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Standing in front of the class, the sandy-haired boy shuffles his feet, avoiding eye contact with the middle school students seated before him. He looks up, shyly meets his classmates’ gaze, and takes a deep breath. Exhaling, he begins telling a story in Spanish. The words come haltingly at first, then, as his confidence improves, he relaxes and expands his vocabulary, exploring different sentence structures and verb conjugations.

By Hema Walker

“Once upon a time…” may be an uncommon way to begin a mathematics lesson, yet in Mount Madonna School’s kindergarten where I teach, that is just how I present our “Golden Number Book” lessons. During the kindergarten year, each student will create their own counting journal, called a “Golden Number Book.” Every week the children add a new page to their book.

February 22 is the application deadline for families wishing to apply during Mount Madonna School’s (MMS) regular admissions cycle for the 2012-2013 school year. MMS is accepting applications for most grades, preschool through 12th grade. For more information, contact Benná Lovato at (408) 847-2717, ext. 242 or visit www.MountMadonnaSchool.org

Santa Cruz Sentinel, 1/20/2012, "Mount Madonna fifth graders give a hoot about bird on state's concerned list," by Joel Hersch. Read more: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_19777552?IADID=Search-www.santacruzs...

WatsonvillePatch.com, 1/13/2012, "Giving A Hoot." Read more: http://watsonville.patch.com/blog_posts/featured-blog-giving-a-hoot

Santa Cruz Sentinel, 1/15/2012, Education Digest: "Students to perform 'Voices," and January 18 5th grade Burrowing Owl Presentation." Read more: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_19746580?IADID=Search-www.santacruzs...

During last summer's Values trip to South Africa, the students visited the Chaeli Campaign. That meeting made a strong impression, and the Chaeli Campaign invites Mount Madonna School students to enter their 2012 art and poetry contest. Let your creative side shine!

Entry Form (Adobe pdf)

Contest Details (Adobe pdf)

What: Presentation and DVD screening on the Western Burrowing Owl, subject of Mount Madonna School’s 5th Grade Class current environmental project.

When: Wednesday, January 18, 6:30pm – 8:30pm. Reservation requested; contact Kathy Fieberling at (831) 345-1226 or kathyfieb@yahoo.com

MMS engages all the students (except  preschool/kindergarten students) in discussions and training about lockdown drills, which have been very well-performed. We have taken particular care with our elementary students to help them understand that the drills we practice are being put in place to keep them safe. Our interactions with the students are primarily around procedures, simple explanations about the difference between our three different emergency drills (Fire, Earthquake and Lockdown), and the introduction of our security team.

If you are applying for Financial Assistance, we encourage you to apply by February 15, so that you may receive your grant letter before the March 26 deadline for registration. Please notify the Heads of School of any special circumstances prior to March 26 to avoid the $50 late fee.