MIDLAND MIRROR
TEATIME
ASMOKEYSITUATION
ByAva ‘25
Notlongaftertheseniors'joyfulreturntocampus,onthenightofAugust28, 2023,ataround9:10pm,ReginaButala(DirectorofHorsePrograms&Director ofRangelandManagement&Conservation)noticedsomethingratherpeculiarin the distance on her nightly walk to check the Midland chicken coop Across KimptonField,shesawwhatappearedtobe“aperfectcolumnofsmokecoming from what looked like Dan's backyard.” Considering that, “the glow from the flames lit up the oak trees in a perfect circle.” She called faculty member Dan Susmantoverifywhetherornotitwassomesortofbonfire.Around9:40pm, awaiting Dan’s call, she watched the smoke plume and flames grow, and immediatelycalled911andnotifiedHeadofSchoolChristopherBarnes
Withinafewshortmoments,Midland’sfireprotocolwasinitiated Contraryto whatexternalnewssourcesclaimed,theMidlandcommunitywasnotevacuated, but rather instructed to shelter in place. Students, faculty, children, and pets assembledinStillman,andwereallaccountedfor.Christopherremainedindirect contactwiththeChiefoftheFireDepartmentthroughoutthenight.Midland transit vans were ready in case of an essential evacuation, and local alums and neighbors prepared standby trailers for the Midland herd. The fire department arrived20minutesonsceneafterthephonecallwasmade,andtheyquicklygotto work maintaining and minimizing the fire After the fire was under control, students and faculty were allowed to return to their cabins and homes around midnight
ThefiremainlyaffectedthehillsidebehindDan'shouse,a formerlylushhilloverlookingKimptonfield,theMidland community is extremely lucky that it did not spread any further Regina reported that, “The fire looked so big at night and then in the morning it looked like such a small areahadactuallyburned.”TheMidlandcommunitydida phenomenaljobremainingcalmandstickingtogetherinthe face of adversity. We are extremely grateful for the fire department for keeping us safe, as well as our neighbors who helped out! Midland plans to conduct a prescribed burn this October, which will reduce vegetation that has grownsinceourlastcontrolledburnover20yearsago.This will keep our campus safe by reducing the fuel load and thereforeprotectourcampusbymitigatingwildfirerisks.
MIDLAND MIRROR
COMMUNITY
MEETTHEHEAD PREFECTS
ByLyssa‘26
Thestartoftheyearwasanewandexcitingtime,inthesensethatforthe Classof2026,itwasthefirsttimeinahavingnotone,buttwoheadprefects! Mostpeopleseemquitecontentwithhowthingsaregoingsofar,asnodoubt David‘24andAyanna‘24arerepresentingthestudentswellduringCoffee Tree,evenastheyadjusttothenewexpectations.
When not exploring the property on both foot and horseback, Midland’s Lower Yard Head Prefect, Ayanna ‘24 can often be seen around campus alongsideherloyalpup,Lula.PriortocomingtoMidland,Ayannagrewupin Los Angeles, California She does it all, tackling the roles of Head Prefect, Steward,andCo-HeadofHorsesalongwithAlison24’ Shewasdescribedby a member of Horse Crew as “ open to conversation, kind, hardworking, dedicated,andoverallprettygreat.”AtthestartofherJunioryear,Ayanna attended semester school at High Mountain Institute (HMI), a school foundedbyMollyandChristopherBarnes.AtHMI,Ayannaspentalotof timeonbackpackingtripsandsaysthatalthoughtherewerehighsandlows, the overall experience was good. Now back at Midland, Ayanna hopes to “changethenarrativesurroundingtheHeadPrefectsasfiguresofdiscipline for the student body, and start bridging the gap between students and faculty”
Inthelatehalf-holidayafternoon,hookeduptoanampinHayBarn,playing guitartobeheardthroughoutMiddleYard,isMidland’sUpperYardHead Prefect, David ‘24, from Santa Ana, California. Along with being Head Prefect, David is also Captain of Midland's Soccer team, and Co-Head of Latinx, along with Darien ‘24. Community members describe him as a “strongleaderwhoactswithintention.”Perhapsthemostmemorablestory peoplewilltellyouaboutDavidismostdefinitelythetimehewasleftona mountainduringhisJunioryear.FRESHSporthadtakenacaruptoseea rareevent:snowinSantaBarbaraCounty Excitedtoseesnowforthefirst time,Davidventuredoff,onlytocomebackanddiscoverthatthecarhad left Luckily,Hemadeitbacktocampussafely Thisyear,asHeadPrefect, David hopes to give the student body a positive and memorable Midland experience.
David during an OL hike | Image by Dan Susman
Image provided by Ayanna
MIDLAND MIRROR
SPORTS&ACTIVITIES
ALLAROUNDALL-STARS: VOLLEYBALL&CROSS COUNTRY
By Emma ‘26
Afteryearsofradiosilence,itseemstheMidlandsportsandactivities are due for a little update The fall sports season consists of competitivesports,CrossCountry,andLowerYardVolleyball Asfor activities, Midland offers Outdoor Leadership (OL), Farm, Maintenance,andHorseSport.OLventuredonafive-daytriptothe Sierras. Maintenance is full of handy folks who like to help out around campus. Farm is the ultimate athletic accomplishment: breakingdownbeanswithBrooklynnativeAidanKingandhisfierce newpuppyJett Horsesportislearninghowtobecompetentonthe ranchbyfirstestablishinghowtokeepyourhorse AlltheMidland sports have seen changes not only in their structure but also in the dynamics of their teams, such as in the current competitive sports withVolleyballandCrossCountry.
According to Cecile ‘25, a new addition to the Junior class and CaptainoftheVarsityVolleyballteamalongwithMattox‘24,“The Midland Volleyball team prioritizes players as people not just as athletes”Robin‘24andCathy‘24arecaptainsoftheJuniorVarsity (JV) Volleyball team You can always find them curating a positive environmentastheyblastmusicduringpracticeonKimptonField Thisyear,theVolleyballteamshaveplayedseveralgamesalreadyand JViscrushingit.Varsityhashadmanyclosegamesandisstartingto getintothefullswingoftheseason,readytocompetewithwhichever schoolcomesnext.Midlandsports,overtheyears,havekeptthesame enthusiastic and positive energy that helps motivate our athletes throughoutsportsseasons.
ThisenergyisalsomostdefinitelyperpetuatedbyourCrossCountry team,whichismadeupofthepeoplewhowanttoruninoppressive heat,fullsun,feelingthemoisturebeingsuckedfromtheirskin.They arebandedtogetherinthatinterest.Lastyear,asStella‘26workedto finishahardrace,everyteammemberwhohadalreadycrossedthe lineranwithher,someonthesidesofthetrackandsomerightnextto her.Theycheeredheronuntiltheyweresoreinthethroat.Onlylater didtheMidlandteamrealizethiswasactuallynotallowedinraces.
As Teryn ‘24, Captain of the Lower Yard Cross Country team,stated,“Thementalityoftheteamthisyear,aswellas last,havebeenverypositiveandfun,buildingtheenergyofall therunners”Inthefirstraceoftheseason,Midlandplaced7 people,LowerYardandUpperYardcombined,whofinished inthetopfiveoftheirrace.Welookforwardtobringingas manyrunnersaswecantothenextupcomingrace.
The Midland sports season has just started and everyone, ultimatefarmathleteornot,canexpectanotherfuntermtobe aschaoticaspossible.
Varsity at an away game | Image by John Isaacson ‘94
Cross Country in action | Image by Genevieve Herrick ’97
MIDLAND MIRROR
LAND
SomepartsofMidlandhavebeenherefordecades,whichcomes withafewdrawbacks.Tobecompliantwithnewbuildingcodes, The new cabins in Upper Yard are required to have air conditioning and heating The Chapel and Munger Commons needed new metal roof replacements to be up to fire code, and every building in the school has a shiny new number plate so firefighterscanfindtheirwayaroundeasily.
NEWCHANGESIN UPPERYARD
ByJay‘26
Midlandisaschoolrootedintradition,butthatdoesnot meanthatthereisnotroomforchange.Inthepastseveral months, a plethora of people have been working on renovations around campus–the removal and subsequent completereconstructionofUpperYardnearthefield,new pergolasintheLowerYardfreshmenquad,smallupdateson buildingsinMiddleYard,andaduplexforfacultyresidence
Most exciting, of course, are the twelve new cabins in Upper Yard. They thematically match the new bathroom we got last year,andthenewfacultyduplex(whichlookslikeacarboncopy oftheoneoutsideLowerYard.)
The new cabins are much more spacious, with around 300 squarefeetofspace,whiletheoldcabinshadlessthan200 This isaprettybigspace,withlotsofroomforstorageofallsortsof goodies.Pyp‘27commentedonhowthespaceallowsfor“each persontopersonalizeit,withalotofpersonality.”
Cabins being placed with a crane | Image by Heather Carreiro
New cabin interior | Image by Cavan Hadley ‘90
New cabin exterior | Image by Cavan Hadley ‘90
MIDLAND MIRROR
RakuRevival
ArtworkByRuby‘25
StudentVoices
Overthecourseoflastyear,IworkedwithArtFacultyFaithNygren to revive raku firings at Midland. Raku is a centuries-old Japanese ceramicfiringtechniquewherethepiecesaretakenwhilestillred-hot outofthekilnandplacedintoareductionchamber (bucketsfilled withSpanishmoss,drygrass,newspaperandotherfoundmaterials). Thechamber'scontentsarelitonfire,leavinguniquefinishesonthe rakuware PicturedherearesomerakuteacupsthatImadeandfired withFaithattheendoflastyear I’velovedexperimentingwithnew glazes,techniques,andorganicmaterialsthroughoutthisprocess,and Ican’twaittoinvolvemoreofthecommunityinthecomingyears!
ApoembyAnonymous
i want to be a bird flying into oblivion
restless thoughts floating on my wings
fluttering through my dreams swimming through the fog of my mind
Spaghetti
ApoembySarah‘26
Raw noodles are brittle
They snap like my bones
They snap like me under pressure and alone
Watching the boiling water I start to draw parallels
To my anger which bubbles
And pops and swells
I check if the noodles are cooked
By throwing them against the wall
Like I do to my head when my dopamine stalls
As the noodles are eaten
My thoughts consume me
My doubts flood my brain
But all I can do is listen idly
I can’t vocalize my pains
So I push them back down
Down my throat
And to the bottom of my stomach to drown
Each bite gets harder to swallow
And though I eat more I get thinner
Yet despite this, every night
I have spaghetti for dinner
MIDLAND MIRROR
HeadofSchoolNote
Thebeginningoftermwasbrightlylitbytheglowofalateevening3-5acrewildlandfireinSahmCanyon-aterrifyingfew minutesfollowedbyalotofwaitingastheSantaBarbaraFireDepartmentrapidlygottheblazeundercontrol Thegiftwasafew hoursforalltheseniorsandfacultymillingaroundStillman,waitingtogetherandbondingovertheyeartocome-aratheratypical buthighlyeffectiveonboardingexercise.Soonenough,thedailyrhythmoflifeatMidlandprevailed,andwesettledintothe202324schoolyear.Wewelcomednewstudentsintothefoldsofthecommunityandtheterrainoftheproperty.Sharedexperiencesin classes,thejobsprogram,andinouractivitiesandathleticsarethefoundationwebuilduponeachyear.UpperYardisrenewedand transformed,andawonderfuladditiontothecampus…andtheHeadofSchoolishereinstartinganinsurgencycampaigntostarta newtraditionofalternatingthelivingyardseachyear,soeveryonegetstimewithawoodstove!Anotherhighlightofthetermhas beenhostingfourfantasticcandidatesfortheHeadsearchprocess Ofcoursewehaveallbeenworkinghard,andwewerelooking forwardtotheOctoberbreak
Midland Mirror Team | Image by Heather Carreiro