, Ponderosa, and Saint Mary’s)

Girls (Out of 38)

Juno Battisti 13:13.7 (7th) (NEW SCHOOL RECORD!). The old record was 13:25.1 set by Maddy Bevers in 2022

Aiza Caran 15:04.7 (15th)

Isobel Bevers 16:49.10 (26th)

Mary Kemple 16.52.4 (27th)

Chaska Gidley 17:38.0 (31st)

Caroline Percy 18:09.7 (34th)

Boys (Out of 85)

Oliver Ayres 13:46.9 (21st) (6th fastest time in school history)

John Richardson 13:49.4 (24th)

Julian Cerecedes 13:58.4 (27th)

Westley Scales 16:54.8 (65th)

Cross Country meet next week

9/25 @ Bear Creek Park Girls run @ 4:30, Boys @ 5:00

Watercolor Club

When: Ending October 22nd

Additional class: Ms. Whitridge had to miss this last Wednesday. She will be offering a class on Wednesday Nov. 5th for those participants at the same time and location.

Mondays 3:30-4:30 

Wednesdays 1:30-2:30 

Where: Mondays (Gym) Wednesdays (6th grade classroom)

Community Sport Opportunity

Junior Comets Boys Basketball (Look for Girls Basketball info in November)

Who: Boys 1st grade-7th grade (Various league levels)

Cost: $50

Skills evaluation day: At Scenic Middle School Sunday, Oct 5th, 12-4 or Tuesday October 7th, 5:30-7:30 (Attend one of them, you are not there the whole time)

Registration open: now-September 26th

Season dates: November 3rd-January 17th

For more info and to register visit:

https://www.juniorcometsports.com/registration-information1.html

Go Dragons!



Jeff Roberson

jeff.roberson@madronetrail.org

Meet Ms. Nicholson, Music Teacher

Andreya Nicholson-Walcott is a Southern Oregon native. Raised on a ranch outside of Eagle Point, she had dreams of singing and being a teacher. She grew up singing in church and counts her first time on the stage being at church at the age of 3. After graduating from Eagle Point High School, she moved to Lynnwood, Washington to study music and sing under the direction of Kirk Marcy, director of the vocal jazz group Soundsation, at Edmonds Community College. Andreya was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Music and a minor in Forensics in the Spring of 2009, from Western Oregon University, and a Master’s in music from Western Oregon University in 2011.  After graduate school, Andreya taught on the island of Saint Lucia at the Saint Lucia School of Music for 8.5 years, as the head of the voice department, and teacher of early childhood, music theory, and choir. Upon returning from Saint Lucia, Andreya taught for the Phoenix-Talent Schools where she developed an afterschool choir for all elementary students. 

Andreya is very excited to be teaching and making music with the students here at Madrone Trail. When she is not teaching, and singing, she loves movies, reading, and traveling.

Lost & Found

Everything will be donated next Friday Sept. 26

Community Opportunity

Register Here.

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.