The word community is used a lot at Marymount of Santa Barbara because it is an aspect of the school that makes an impact on families.
Parents describe the Marymount community as integral to helping their child achieve. As one parent of a current junior kindergartener articulately put it, “Marymount’s culture provides a wholesome and supportive community that, working as a whole, raises the potential of each student.”
This could not have been in more evidence than at the recent mother-daughter event chaired by lower school parent Lori Tudor and middle school parent Hilary Doubleday, helped by a great crew of parent volunteers including Megan Sharma, Jennifer Dahl, Mabel Romero and CeCe Borchardt.
Intentionally scheduled right before Mother’s Day and a celebration of the special bond between mothers and daughters, Marymount mother-daughter events have had different themes through the years.
This year’s event was high tea at the Bacara Resort & Spa. Dressed in bright spring colors and hats, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunts and special friends gathered for tea with accompanying tea sandwiches and treats, a fashion show modeled by students and, most importantly, one another’s company.
Sixth-grade students Talia Medel and Haley Hoidal did a terrific job as masters of ceremony, announcing the fashion show featuring hats from Lana Marme in Montecito and a very popular raffle. The raffle and silent auction featured tempting items like a Zen Diva Spa party for six girls, a Planet Beauty gift basket, a Saks Fifth Avenue mother-daughter makeover and make-up bags, and a Cos Bar party for 15.
Mothers had the opportunity to enjoy watching their children dance the limbo, get their faces painted, make Mother’s Day cards and have fun. They also enjoyed having their photographs taken with their daughters by talented photographer Kelsey Crews.
More than anything, mothers enjoyed seeing their daughters’ poise and confidence on full display as students gracefully ran many aspects of the event. The support and mentoring the girls showed one another was also fun to see. One kindergarten student could not contain her support for her classmates as they walked by her table during the fashion show and announced to every model who walked by, “I love your hat!” After the show was finished, the older models took the kindergartener backstage so she could try the hats on herself.
Like Marymount’s famous Father-Daughter Dance and mother-son events, Marymount’s mother-daughter event is not meant to be a fundraiser, but is a community event sponsored by the Marymount Parent Council. The mother-daughter event was so popular and well-attended that profits are expected and will go to Marymount’s Parent Council, an organization that sponsors many community activities for the school. In the past, the Marymount Parent Council has donated profits to benefit school programs.
Marymount is an independent coeducational school, junior kindergarten through eighth grade, on a picturesque 10-acre campus nestled on the Santa Barbara Riviera. Building on a 75-year tradition of excellence, the educators at Marymount have crafted a unique learning experience that blends mastery of core subjects with acquisition of the essential skills students need to navigate and be successful in a rapidly evolving world.
— Molly Seguel is the admissions director for Marymount of Santa Barbara.