Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/1/2012, Education Digest, “MMS hosts planet summit” and “Campus Tour.” Read more: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_20301493/education-digest-sunday-april-1-2012
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Recently Mount Madonna School’s (MMS) second grade students attended three classes through the “Growing Kinder” Humane Education Program of the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter (SCCAS). The program is founded by Jen Walker, an experienced animal welfare advocate and humane education specialist. The first session began with Walker guiding the students on a behind-the-scenes tour at the animal shelter. For their next couple meetings, Walker offered lessons at MMS with her cat, Guido, and dog, Moon.
Eighth grade students at Mount Madonna School are developing engineering skills in preparation for building their own solar cars to race at the 6th annual Summit for the Planet Walk-a-thon and Celebration on April 28.
The class began a three-week engineering unit involving experiments and activities designed to give them an intrinsic understanding of engineering basics, electricity, solar panel placement, circuitry, fluid dynamics, gear ratios, Newtonian mechanics, and experimental design.
Graceful arched bridges, a three-headed dragon, samurai warriors, a family of mice, taiko drums, and stories of children’s everyday lives all have a role in Mount Madonna School’s (MMS) annual Cultural Awareness Performance on March 30. This popular event – which showcases elementary students’ dramatic talents and creativity– is the culmination of several months of focused study on a particular world culture: this year, the island nation of Japan.
We hope you are planning to attend our elementary students’ Cultural Awareness Performance on March 30. The performance is the culmination of months of academic and enriching study about the island nation of Japan. In recent weeks students, preschool through fifth grade, have created beautiful and vibrant works in different mediums and styles, including Japanese-inspired ceramics, fans, Kabuki stage set pieces, paintings and silhouettes. Many of these works will be on display, and guests will have the opportunity to purchase them, with proceeds being donated to the Japan Society.
Into a tall, clear glass cylindrical container, about a third full with tap water and dishwashing detergent, Mount Madonna School (MMS) parent John Wagner using metal tongs drops a small chunk of dry ice. “We’re here to talk about things that are cold,” he tells the gathered third and fourth grade MMS students. Dry ice, Wagner says, is frozen carbon dioxide and has a temperature of 123 degrees below zero.
By Melissa Sanders-Self, MMS High School English Teacher
“ Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
– Anton Chekov
The Mount Madonna School Creative Writing Reading is an annual event where students, faculty, parents and friends gather together to listen to our student writers read. This year we will gather on Friday, March 8 at 7:00pm to listen to open letters, villanelles, short stories, sestinas, sonnets, monologues, first person narratives and other inspired forms of writing.
“Education can take many forms,” commented guest panelist and physical chemist Tycho Speaker, during Mount Madonna School’s 3rd annual Career Forum last week. “What’s important is to find your passion, and work as hard as you have to toward realizing it. Then the education will come on its own, whether that takes the form of a degree or just life experience.”
For nonprofit organizations, determining how to creatively and successfully meet annual fundraising goals can be difficult and time-consuming – and frequently not a lot of fun. With the dual intent of putting the “fun” back in “fundraising” and bringing together other local nonprofit organizations – including, educational, environmental, and youth-focused groups – Mount Madonna School (MMS) is again hosting its annual community walk-a-thon and celebration –a family event intended to make fundraising as easy as a walk in the park!
All nonprofit organizations are invited to participate in the 6th annual Summit for the Planet Walk-a-thon on April 28. Mount Madonna will coordinate the event and do most all the work, while participating groups are invited to organize a team of walkers to walk for their organization, and their walkers, in turn, are urged to gather pledges of support.
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Recently the junior and senior classes at Mount Madonna School had the opportunity to interview John Laird, California’s Secretary for Natural Resources. Each year as part of their Values in World Thought course, students engage in conversations with individuals working for change, and through these dialogues the students come to better understand their world, country, community and selves.
