Learning Journeys

Class of 2022: Valedictorian, Salutatorian and Seniors’ College Choices

Mount Madonna School (MMS) is pleased to announce Grace Timan as the 2022 valedictorian and Ben Pearson as salutatorian. Timan, who started attending MMS as a preschool student, and Pearson in kindergarten,  earned this distinction through hard work and focused effort, edging…

On Washington, D.C. Trip, Local Students Witness a Historic Moment and Protestors’ Strong Reactions

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…

Values, Perspective and the Whole Truth: Students Consider National Monuments

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,…

Learning Journeys: A Reflection on Experiential Education

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, Teacher’s Desk: A Glimpse Through the Keyhole by Lisa Catterall

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…

Understanding Ecosystems: Students Engage in Research at Elkhorn Slough Reserve

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…