SPRING 2021
THE MUSTANG ROUNDUP CONNECTING GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS WITH MAYFIELD JUNIOR SCHOOL
The “Can Do” Approach Over the last few weeks, the Mayfield Junior School campus has found a distinctive rhythm and pace as students in grades K-8 have gradually returned for in-person learning. Despite a setback in early December due to rising COVID numbers and hospitalizations, we moved forward as things improved with a “can do” spirit focusing on our community’s depth and width. Can we bring kids and teachers to campus safely? Can we use the space we have efficiently, creatively, and with purpose? Can we return to in-person learning with the same passionate energy and care that has sustained us through the upheaval of the last year? We could.
Welcome! Grandparents and special friends play a vital role in our community, as loving supporters of our students and their education. We hope you enjoy reading about what's new at Mayfield Junior School and the many ways you can stay involved!
Since the 2020-21 school year began, the goal has been returning to campus when safe and prepared to do so. While learning was strong in remote, there is no substitution for in-person interaction and an active classroom's collective energy. Bringing nearly 500 kids to campus safely, however, was no easy task. Our community’s well-established resourcefulness, teamwork, and tenacity went a long way. Following local and state guidelines, systems were put in place, protocols and procedures posted, and campus enhancements such as air purifiers and touchless water faucets purchased, all to keep our community safe. As things progressed, K-2 returned in midFebruary, grades 3-4 the second week of March, grades 5-6 the next week, and grades 7-8 beginning an alternating days schedule on March 22. With all-hands-on-deck, it has been both a heroic and humbling effort. Daily health screenings are required, plus temperature checks on arrival, hula hoop spaces sit securely on the field to mark 6ft distance, and hand sanitizer and hand-washing stations are strategically placed. Indoor spaces were rearranged and adapted, staff and administrators enlisted as faculty partners, and to assist with carpool, extra community support associates were hired, directional paths marked in courtyards and hallways, and segmented outdoor spaces (including the head of school’s backyard) assigned. Teaching and learning have their own adjustments and challenges. Students are grouped in small cohorts and must spend 50% of their time outside. Faculty received high flex teaching training to accommodate those who continued the year in remote while also engaging the students physically in front of them. With “roomies” and “zoomies” together, teachers are juggling direct teaching with Zoom limitations while keeping everyone in the mix.
For all the pivoting and extra time and care, the teachers know and see the benefit of in-person instruction and time on campus. Most importantly, everyone remains committed to providing all the elements of a Holy Child education. Enrichment classes such as music and art continue with the teachers in remote. Although team sports and group activities are still on hold, PE coaches bring students to the field for conditioning with obstacle courses, jump ropes, and even special “Jedi” training for K-2. The middle school schedule was adjusted early in the year to accommodate the exploration of student interests. “Be Clubs,” which are held Friday afternoons and meet via Zoom, are a combination of student voice and choice, unstructured play, and affinity. There are over 25 clubs and collectives — including activities like Baking Club, cultural identity and education activism in the BASC Black American Student Collective, and outreach in the Helping Hands club — allowing students to connect across different grade levels based on a certain interest, hobby or connection. Each club or collective is founded and led by students, with the assistance of a faculty advisor.
All of the above may sound a bit like organized chaos, and it does take a village, yet it also provides a long-needed and hopeful “normalness” on campus. There is the sound of laughter and youthful chatter, the happy waves of hello, exuberant running on the field, full enjoyment of the playground, interaction and spontaneity. The students are the soul of our school, and their presence is both restorative and invigorating. We use the word “joyful” a lot around here. It is what we aspire towards in all aspects of learning and being, in growing in faith, in confidence, in skill. The universal nature of joy sustains us. If we can see, feel it, even these days, we’ve done something right. Working towards it, sustaining it, and letting it work its magic is something we most definitely can do.
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THE MUSTANG ROUNDUP
SPRING 2021
MJS BENEFIT 2021
EVENTS
Let the Good Times Roll!
Upcoming Events and Performances
Save the date for our virtual Benefit on Saturday, May 1! While we know we won’t be able to gather in person for this year’s Benefit, we are excited to celebrate this once-a-year tradition virtually, on the evening of Saturday, May 1st at 7:00pm on mayfieldjs.org/benefit. Benefit Chairs Mary Cole ’98, P ’26, ’28 and Rebekah Wong P ’25, ’26, ’28 have been hard at work with their committee of parent volunteers, planning a New Orleans-themed evening in support of our special school. Benefit proceeds are invested in the MJS Endowment, Mayfield’s most powerful resource for long-term strength and health. A strong Endowment ensures that MJS can remain steadfast under any circumstances and continue to offer Holy Child education at the highest caliber for students today, tomorrow, and beyond.
May 1, 2021 7:00pm Let the Good Times Roll! Benefit 2021
There are many ways to participate in this year’s Benefit. Reserve a party kit, including dinner for two, and pick it up from campus before you tune in to the live virtual event on May 1st! Enjoy the weeklong online auction, open from Monday April 26th to Sunday May 2nd! More details on how to participate can be found on www.mayfieldjs.org/benefit. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
May 13, 2021 6:00pm Spring Concert
*Dates listed above reflect preliminary plans for school events and performances. Please regularly check the school calendar at www.mayfieldjs.org/calendar for the most upto-date schedule information.
ANNUAL FUND
Support MJS The Annual Fund supports the programs and experiences that make a Mayfield education special. We are proud of our community’s strong commitment to the Annual Fund! Each year grandparents contribute nearly $100,000 to the Mayfield Annual Fund, supporting the school’s current operating budget and providing resources to enrich teaching, inspire learning, and fortify the strong educational experience offered at MJS. To make a gift to the Mayfield Annual Fund, please visit www.mayfieldjs.org/support or contact Associate Director of Advancement, Jessica Jones, at jjones@mayfieldjs.org
IN REMEMBRANCE
Father Alan Philip, C.P.
Father Alan passed away on March 4th, 2021. Our MJS community is saddened by the loss of Father Alan Philip, who passed away on the morning of March 4th, 2021. Father Alan presided over many MJS masses through the years and served as a model of compassion, forgiveness, hospitality, prayer, and sacrifice for us all. Many will remember his annual blessing of grandparents and special friends from head to toe at the MJS Grandparents and Special Friends Day Mass. A digital prayer card commemorating this blessing can be found at www.mayfieldjs.org/grandparents. In addition to being a devoted priest, a huge Chicago Cubs fan, and a master joke teller, Father Alan was also a published author. He wrote books entitled, The Many Facets of Sunday Mass, From Blues to Smiles to Joy, and The Ten Things You Must Do Before You Die: The Ultimate Bucket List. His books are rich in lessons rooted in the basic goodness of human beings and our capacity to grow. Let us all follow in the wisdom of Father Alan and his faith in the beauty and goodness of God’s creation. Mayfield Junior School ï 405 South Euclid Avenue ï Pasadena, California 91101 626.796.2774 ï www.mayfieldjs.org
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