Buddies

Seeking Volunteers: Fifth Graders to Lead March 25 Beach Cleanup

On Saturday, March 25 from 2:00 to 4:00pm, the Mount Madonna School (MMS) fifth grade class is organizing a community beach cleanup of Platforms Beach in Aptos. Volunteers of all ages are invited to join in the effort; the students will supply…

Cultivating Awareness and Digging Deep: Sixth Graders Study Agroecology

Agroecology, an approach to agriculture that views agricultural areas as ecosystems and is concerned with the ecological impact of agricultural practices, is the topic of in-depth, experiential learning by Mount Madonna School (MMS) sixth grade students as part of their middle school…

Where Food Comes From: Students Visit Live Earth Farm

This week, Mount Madonna School (MMS) kindergarten, second and twelfth grade students visited Live Earth Farm in Watsonville, providing an opportunity for peer-to-peer mentoring, farm learning and for the youngest students, and increased opportunity of where food comes from.  “Our year- long study…

Santa Cruz Sentinel: Mount Madonna School commemorates International Peace Day

Santa Cruz Sentinel, 9/22/2022, “Mount Madonna School Commemorates International Peace Day.” This year’s theme is “End Racism, Build Peace.” Story by Aric Sleeper, photos by Shmuel Thaler. Click on photos below to see a larger version.    

Fifth Grade’s Sea Lion Environmental Project

Each year, the Mount Madonna School (MMS) fifth grade class engages in a year-long, cross-curricular study focused on an environmental topic selected by the students. For 2021-22, students voted to focus on sea lions to raise public awareness and reduce the existential…

Growing Up in Santa Cruz: “The World is Knocking” by Lisa Catterall

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…

“It feels good to help people”: Students Participate in Day of Service in Honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

The Mount Madonna School (MMS) community honored the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in a nationwide day of service on Friday, January 14.  All students from the tiniest preschoolers to our almost-ready-to-graduate seniors got their hands…