Community Life
Our school is blessed. This is true in countless ways, but from where I stand, it is the community — the kids, the 
parents, and the staff — that comprise this blessing. To live each school day surrounded by people who hold the best intentions for our kids, who regard educating them as a personal passion, is not only refreshing, but truly inspiring. They uphold a standard for parents that encourages us to strive to do our best for our kids. In turn, we bring our children to them and are just as passionate about creating a supportive and nourishing environment for our teachers, which ultimately feeds the children. In this way, together we create a healthy culture of gratitude, cooperation, efficiency, and productivity as a result of an outpouring of healthy school culture. There is both opportunity and expectation for us all to find our niche, to participate and appreciate each aspect of our school community.
Festival Life
As Steiner teaches, moving from the whole to the parts, each greater good occurs from the works of smaller groups down to the individual. This is true in our school community as you can see from the festival life that celebrates the seasons as well as each other. It trickles down to 
the individual community members who are baking with love, laboring with gusto, or sewing with intent concentration for someone other than themselves. It is ultimately this giving from which we can then receive. And when we then receive, it is met with that much more gratitude, and the impulse expands outward.
This beautiful rhythm of giving and receiving is what makes our community life shine so brightly and flow so strongly.
The festivals are an opportunity for celebration, a chance to revel in the joy of the season –be it in reverence or jubilation — to bring gifts of food or quiet presence, but always to bring with gratitude, joy, and goodness. Participation is important in creating and volunteering, as well as in appreciating what others have created for you. The major festivals at MPCS at this time are the Harvest Festival, May Faire, the Spiral of Light, and the Lantern Walk for the younger children.
Stewardship
Stewardship and teacher support inspire a giving impulse to do for others in a way that generates grace within yourself. Giving freely of your time and talents for the sake of the school upholds a goodness and generosity which fosters a gentle pride and the camaraderie of service. This include things like campus Stewardship Days, February Conference, and Grandparents’ Day.
Volunteerism
Perhaps your talent doesn’t include sewing or sawing, cooking or car line monitoring. Perhaps your talents are in policy or politics, fundraising or grant writing, master planning or…? The opportunities are endless as we need a vast array of talents to support our school, not only internally to our own community, but also to the people who are unfamiliar with our school. We need people who can see long term and big picture as well as the awe and wonder inspiring our children.
Classroom help offers a glimpse into the everyday life of the children at school. Often this is a bittersweet proposition as many parents love and appreciate the beauty and depth of the curriculum and the reverence in which the teacher brings it; however, many leave wishing they had had the opportunity themselves to grow and learn in such an environment. By offering help in the classroom, the parents themselves glean bits of the education that many wish they had for themselves.
This article was written by Brigitte Johnson, MPCS parent.