Two sophomores from Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, California, visited Oak Knoll during the last week in March, taking advantage of the connection between our two schools via the Holy Child Network. Luisa Stolpe ’25 and Kayla Abbruzzi ’25 have been staying with Keira Ardise ’25 and her parents in Madison. The visiting students chose their schedules for the week attending Honors Humanities, AP Environmental Science, Art Major 1, and Musical Theater among other offerings.

“I was delighted to host our two Mayfield exchange sophomores in my Art Major I class this week,” said Will Cardell, Upper School Creative Arts Teacher. “They both did a great job completing a project with my juniors this week taking inspiration from inkblot designs to create a work of art with pencil and permanent marker.”

Both students chose this particular trip to experience life on the east coast and, in addition to immersing in the Oak Knoll school culture, one of their highlights was a trip into Manhattan to visit The Met. They also attended Moulin Rouge on Broadway during their visit.

Commenting on the dynamic program at Oak Knoll, Abruzzi said, “The classes offered here are very unique. This morning we took yoga, which was really interesting.”

Mayfield Senior School is an independent Catholic college preparatory school, founded in 1931 for young women grades 9-12. Like Oak Knoll, it is sponsored by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, a member of the Holy Child Network of Schools and is guided by the educational philosophy of the Society’s founder, Cornelia Connelly.

This is Oak Knoll’s first time hosting students from Mayfield and we hope it will be an annual event with our students venturing to Pasadena as well in the future. Oak Knoll also offers a range of international exchange opportunities as part of our Global Learning Program.