MIDLAND MINUTES
What a week!
  • The Foundations in Visual Art students had a treat this past Wednesday.  Visiting the US from Denmark, basket weaver Steen Madsen shared his passion and expertise for working with willow.  Showing images of his work along with hands-on demos on the basics of the craft, students came away with their own willow soap dishes and other creative pieces. We were lucky enough to have Steen visit Midland after teaching a 5-day practicum to Cal Arts' students in Los Angeles. In addition to willow basketry, Steen's other works involve large scale outdoor installations, and 'Dionysian Stage,' a 14-foot willow nest that he helped Martin Kercels, artist and father of Kirby Kercels '13, fabricate for a show at the Pompidou Center in Paris.  See his amazing collection of work. Thank you so much, Steen, and thanks to Kirby's parents, Mary Collins and Martin Kercels for arranging this special visit.

  • Rethinking Utopia: On Friday and Saturday, students in Sarah Campbell's Utopia/Dystopia class presented their "Rethinking Utopia" projects, looking at existing movements seeking to effect positive change in the world. Projects included Bhutan, the Twin Oaks community in Virginia, the ZEGG community in Germany, and the legacy of the Grateful Dead.

  • Relief for Haiti: On Thursday, Kevin Jung '11 presented Direct Relief International with a check for $2,000.00 that he raised. Local news KEYT covered the event, as well as several local newspapers. Excellent job, Kevin!

  • General Major Maciek, a member of the Sudanese Peoples' Liberation Army (SPLA) visited Midland recently, a special guest of the family of Marcus Schmidt '12.  General Major Maciek spoke at length about what the future holds for Sudan.  In an entertaining yet sobering lecture, he discussed with Midland's students, which included all of the sophomores (who take World Studies) and others who wanted to hear from him, the difficulties of establishing a lasting peace in Sudan, and other parts of Africa.  A magnanimous man and speaker, his experiences and speaking ability made for a wonderfully informative evening, and gave every listener much to think about.  Whether the students and adults agreed with his views, he presented a model of not only how complex relations in Africa are (particularly between non-Christians, Christians, and Islamic fundamentalists), but also how one man with a huge heart can work to affect positive change in a bleak landscape charged with tension.

  • "Schools Going Green" Conference: Midland was invited to give a keynote talk on "Evolving a Culture of Sustainability" at the at the Second Annual "Schools Going Green" Conference, a meeting of southern California schools to discuss and collaborate on sustainability initiatives. Lise Goddard and Will Graham gave the talk while Heather Waldroup '10, Mariah Chen '11, and Kirby Kersels '13 answered questions following the talk. This year's conference was hosted at Besant Hill School. The Midland group returned feeling energized and uplifted. "We were delighted by the positive response by our cousin schools at this conference, who appreciate and respect Midland for our long-term environmental ethic. Our colleagues expressed their pride for Midland in winning the Governor's Award," says Lise Goddard.

  • Homeless Issues in Santa Barbara: Ken Williams, father of Shane Williams '12, and a social worker in Santa Barbara, was featured recently in the news, where he shared some information about the current homeless situation in our area and what we can do to help.

  • When Art Meets Science: Thursday evening, art teacher Johnny Ninos and Physics teacher Chris Rea accompanied students, William Johnston-Carter '10, Anna Moiseyeva '13, Nessa Ryan '11,
    and Peter King '12 along with curious faculty members Paul Gelles and Marguerite Graham to view the David Bermant Collection at the Bermant family ranch in Santa Ynez. This pre-eminent private assemblage of kinetic art exemplifies what can happen when art and physics meet. Although this is a private collection, the Bermant Foundation generously opened the gallery for a Midland tour.  Many thanks to Katherine and the Foundation for hosting these inspired Midlanders!

  • Bay Area Admissions Gathering: Midland will have a gathering for prospective families at the home of Micah Kalem '13 in San Leandro, which is just south of Oakland, on Thursday, February 4th from 6:30-8 PM. If you know of prospective families who live in the Bay Area and may want to attend, please send contact information to Derek asap. Thank you!

  • Athletics:
    Soccer: Varsity boys soccer lost to Dunn, 4-0, and tied Ojai Valley, 3-3, with two goals from John Lee '11 and one from Estevan Murillo '11, while Jack Marcus '12 had two assists. The tie kept Midland ahead of Ojai Valley in the Condor League standings with a record of 1-6-1.
    Basketball: Varsity Basketball played Cate Wednesday at home, losing by six. Midland fought back from a dozen down early in the third quarter to tie it with two minutes left, when Cate's half court trap forced some key turnovers from which Midland couldn't recover.  Ted Kim '12 had 17 points in the 60-54 game. Thursday, in a night game against Dunn, Midland fired on all cylinders from the opening tip, running out to a 22-10 lead after one quarter.  Behind balanced scoring--four players in double figures, led by Kim's 20 and junior Evan Kidd's 20--Midland didn't lose steam over the next three quarters, and won 81-50.  Coach Svennungsen was particularly impressed by the attention to boxing out and to taking better care of the basketball, two things that have hampered earlier efforts. 
    JV Basketball lost two hard-fought games to Cate and Dunn. Coach Rogowski commended Charlie Lehman '13 for his aggressive hustle against Cate, and Micah Kalem '13 earned his first points of the year against Dunn. Big man Kirby Kersels '13 went 6 of 8 from the line against Cate and provided plenty of fierce rebounding.

    See the sports schedule and updated sports photos.

  • San Francisco Gathering: For those who live in the Bay area, please join us next Friday, February 5th, for our Alumni/ae, Parents and Friends Gathering.

  • Travel Plans: Juniors left this morning for Mascota, Mexico. Please be sure Jill Brady knows your child's travel plans for Winter Break!  Thank you.