Growing Up in Santa Cruz, July 2022, “History in the Making, Students Witness Supreme Court History,” by Grace Timan. Timan, who graduated in June 2022, was on a school trip to Washington, D.C. in May when they happened upon a protest in…
On May 3, during their week-long Values in American Thought learning journey to Washington D.C., Mount Madonna School (MMS) eleventh and twelfth grade students passed by the Supreme Court and witnessed a historic moment for our nation. This moment was captured in…
Perhaps no one monument could be made to tell the whole truth of any subject which it might be designed to illustrate. – Frederick Douglass “Emancipation Monument,” a bronze statue designed and sculpted by Bostonian Thomas Ball more than a century ago,…
Mount Madonna Eleventh and Twelfth Grade Students Head to Washington, D.C. By Director of Upper School Shannon Kelly (’92) As Mount Madonna School (MMS) restarts many of the programs that have been on hold due to COVID-19, I am struck by the…
Growing Up in Santa Cruz, April 2022, Teacher’s Desk, “A Glimpse Through the Keyhole,” by Lisa Catterall. “…the only path to lasting global peace will be education, of the unbiased sort that provides a scaffolding for the soul, a habit of critical…
As a six-year-old first grader in 1960, Ruby Bridges walked past enraged protestors and into history as part of desegregating Louisiana public schools. That such a young child could overcome fear and face this staggering challenge wasn’t lost on Mount Madonna School…
By Lisa Catterall Children make your life important. — Erma Bombeck I’m staring at a dresser covered with dirty glasses. They have rings of dried and yellowed milk, encrusted smoothie droplets, and they are sitting on top of a stack of plates,…
Growing Up in Santa Cruz, February 2022, Teacher’s Desk, “The World is Knocking” by Lisa Catterall. He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. – Friedrich Nietzsche This week I had the pleasure of teaching in a true…
By Shannon Kelly In May, as part of the Values in World Thought program, junior and senior students will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to experience government in action. One key aspect of the program is providing students the opportunity to engage…
It is my conviction that there is no way to peace — peace is the way. — Thich Nhat Hanh Children are naturally more present than grown-ups. They are honest, in the moment, yet often are a bit “wound up.” Practicing mindfulness with…
