- Our Thoughts are with Japan: Midland extends its deepest sympathy to the people of Japan and neighboring nations following the disastrous earthquake and tsunami. The Common Ground Service Club is organizing a fundraiser to raise money that will be donated to Direct Relief International for its efforts in aiding Japan. The Club has asked for any works of art, including metals and ceramics, that can be donated for this cause. The donated art, along with baked goods, will be sold to raise the funds.
- Senior Thesis Projects: Satisfactory completion of a senior thesis is a graduation requirement for all Midland seniors. The project represents the culmination of seniors' education within Midland's academic program. Click here to see the list of senior thesis topics for the Class of 2011.
- Raku Firing: On Tuesday, visiting ceramic artist Mike McNutt took students through the traditional Japanese method of firing known as Raku. Raku involves firing pots quickly, taking them out of the kiln red hot, and placing them in a can filled with newspapers or other organic combustibles, which is in turn quickly covered to reduce oxygen. The results are always variable and surprising, and everyone had a lot of fun seeing how their pots came out of the can.
- To Be a Midland Dog: Many of us have said that being a dog at Midland has got to be like a slice of heaven. What do they do?
- Visiting Author: On Thursday, students in Cory Cramer's English 9 class were treated to a visit by author Valerie Hobbs. Valerie gave a presentation about her life and how she got into writing, followed by a writer's workshop on the power of descriptive writing that involved tangerines.
- Professional Photographer: Kimerlee Curyl visited Midland's Foal Training Class and took some amazing photos. Click here to see them. You will need to type in the password: Celeste.
- Garden Tractors: Last week Diana, Annie and Allen Russell (former faculty member) visited the farm. Diana and Allen were down from Idaho to see their daughter Annie, son in law Andy Grider, and granddaughter Marley. We have two Ford 8N tractors working on the farm - one that was recently donated by the Isaacson family, and the other 8N was a Midland tractor that Allen remembers as one of two working tractors that were here when he was teaching in the 1960s.
- Spanish IV Honors Class Field Trip: On Monday, March 14th, Spanish teacher Paul Gelles took his Spanish IV Honors class on an evening field trip in the Santa Ynez Valley. With William Faulkner's famous phrase in mind, "The past is never dead. It's not even past," the class (Shue Him Lau '11, Mariah Chen '11, Ruby Goldberg '11, Diego Marcogliese '13, Luke Carpenter '12, Erin Williams-Tyler '12 and Pebbles Gonzalez '13) visited three important sites for understanding the past and present. First, the class visited the Chumash Tribal Hall and was met by Nakia Zavala, who was running a culture class for Chumash youth. Then, two elders, Adelina Alva-Padilla and Dolores Cross, explained some of the tribe's history and its current educational initiatives. Adelina spoke of her life experiences and her current role as spiritual leader of the tribe, and students left with some amazing stories. They also gained an appreciation of the ways in which Spanish was once the dominant language of the valley and how English came to replace it. The next stop was Mission Santa Ynez, established in 1804, where students attended mass in Spanish and toured the grounds. The mission was the first and only major building in the valley for over fifty years, and students gained a further appreciation for the Spanish influence in the valley. Then it was off to Mattei's Tavern, established in 1886, to get a sense of the western heritage of the valley (Mattei's was an important stop in the stagecoach and train routes) and represented the new-found dominance of English over Spanish after California became a state. But it was not all work for the intrepid students: mud pie and creme brulee made for a sweet end to the evening's activities.
- Blue Rooster Telecom: Midland has switched to Blue Rooster Telecom, which has tripled our bandwidth access to the internet and updated our phone system. Click here to visit Blue Rooster Telecom's website, and see a photo of Jill Brady and Phil Hasseljian with "Blue Roo." * Students can now call home within the US for free in 2 locations: a phone in Main House, and the other on the outside of Main House.
- Juniors Head to Mascota: The juniors embark on Monday for their two-week cultural exchange trip to Mascota, Jalisco, Mexico.
- Athletics:
Lacrosse - Congratulations to the Midland Boys' Lacrosse team on winning their first 2 games! Midland beat York on Friday, 14-4. Riley Martin '11 had 5 goals, Charlie Lehman '13 had 3, Emmet Yeazell '13 had 3, and Marcus Schmidt '12, Estevan Murillo '11, Peter King '12 and Kendrick Holmes '12 each had one. Midland also beat Dunn on Wednesday, 14-2. Charlie had 5 goals, Riley had 4, Emmet had 2, and Brian Bang '11, Marcus and Peter each had one. Click here to see photos taken by Diego Marcogliese '13 of the game against York.
See Midland's sports section online for the Lacrosse schedules and updated photographs.
- Helpful Contact Information:
Upper Yard: 805-688-6075 (Boys)
Lower Yard: 805-686-1847 and 805-688-7435 (Girls)
Lapmaster Phone: 805-284-8089
All faculty email addresses are:first initial of first name followed by last name @midland-school.org
Example: wlong@midland-school.org
- TO REQUEST A PHOTO: If you would like the original digital file of any photo, please email Karen Readey.
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