The Tuesday Notice
October 28, 2025
Dear Families,
Our Parent Enrichment Committee has been working thoughtfully to create opportunities for our community to deepen its understanding of the importance and impact of a Waldorf-inspired education. On Tuesday, November 4, from 6:30–8:00 p.m., we warmly invite you to join us, and to bring a friend who may be interested in learning more.
The evening will begin with a talk by our curriculum mentor and math teacher, Christine Benson, followed by hands-on workshops in painting, form drawing, or music. Just like what our students experience regularly in their classrooms!
Treat yourself to a night of inspiration and engagement in the beautiful elements that make this education so special and nurturing for our children. We also hope to reach out to the broader Ashland community as we continue to grow enrollment, so your help spreading the word is greatly appreciated!
See more details in the flyer below and on Instagram/Facebook.
Warmly,
This festival is one of our favorite ones at school! We will celebrate Halloween on Friday, October 31, with our traditional in-house assembly here at school. We will have a half day and dismiss per our half day dismissal schedule. The early dismissal will give families a little time before going to the Ashland Halloween parade. Here at school, the children come dressed in costumes and we celebrate with music, pumpkins and a parade around the campus.
Costume guidelines: When we think of getting dressed up, let’s ensure that we are thoughtful about the costumes we choose to wear to school. We want to be mindful that all students will feel safe and honored.
- Be creative and keep in mind we have young ones on campus.
- Please no scary costumes, blood, or weapons. Just bring fun.
- Reminder!! It is important that we can identify students and see their faces. Please, no masks.
- NO CANDY is to be brought to school on or after Halloween.
- If you’re not sure if your child’s costume will “work”, please check in with their class teacher before Halloween.
Aside from these guidelines, please talk with your student to make sure that the costume that they have selected does not portray a stereotyped image of a culture or group of people. In addition, please help students make sure that their costume is not offensive to any racial, ethnic or religious group, or any people with disabilities or illnesses. While students might choose to dress as a famous person or character who’s identity is different than their own, please reinforce the importance of not darkening skin or using makeup to change a child’s skin color to match the person who they are dressing up to be. Students are often unaware of the long history these traditions have and that it can be hurtful to those people.
We look forward to celebrating with all of the students on Halloween and appreciate your help in making sure that it is a fun day for everyone. If you have any questions at all regarding this day, please feel free to reach out.
Halloween is made so special here with over a hundred grinning jack-o-lanterns arrayed in Pine Hall. Come help the children carve with their buddies on Thursday, October 30. Different classes carve at different times, click HERE to sign up and help! Thank you!
THE BATTLE IS ON! Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) is coming back to The Siskiyou School for the fourth year! As you may remember, we had our largest number of teams last year, where we were so proud to send The Three Book-a-Teers (4th-5th grade) and The Slaying Rizzlers(6th-8th) to compete in our Regional Battles. The kids competed with dozens of teams from schools around the valley and beyond. It was an incredible experience for all the kids, and it was great visibility for The Siskiyou School.
I am personally passionate about OBOB because most importantly: BOOKS! But, also, getting to see the kids come together every year and support each other, both in their teams and outside their teams is incredible. I think that literature has an amazing gift at teaching emotional intelligence, empathy and different perspectives of the world, all while providing voices that our children may not get to hear otherwise. OBOB brings that diversity in book selection front and center in a fun and friendly competitive way.
There is great info at this link here: www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org, or send questions my way amy.bull@siskiyouschool.org.
If your child is interested in OBOB please fill out the attached signup form. I am encouraging kids to pick their own teams, and each team needs an adult coach. Coaching is fun and easy! Please reach out to me with any questions. I am here to help guide coaches and provide resources.
Our school battle is set for March 6th! The winning teams will move on to the Regional Battle shortly after.
You can find the reading lists for the 4th-5th grade here, 6th-8th grade here and 3rd grade reading list here.
Grab a book and read on my friends!
Amy
Our Gingerbread House is such a sweet Winter Faire tradition, where the children have a chance to shop for loved ones with the help of a 7th grade elf helper. We need many more items to fill our Gingerbread House. Please bring in your new or gently used items to our Office Manager Amy, in the reception area. Popular items include: jewelry, children’s toys, clean games with all the pieces, art kits, kitchen items, gift sets, crystals, window hangings, home decor, pottery and small pieces of art. This is the perfect chance to regift that candle or birthday gift you’ll never use! Think of things you would want your child to buy for you or their siblings. We are not accepting clothing or shoe donations this year. Thank you!
Siskiyou School Chess Club
Good afternoon everyone. It’s been very sweet to hear so many of the students coming up to me over the last few weeks and letting me know they will be in Chess Club this year, or, asking when we begin. Parents as well. I love that there’s so much enthusiasm out there. The reality is that these first few months of the school year are very busy - family’s getting used to the new rhythms of the year, fall sports, plus many Friday’s are already scheduled- parent/teacher conferences, Halloween, Annual Board/Faculty conference, Winter Faire, etc.
With all that said, weekly Chess Club doesn’t officially begin until January. However, I do want to get together for at least two sessions before Winter Break - most likely one in November and one in December. This will give those who have been in Chess Club before a chance to reconnect over the board, as well as give those who would like to try it out an opportunity to see if it’s something they want to continue pursuing.
Check back here in the Tuesday Notice in the next week or two, and I will make those dates official.
Thank you for your patience. Enjoy these last warmish days. - Mr. Monda
The Siskiyou School
Email: office@siskiyouschool.org
Website: www.siskiyouschool.org
Location: 631 Clay Street, Ashland, OR, USA
Phone: 541-482-8223