On a clear, sunny morning last week, curious students explored the flora and fauna of the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, investigating invertebrate specimens, water, air and soils tests, and recording observations in nature journals. Mount Madonna School (MMS) fifth and…
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…
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,…
Biomedical Engineering is a unique, new Mount Madonna School course this school year. It’s an elective for eleventh grade students through the high school engineering program. This class includes units on genetic engineering and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR), design…
From squid and jellyfish to sand, surf – and even Santa Cruz’s iconic Big Dipper roller coaster – each has inspired the sense-infused descriptions and evocative art pieces of Mount Madonna School (MMS) fourth graders. For the past several months as part…
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…
Mount Madonna School (MMS) first through fifth graders have spent many of their recent T.E.A. (technology, engineering and art) specialty classes in “invention education.” They are preparing to present ideas for original solutions to problems at MMS’s first in-house Invention Convention on…
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…
