Midland Mirror - February 2025

MIDLAND Vol. XCIII

Midland School

MIRROR

Los Olivos, California

February 2025

No. 2

Tea Time

Thanksgiving

By Jay ‘26 On November 26, the floodgates opened, and the masses of family, friends, and alumni drowned the 71-student school in work and festivities.

For many, Midland’s smaller size is part of the appeal. But once a year, we get an invasion of guests and must go out to Kimpton Field by Ireland House to fit 500 students, faculty, friends, and families in a crowd for grace. Midland’s classic tradition of hosting others for Thanksgiving is something that stretches back to 1932 when Midland was founded.

Faculy, Nhi and Dan, preparing food for the Thanksgiving Meal

At 2:30 pm, performances began with chapels from Miriam ‘28 and Seraphina ‘26. There was also wonderful music from students and faculty. After about an hour, students were granted leave to go off campus with their families. The next day was full of mini classes in which parents learned more about the classes their children go to every day, followed by another night off. Saturday had the usual Experiential Saturday schedule with many parents participating in offerings such as: visiting the burn zone from the Lake Fire; making ceramic pinch pots in the Art Room; meeting Midland’s herd at the new barn.

Kitchen Staff: José, Lucy, Gloria, and Lupita in Stillman Hall

The Wednesday before, sports were cancelled and the school held a work period where students and faculty alike scurried around, raking leaves and cleaning the muddy floors after a rainy week. A crew led by Nhi Nguyen, Mathematics Faculty, decorated Stillman and students set up tables for families to eat. On the big day, families arrived around 9:30 am and set out to the cross-country course for our fourth annual Turkey Trot. This year, Levi ‘27 took home a medal after running a personal best. Notably, faculty child Emerson placed fifth overall with a time of 22:22. At lunchtime, the Head of School, Hannah Nelson, delivered her first Thanksgiving assembly, and everyone quickly lined up to enjoy the delicious meal. The Thanksgiving feast consisted of turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, peas, veggies, gravy, and bread rolls, plus tables full of desserts brought by families and apple cider made by the family of Kielson ‘25.

Head Prefect, Trace ‘25, at the Thanksgiving Buffet

This year’s Thanksgiving was a welcome break in the extra long semester!

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By Amelie ‘27

Land: All Saints’ Day

Every Monday night of the second term, students claim they don’t need to do their homework because they know the next day will be All Saints’ Day. And when it isn’t, they just know it must be the next week. On Monday, November 4th, seventy students procrastinated their homework in the hope that classes would be cancelled the next day. At 8:49 pm, a quiet spread across Middle Yard as students anxiously waited to see if their suspicions were correct.

“BEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLL!!!” Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding…

Our “fire and flood drill” quickly turned into excited muttering as we planned our hikes for the next day. All Saints’ Day was originally named after the holiday, when the school was religious. It has always been celebrated with a day of canceled classes and mandatory hikes at Midland. Now that the school is secular, the name and tradition has stuck, but the date of this hiking holiday is a secret up until hours before, creating a surprise to look forward to. Each and every student went for a hike, some more ambitious than others.

Stewards, the Midland Outdoor Leaders, are given a mysterious few days warning to prepare a hike that they could lead community members on.

A group of students exploring the burn zone during All Saint’s Day

Those students were dropped off on the Catway, a dirt road on the far side of Zaca Peak and traversed the highline of our ridge, standing at the top of five elusive peaks before returning back to campus.

When interviewed, every single steward reflected that they loved seeing new and returning students alike enjoy the property in ways they probably wouldn’t otherwise. The nature of All Saints’ Day means that students of grades and experience levels explore corners of the property they most likely wouldn’t reach with people they may not regularly hike with.

Students and Dan, Dean of Experiential Learning, on Zaca Peak

This year, three groups went up Birabent Creek, one exploring for swimming holes, another hiking to the higher reaches of the drainage, and the final ID-ing native flora and fauna. A handful of students chose to give their feet the day off and travel by either mountain bike or horseback. Others chose to find places to picnic or watercolor on the ridges of the High Country trail. An ambitious group trekked to the peak of Coulter Pine Ridge, an aggressively steep mountain in our horizon line. The most ambitious hiking group, in regard to time and distance, attempted to stand at the peak of as many mountains in Zaca Ridge as they could in nine hours.

Students on All Saint’s Day

For those who returned to campus by 3:00 pm, snow cones awaited on Main House porch. And for those who didn’t, the hunger made dinner taste better than ever. Whether they hiked a mile or thirteen, every Midlander had a story to tell over dinner that night.

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By Jay ‘26

Horse Packing Trip

Eight students, led by Trail Bosses Hayden ‘26 and Kielson ‘25, left on horseback around noon on a breezy Saturday and rode from the barn past Upper Yard, around the Bowl Trail, and out to the corrals near Green Gate. It was a pleasant night with the horses, the cattle, a nice fireplace, and Gino’s Pizza, but once the fire went out it began to get a little chilly. Horse girls had to cuddle tight for warmth as temperatures reached below freezing.

A common occurrence at Midland, hardlucks are nights that students can spend out on the property, enjoying nature and switching up the normal routine. However, a hardluck preceded by a horseback ride and ending at the corrals near Tank Mesa had not been done for over a year before this one. It was an excellent experience and part of a farewell from Regina Butala, our Horse Program Director, who has since moved to a new ranch in San Diego.

Trail Boss Hayden ‘26 on the Trail

The morning of the hardluck was a little difficult, waking up at 6:00 AM with frost on the tents and having to feed and groom the horses.

Fortunately, everyone got back to campus in one piece, though, with the many numb hands and feet, it might not have felt like it. The senior breakfast crew treated the icy riders to a custom pancake with the Midland Horse Program logo. After a cold ride, chilly unsaddling, and teeth-chattering walk back to Stillman, fresh made pancakes were a perfect way to conclude the first horsepacking overnight of the academic year. Overall, the hardluck left students very cold but with the desire to continue rides and nights out on the property, hopefully when it is a little bit warmer, though.

By Matti ‘27

Community Dia de Los Muertos

On November 1st and 2nd, Midland students left pictures of beloved family, friends, and pets on our altar, welcoming their spirits to follow the golden trail of petals through the chapel door and up to our ofrenda. Beyond the marigolds and papel picado, Dia de Los Muertos at Midland is an opportunity for our Latinx affinity group to plan celebrations that encourage participation from and include the rest of our community.

This year, the preparation was kicked off when Latinx, along with many volunteers, worked together during a Sunday Half Holiday to create papel picado; a traditional Dia de Los Muertos decoration, made by cutting elaborate designs into colorful sheets of tissue paper. These were the decorations that adorned the walls of Chapel, as well as many other spaces throughout the rest of campus. Additionally, hundreds of marigold flowers were collected from the farm, their petals scattered around Chapel’s entrance for the occasion. The key element surrounding the preparation was the ofrenda put up inside chapel, such that it would be the first thing to catch your eye as you walked inside. On it, there lay plenty of food, decorations, and most importantly, pictures and photographs of people whom members of the Midland community wished to remember and commemorate even after their passings.

Chapel on Dia de Los Muertos

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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3) The day of this special holiday, prior to dinner, Melanie ‘26 and Julissa ‘26 shared with our community a series of heartfelt poems that elucidated the importance of celebrating this holiday, as well as the meaning it holds for a great deal of people. While the chapel may have been short, the community listened attentively, each comprehending the meanings in their own ways. Marcela ‘27 called it “a special moment to reflect on the real meaning of Dia de los Muertos.”

While Dia de Los Muertos at Midland may differ somewhat from how it is traditionally celebrated, it allows for culture and traditions to be shared within the Midland Community. Either way, I don’t think a single student would have changed the way we celebrated Dia de los Muertos this year at Midland.

Head Prefects

By Matti ‘27

Midland has always emphasized student leadership, the Head Prefect being an Trace ‘25, Midland’s Upper Yard Head Prefect was first integral role at Midland since the school’s beginning in 1932. It has, and drawn to Midland by our unique Outdoor Program, as well continues to be, one of the jobs that serves as the backbone of our community. as his desire to be surrounded by a strong community like For the duration of the 2024-25 school year, Tess ‘25 and Trace ‘25 are the two the one we have to offer here. Along with the title of Head seniors undertaking this responsibility, as well as uplifting our community. Prefect, some of the other roles Trace tackles are Steward, Students and Faculty alike believe the pair to be well suited for the Social Committee Member, and Head of Queercus, our responsibility. Levi ‘27 says, “Tess and Trace are great head prefects, I think they LGBTQIA+ alliance. Members of our community describe him as “a leader who really cares about making our are very nice and helpful to all people at Midland.” community more welcoming.” Last Spring, Trace planned a Midland Drag Show, including students from both yards as Drag Queens and makeup artists. He organized Stillman as a runway and even participated in the show himself, creating a community of inclusion for all students. Trace hopes to “bring a sense of joyful optimism” to everything he does as head prefect.

Head Prefect, Tess ‘25

Tess ‘25, Midland’s Lower Yard Head Prefect, came to Los Olivos from the Bay Area seeking the independence of a boarding school. In addition to the role of head prefect, she has also taken on the titles of Steward and Co-Head of Farm Crew along with AC ‘25. When not harvesting produce from our farm during the cold, often frosty, mornings with her faithful dog, Lula, she enjoys spending time cultivating her other interests inside the woodshop with various projects, as well as in the Midland outdoor program. This past semester, Tess hosted the largest student-led Hardluck in Midland history, bringing thirty out of thirtyfour Lower Yarders to the Res for a night full of baked potatoes, s’mores, Head Prefect, Trace ‘25 campfire games and stars. One of her goals is “to inspire students to take Together, as Head Prefects, a preeminent goal shared by advantage of all that Midland has to offer.” Her hardluck did just that. Amelie both Tess and Trace is to find fun and engaging ways to ‘27 said that it “set the tone for the year to come, inviting everyone into the support the Midland Community such as making desserts outdoor program to inspire appreciation of, interaction with, and connection to for the whole student body and, according to Trace, “going all out for spirit week.” the natural world.”

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Haywire in Hay Barn: The Halloween Dance

By Jay ‘26 Flashing lights, deafening music, rising dust clouds, and cheering throngs of students. Social Committee’s Halloween dance had found the perfect location in Hay Barn.

With only four days, Parker ‘25, Head of Social Committee, worked tirelessly night and day, working to plan out this club night.

The festivities were “very chaotic because the planning happened so last minute and I was doing it all on my own, but it ended up being very fun!” said Parker ‘25. The Midland Faculty were more than willing to volunteer for tasks like costume contest judging, trick-ortreat hosting, and clubs.

Students Trick-or-Treating during Club Night

The dance began at 8PM, which gave everyone enough time to go to their yards, trade candy, and get ready for the dance. Before, Midland dances would be hosted in Long House, but for this special occasion, the spider webs that filled Haybarn created an eerie Halloween atmosphere. As the music raged, students would arrive in groups with their friends for lip syncing battles and fun dance moves. A bowl of lollipops was generously put out for students to enjoy, but quickly disappeared, as if a monster had come and eaten it. But no, it was just EZ ‘26 acting as a monster, taking all the candy for himself.

Lucas ‘28, Michael ‘27, Morgan ‘25, and Honor ‘27 in costume

Before the dance, there were plenty of other Halloween activities like a costume contest after dinner assembly. The 12th Graders won the group category with a cast of Inside Out characters, and faculty kids and student dogs also made appearances. There was fortune telling at Heather Carreiro’s duplex, and students walked to various faculty homes for trick-or-treating.

Class of 2025 in costume

Gina Butala: The End of an Era

By Jay ‘26 Between the cows, the horses, the gas guzzling gator, and the raging horse girls, things are never quiet at the Kit Rich Dreyfuss Horse Barn.

For eight and a half years, Gina Butala has been teaching students the ways of natural horsemanship. Having arrived at Midland with the dream of connecting riders to horses, Gina has since cultivated a community of people who work hard to build bonds with their horses, as well as shape leaders in our wider community of Midland.

Gina teaches us to put the horse first, always. Day in and day out; working to benefit ourselves and others is a core principle of Midland, one that Gina strives to teach all her students. Riding, bonding, and working with a horse is just an added bonus. Though working at the barn may feel laborious at times, it is consistently rewarding, and we often find something to laugh about in the goofy antics of the horses.

Gina, Director of Horsemanship, with former student, Ben ‘22

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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5) This Fall, Gina announced that she would be leaving Midland at the end of the semester to embark on a new journey: a barn in San Diego dedicated to teaching military families and those coping with deployment about horses and how to use them as support. While this is a great loss for the Midland community, we know she will continue to spread her knowledge of horses and the principles of natural horsemanship with new communities who will cherish her as we do. Gina is excited for the future of the Midland horse program and hopes to see “more students get involved and that Midland as a whole embraces the program, supporting our horses as community members.”

Sports: Basketball

Gina with Neeka

By Julissa ‘26 The contact between a rubber ball and the Pole Barn floor echoes throughout our three sided gym. That's right, it's basketball season! With the Upper Yard team reaching more than fifteen players and the Lower Yard team standing mighty with seven, this year will create some exciting memories. To make this season even better, our well known and beloved Coach Karlin has returned to the mighty oaks to coach.

He carries big hopes, but the first step is to get us all in shape. After our first set of three suicides, he noted that we are all not in shape and how that will not be the case as the season progresses. Grunts from all around could be heard, but it also gets easier as we continue to run back and forth. “I am excited to start off this year with missing threepointers and accidentally hitting people in the head to actually make them into the hoop,” says Hayden ‘26 as she walks onto the court.

Lower Yard Basketball Team

The Upper Yard team has sadly lost three of their vital players this year: Darien ‘24, Weston ‘24 and Tony ‘24. This may make this season a bit difficult, but without a doubt we will continue to strive. An interesting sight, with seven Lower Yarders on one side of Pole Barn and a monsoon of Upper Yarders on the other, some would get sent over to even out Upper Yard Basketball Team On the Lower Yard team, we have some new additions who have never played the numbers and make layups tolerable. Team basketball in their lives. As I observe, I notice how Amelie ‘27 learns how to block and captains Nate ‘25 and Trace ‘25 round up all the guard. By standing up with her arms out and making some interesting noises, she Upper Yarders and review basic skills and drills for innovates a great way to stop the other team from receiving the ball or scoring. Honor everyone to get into the groove. The new players ‘27 jumped right into basketball with such enthusiasm and the want to learn how this watch in awe as Nate shows them how to dribble and sport works, making it to be a starter. With such low numbers, two of the players block. Karlin is pushing for this year's Upper Yarders would be benched, which is not a lot. But that means everyone will get a lot of playing to get into shape and be able to play a round smoothly.

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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6) Again, because of the difference in numbers, some Upper Yarders would be sent to the Lower Yard team. One practice, three letter-named juniors, Jay ‘26, EZ ‘26 and Z ‘26, were traded over and added to the Lower Yard team for a half-court scrimmage. It was an intense game, with a lot of guarding, yelling “Hey, I’m open!” but then having that one player pass it to the wrong team. Overall, it was a great way for everyone to come together and enjoy basketball.

A new addition to this season of basketball are these pennies that each player gets to use for the season.

Reversible colors make it easy to identify who's on each team, for the most part. Some players continue to pass the ball to the opposing team, but laughter and some scolding comes out of doing that.

Overall, the 2024-25 basketball season seems promising, in the sense of having a lot of fun practicing with friends and having the environment welcoming to those who have never played before.

Lower Yard Team with Coach Karlin and Faculty Talei

High Sierras to Hot Lowlands: Fall Outdoor Leadership

By Amelie ‘27

Cold wind whipped through our hair as we slid along the loosely strung rope.

Knees scratched against granite and carabiners clinked together. Hundreds of feet below, the rest of the group sat huddled behind a rock next to Iridescent Lake, perched at 12,000 feet, in the South-Eastern Sierra. As the clouds raced above us, our group watched a quarter of the fall Outdoor Leadership group quickly pick up mountaineering skills as we ascended the Miter, a towering mound of granite perched a few ridges over from Mount Whitney.

Outdoor Leadership at Midland offers students the opportunity to learn, grow, push themselves and become more comfortable in the outdoors. Each year, thirteen students spend their first sports season doing exactly that. The first trip in the fall heads to the high Sierras for five days of backpacking, mountaineering and exploring, all the while hoping to acclimate to the altitude before heading back to campus.

Maude ‘26 & Amelie ‘27 on the High Sierras Trip

For the second year in a row, we headed to the South-Eastern Sierra, specifically the Golden Trout Wilderness. Having only five days for this trip, we hiked for about 2 hours in the dark after driving up 8,000 feet in elevation on our first day. The stark change in elevation offers a challenge for even the most experienced Midland backpackers. Often, acclimating to the altitude feels impossible. Yet we had no time to waste, so on day two, we set off for eight miles and 2,700 feet of elevation gain and loss, conquering the mighty, and somewhat miserable, Army Pass. “The pass was ginormous. I had done it before, but it was still my biggest fear going into the trip,” said Guillermo ‘26, who completed this trip for a second time this fall. Old Army Pass appears to be a never ending wall of granite, occasionally covered by a snow field, that had to be summited to reach our camp for night two. Slowly but surely, we snaked our way to the top of the switchbacks, to be rewarded with a view of the entire valley, all the way to the Western Sierras. Yet our day was only two–thirds done, so we continued on down the other side of the pass to our off trail camp for the night. By the time we got to the majestic mini-meadow with its spring fed lake that would be home for the next two days, many in our group were too exhausted to enjoy the views. But after a hot mac and cheese meal, spirits turned around. Staying at that camp for 2 nights, we got a day to explore: hiking up to Lake Iridescent and either chilling at its bank for hours, or choosing to learn how to mountaineer while summiting the Miter, a seemingly vertical peak adjacent to the lake.

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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7) Four students chose to summit. The rest waited below and watched our brightly colored t-shirts grow smaller and farther away as we pushed to the peak. Cold wind and a little bit of snow didn’t aid our mountaineering journey, but they certainly made it a more dramatic story to tell.

Long story short, we made it to the peak in a timely manner and managed to control our fear enough to keep climbing. Yet getting to the peak was only the first half. I will spare the details because my grandma is reading this, and I don’t want her to freak out.

We remained safe the whole time, but the fear in our minds only grew the farther we descended. Maude ‘26, one of the mighty-Miter-ers noted that “Climbing the Miter was both the highlight of my OL season and the hardest part of it.”

Overall, the Sierra Trip was a raging success, offering everyone a chance to push themselves in some way and no one a chance to fully acclimate. 2 weeks after getting back, we set out on another excursion, this one much closer to Midland’s doorstep.

The Los Padres National Forest, which is quite literally our North-West neighbor, is 2 million acres of nearly untouched and scarcely visited wilderness. For our second trip, we headed 10 miles out into this hidden gem to explore caves, waterfalls and stream beds. Complete with a 16 hour solo, this trip gave us a much-needed break from the Midland academic grind and a chance to reflect on the OL season we were close to finishing.

By Julissa ‘26

Aquila ‘25 enjoying the sun in the High Sierras

Although the OL trips get all the attention, what happens between the trips is often where students learn the skills that they implement on expeditions. Leadership, especially in the outdoors, can push people out of their comfort zones. This is exactly how our program functions: push yourself, reflect on that, and learn to lead others towards that same place of comfortable discomfort.

Pink Palace

Pink Palace is Midland’s iconic outhouse. In between Stillman and the Whittier classrooms, its walls stand, but there seems to be a problem. Many would think that this bathroom is pink, but it is not. The name is actually misleading, which has been brought to the attention of the winter maintenance crew. Alex, Director of Finance, is leading a group of determined students to revamp Pink Palace. Before being demolished, Pink Palace had two sides, the “Upper Yard” side, which was notoriously known to be annoying to clean during work periods and the “Lower Yard” side which was always in better shape. The new idea that has been going around is that the walls would be demolished, and it would only have one side, for both Upper and Lower Yard. The stalls would be closed off, almost like rooms. But the best part is that it would be repainted pink. Or so that is the hope. Veronica ‘26 tells me that “I am looking forward to seeing the bathroom renewed and pink, as it should be!” Veronica and Melanie ‘26, being the junior leaders they strive to be, help the lower classmen on the crew to help get ready for the next steps. Everyone works continuously but also has fun at the same time. Bringing down the walls seems to be everyone’s favorite part of the project, since it acted like a “rage room”– especially for the juniors, since their year is probably the most difficult academically. What could be better than being able to axe down the walls?

The entire school is excited about the finished product, which is expected to be unveiled in February 2025. With the hard work and dedication that is already being seen, it seems like the iconic Pink Palace will illustrate its name and be pink again!

Winter Maintenance Crew working in Pink Palace

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Head of School Note As the piano played softly, the dim light grew brighter as the flame passed from candle to candle, until the entire circle was aglow beneath the radiant moon. Together, we sang on our final night before departing for winter break, reflecting on the term that had been. Second term was alive with cherished traditions—Halloween, November Nonsense, Thanksgiving, and the Winter Banquet—all made possible by the incredible spirit of this community. I am deeply grateful for the student leadership, the care we show one another, the high standards we set and uphold, and the growth we achieve through every challenge, academic or otherwise. This new home, and everyone in it, continues to inspire me. Thank you all!

- Hannah Nelson, Head of School

The Midland Mirror Team Editors Ava ‘25 Caleb ‘25

Writers Jay ‘26 Emma ‘26 Julissa ‘26 Amelie ‘27

Faculty Support Heather Carreiro John Isaacson ‘94

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