- San Francisco Gathering for Alumni/ae, Parents and Friends: Midland's annual Northern California gathering will be held next Friday, February 10th. Click here to view the invitation.
- Midland Welcomes Max Merkin '13! On Sunday, Midland welcomed Max, who is joining the junior class. Max is from Claremont, CA.
- New Semester: Monday, January 30th marked the first day of the second semester for the 2011-12 school year at Midland. School Prefects Savannah Bryant '12 and Marcus Schmidt '12 worked with faculty member Johnny Ninos on assigning new jobs to all students for the second semester. Seniors have done a great job leading in the transition to new posts.
- Midlanders on the Big Screen: On Sunday, Ben Munger '79 and Garden Intern Serena Whitridge went to see the film, "Soil Solutions", which was part of the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The film was a documentary of farmers and ranchers and what they are doing to improve carbon sequestration by changing grazing and soil management on farms. Mariah Chen '11 and Ben were interviewed in the film and had their 10 seconds of fame!
- Student Life Fund Invests in Africa: After creating a $1000 Kiva account last year with money from the student life fund, this month the student council heard proposals from seniors Luke Carpenter and Savannah Cooley as to how the money in the account should be reinvested to support microfinance in the developing world. All students in Don Redl's two sections of Microeconomics had presented such proposals in class, and Luke's and Savannah's were voted the best presentations in their respective sections. In the end, the council endorsed Luke's proposal to re-invest the money in loans focusing on Africa. Congratulations to both Luke and Savannah on their excellent work!
- Grass Mountain Soccer Training: The JV boys' soccer team hiked Grass Mountain on Wednesday. Freshmen Cole Lucas, Cody Radlick, Miles Crawford, Anthony Tamaribuchi and Oliver Rothenberg along with Coach Cory Cramer summited and got a great view. Cory reports, "Anthony professed his great love of Midland PB&J sandwiches."
- Financial Aid: Click here for application directions for new and returning families interested in applying for financial aid for the 2012-2013 school year. The financial aid application deadline is February 15. If you have any questions about the financial aid process, please contact Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Amy Graham.
- Sustainable Collaboration: As Serena Whitridge from Hotchkiss School concluded her two week visit to Midland, a small group of students and faculty gathered in Ireland House to share thoughts on sustainability as they enjoyed dinner and discussion around the Graham's dinner table. Heidi Ohms '15, Miles Dakin '13, Sunny Pang '14, Max Merkin '13 and Miguel Provencio '13 joined Ben Munger '79, Marguerite Graham, Derek Harwell '88 and Lise Goddard in responding to Serena's wise observations and questions about Midland. The group discussed issues around sustainability, from grazing practices to recycling to using our produce in daily meals, and encouraging good stewardship of the earth. Serena noted the many ways in which the school weaves these efforts into the curriculum, and the group considered how we might share in collaboration with other boarding school communities. Serena and Marguerite reflected on their experiences in East Coast independent schools explaining that even though there are more boarding schools in the East, and many in close proximity to each other, getting time to share with faculty at neighboring schools is still a challenge. This is just a beginning for Midland and Hotchkiss, a beginning which the group hopes will grow into more opportunities for sharing experiences and knowledge with schools in the California as well as other areas of the country.
- Foal Training Update: The three mustang foals from local horse sanctuary Return to Freedom continue in their education at Midland. Anna Moiseyeva '13 works steadily with Holitopa, the small three year old filly. "Holly," as she is known, is a quick study, but not without a few challenges along the way. Emma Lichtwardt '13 and tiny Runner are an excellent pair. Working very slowly, Emma has developed a trusting relationship with Runner, who is the least confident of the foals. Sunny Pang '14 continues progress with fearless Spotted Bird, or Bu-ding (Boo-DING), which means "Patch" in Chinese.
- Midlanders Compete in Spartan Race: Congratulations to faculty members Don Redl and Johnny Ninos on taking first place in the 2-person relay Spartan Race in So Cal on Sunday! Juan Mesones '13 and Cory Cramer also competed. Midland is the perfect training location!
- Hats for a Cause: David Salehpour '14 announced at assembly on Tuesday that he was raising money to register for an upcoming marathon. He is selling hats that his mom has knitted to raise funds. Any funds raised beyond what he needs to register will be donated to CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County), where his cousin underwent chemotherapy for cancer.
- Local Talk on Local Birds: On Thursday evening, juniors Leah Kaplan, Ashley Johnson, Miguel Provencio, Renata Lozito, Selena Wrightson and Emma Lichtwardt along with Shawn McVicar, Lise Goddard, and Emily and Derek Harwell '88 went to a talk at the Solvang Public Library given by Walt Koenig, a Senior Scientist at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology. The talk was on his nearly forty years of studying Acorn Woodpeckers on the central coast of California. Topics included California's Oaks, the woodpeckers' diet (including acorns), and the unique nesting groups in which they live. Those who went brought home a new perspective on one of our more visible and vocal local birds.
- February Break Travel Plans: Please remember no departures leaving Santa Barbara earlier than 8:00 AM on Saturday, February 18th. Friday evening departure is limited to students whose parents pick them up from Midland. Break begins on Saturday, February 18th. Break ends on Sunday, February 26th. Students must return to Midland and be ready for evening assembly and dinner by 6:00 PM. Thank you!
- Athletics: See Midland's sports section online for a full schedule and updated photographs.
Basketball: Thacher defeated Midland on Wednesday. Luke Carpenter '12 scored 12 points and Charlie Lehman '13 scored 10 for Midland. Midland plays Laguna Blanca at home on Saturday, 2/4, at 2:00 PM.
Soccer: Last Saturday Varsity girls traveled to Ojai for their last away game of the season. There they beat Oak Grove for yet another win. This Saturday they are playing Ojai Valley at home.
Boys' soccer lost 3-0 at Laguna Blanca and 5-0 at home to Dunn. A busy home schedule this week: Friday against Oak Grove, Saturday versus Ojai Valley, and next Wednesday against Thacher.
New Sports Photos on Website: Click here to view photos of the coed soccer scrimmage at Anacapa School. Click here to view photos of the Girls' soccer game against Cate. Click here to view photos of the Basketball team versus Thacher. Click here to see photos of the Boys' soccer game against Dunn.
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