Our rich traditions connect us to the past and imbue our present with a sense of community. One week in spring marks the observance of many of our most beloved worship celebrations. The closing days of our reflective Lenten season along with the Way of the Cross, the Preschool Last Supper, and the whole school Last Supper/Passover are long-standing MSS traditions. Since our founding, these occasions have provided an expression of our community’s focus on love and compassion. As a Christian school, we embrace our calling as socially-conscious global citizens committed to lifelong learning and service, and our celebrations demonstrate that commitment.

On a micro level, these celebrations also provide meaningful opportunities for our individual students to accelerate their leadership skill acquisition. Often students have been the beneficiary of years of experience observing older students model behavior prior to their turn in a particular leadership role. For example, every year the seventh grade class directs the Stations of the Cross devotion for Kindergarten through eighth grade students. Even with the pandemic disruption, seventh grade student Devin had the chance to watch many others, including his older brother, as station guide prior to assuming the role this week. 

London, another seventh grade student, held the challenging position presenting at the first station. He said he warmed up and felt increasingly confident with each passing class. He learned to account for the church acoustics and modulate his voice so that his group could hear him properly without disturbing a class in another area. London was able to adjust and act responsively to his position partly because so many of the basic skills had already been mastered watching others over the years.

“The accompanying talks are written for the younger students. They explain in a practical way the difficult topics covered in the stories, and I can still remember how interesting and challenging they were for me,” says London.

Las Posadas

Although at five he was too old to attend the Preschool Last Supper in his first year as a Mustard Seed School student, eighth grade student Owen played a pivotal role as Jesus in the 2023 celebration. Later, one of the preschool students recognized Owen on the sidewalk from the two rehearsals for the event, and the child’s mother told Owen that he talked about him all of the way up the stairs to the classroom! Hearing about his work’s impact on younger students was heartening. He knows that his own parents, who were in attendance yesterday, were also proud of him.

“I really concentrated on helping the preschoolers feel comfortable and have fun,” says Owen. “I wasn’t nervous because I have done things like this before. I was King of the Mardi Gras for two years in a row and played one of Jesse’s children at Merry Match. I could put all of my attention into making it a good experience for the kids.”