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Send a Kid to Catalina Island, Ecuador, or Ireland

Started many years ago with a single science trip, the class trips program at Mid-Pen has expanded significantly over the last 15 years to include four distinctly different trips. Though outside of our usual curriculum, these week-long trips – a visual and performing arts trip to New York, Los Angeles, or the Pacific Northwest; a marine biology trip to Catalina Island; a Spanish trip to Latin America; and a history trip to Ireland – provide students with the opportunity to see their classroom learning brought to life. They represent an important part of the Mid-Pen student experience. The average cost of a trip per student is $2,000 and we currently cannot accommodate all requests for financial aid.

A gift to the Douglas C. Thompson Fund for Class Trips allows more students to participate in class trips, regardless of financial need, and honors Doug Thompson, who retires in June after 15 as Mid-Pen's head of school. During his tenure, he has been a passionate advocate for diversity, financial aid, and the kind of experiential learning Mid-Pen's class trips represent.

Stock the New Reading Room

We've renovated a former office in the Enrichment Center and are stocking it with the kinds of books that teens enjoy reading – not for assignments but for pleasure. The shelves can hold approximately 600 books, and we hope to have it well stocked by the spring. The average cost of each book is $25.

Register Students for the People of Color Leadership Conference

As part of its commitment to diversity, each year Mid-Pen seeks to send 6-8 students and teachers to the People of Color Leadership Conference, sponsored by the National Association of Independent School. The conference, which draws over 2,000 students and teachers from around the country, provides a safe space for leadership, professional development, and networking for people of color and allies of all backgrounds in independent schools. It equips educators and students with knowledge, skills, and experiences to improve and enhance the interracial, inter-ethnic, and intercultural climate in their schools. The conference registration fee is approximately $500 per person.

Produce the Musical

With our new portable stage, Mid-Pen is committed to staging a student musical each spring, in addition to a straight play in the fall. Last year it was Ruthless: The Musical! and this year audiences raved about Little Shop of Horrors. With a music director, more elaborate sets and costumes, and higher royalties, musicals can be twice as expensive as straight plays to produce, costing up to $2,500 more.

Convert a Class to Interactive E-Books

As we retire our old textbooks, Mid-Pen teachers are looking to replace them with interactive, electronic texts, in addition to the standard hardcover volumes. The first electronic textbooks are already use in Ethan Weker's Algebra I and Pre-Calculus classes, and we hope to upgrade the texts in two to three classrooms each year. Each new e-textbook costs approximately $100 per student.


Give before June 30, and designate your gift today!

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