Whether you come to walk in support of your favorite nonprofit organization or for ensuing fun, the 7th annual Summit for the Planet Walk-a-thon and Earth Day Celebration offers something for all ages. The celebration will feature solar vehicle races, ‘eco-carnival’ games, live animals, community networking, ‘green’ businesses, live music, and delicious, organic foods!
Along the banks of the Yamuna River, thousands of red sandstone bricks used to construct the Lal-Qila , or Red Fort of Delhi, gleam in the bright afternoon sun. This extensive compound, built between 1639 and 1648, is today a World Heritage Site and one of India’s architectural ‘jewels.’ It is also one of numerous places that Mount Madonna School elementary students have learned about in preparation for Mount Madonna School’s (MMS) annual Cultural Awareness event, planned for March 28 and 29. This popular assembly showcasing elementary students’ dramatic talents and creativity is the culmination of two months of focused study on a particular world culture: this year, the epic history and colorful diversity of India.
By Supriya McDonald, Head of Lower School
Academic Excellence is one of the three main pillars of our School, together with Positive Character Development and Creative Self-Expression . Academic achievement is one of the five core values of an MMS education. These words are found in the mission statements of most schools, and also heard in political speeches during election season. But what does academic achievement and excellence look like at MMS? How do we demonstrate it and how do we measure it?
Dr. Yong Zhao, an internationally known scholar, author and speaker, will be the featured presenter at an upcoming public lecture in Aptos. Dr. Zhao, author of more than 100 articles and 20 books, including Catching Up or Leading the Way ; American Education in the Age of Globalization and World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students will be addressing an audience of parents, educators and others interested in the topic of education trends and innovations.
Visitors to the third grade classroom on a recent afternoon were greeted by an array of modern day and historical figures, including: former President Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Pocahontas, Benjamin Banneker, Dr. Temple Grandin, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Each third grader chose an individual as a “moral hero” to study and later personify for the classroom presentation.
Peace activist and educator Dr. Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba, founder of the Creative Minds International Academy (CMIA) in Jos, Nigeria, will be a special guest at Mount Madonna School (MMS) on Monday, February 4.
Nine-year-olds Corey Mensinger and Ronan Lee each picked up the end of a short redwood log and carried it a few feet to where their classmates were arranging other logs and wood pieces into a large circle on the ground underneath the…
A glue stick in one hand, and a brightly-colored silk flower in the other, the dark-haired girl purses her lips in concentration and carefully applies glue to the flower bottom before placing it on the mask before her. The girl, a first grade student at Mount Madonna School, is working with her class on decorating skull masks as part of their Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) studies and celebration.
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With his dad nearby to lend assistance, Mount Madonna School fourth grader Sammy Caudill lines up the pieces of pre-cut wood and carefully hammers in a nail, successfully connecting the first two walls of the small house he is constructing. This action is repeated again and again – a symphony of hammers and light-hearted chatter – as 14 students around the classroom build their houses.
Student artwork and educational posters adorn the walls in the classroom next to the Farmhouse Office, alongside shelves filled with literature and non-fiction books and neatly-organized desks. This inviting space is where Mount Madonna School’s (MMS) first grade class spends time each school day, writing, reading, discovering and learning together. The curriculum is rich and varied, and recently involved lessons on the pilgrims, geography, politics, immigration and family heritage.
