National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), Independent Ideas blog, January 2021, “Climbing Mountains: A Year of Ups and Downs,” by Grace Timan, grade 11. Editor’s note: The pandemic has forced school leaders to make tough calls about staffing, safety protocols, and how…
Following the unprecedented events of January 6, 2021 in our nation’s Capitol, Mount Madonna Head of School Ann Goewert shared the following message with school employees. We share it here, as it may offer perspective and support for parents and others in…
Growing Up in Santa Cruz, January 2021, Teacher’s Desk, “Carry Forward,” by Lisa Catterall. The past gets carried with us. It’s always there. – Ann Pearlman Two days ago the sky finally poured a real amount of rain on our beautiful mountaintop…
An evening of dialogue and discovery Values in World Thought is a capstone course unique to Mount Madonna School (MMS) that spans 11th and 12th grades and engages students in meaningful conversations. True dialogue is a collaborative process of active listening and discussion that…
Lookout Santa Cruz, “21 for ’21: UCSC’s Marm Kilpatrick fights spread of pandemic misinformation,” by Nick Ibarra. A profile on the recent work of Mount Madonna School alumnus A. Marm Kilpatrick (’90). As COVID-19 began spreading across the U.S. early this year, infectious…
By Sara Sobkoviak This summer many of our Mount Madonna School (MMS) faculty participated in professional development activities in an effort to prepare for the challenges we might face teaching in this new COVID-19 situation knowing that everything would be different for…
Creativity was on display recently, when Mount Madonna School fourth grade students gathered materials found outdoors around their classroom to use as brushes for painting. Their finds included leaves, branch tips from cedar, redwood and pine trees, small flowers, and grasses. They…
A recent period of remote learning offered ninth grade students an opportunity to brush up on their photography skills and see things from a new perspective, as part of an assignment for their Creative Expression class, co-taught by Angela Willetts and Haley…
On an afternoon in mid-November, Mount Madonna School (MMS) third grade students gathered with their classmates to share their learning about several of the indigenous tribes whose ancestral lands are located throughout California and how they lived long before European immigrants came…
Students Dialogue with Wakami founder María Pacheco My name is María. I was born in Guatemala and I am a biologist, an entrepreneur and founder of the Wakami system. I am also a mother and a firm believer that collective dreams are…
