Traditions
School Day Activities
While the school day begins promptly at 8:15 AM, students can arrive between 7:45-8:15 AM. Free breakfast, lunch, and snacks are provided each day for all our students and are an important time for our girls to form friendships and bonds with each other.
With a full curriculum of Math, Science, English, History, Social Studies, Art and Physical Education, MCA also makes time for a wide range of special traditions during the school day and at various times of the year.
Other School Traditions include:
Daily Chapel
The goal for chapel at MCA is to begin each day physically creating community. Chapel on Monday typically features a “word of the week” for students and faculty to engage with throughout the week, presented by the MCA ELA teacher. On or around their birthdays, each student is expected to give a birthday “speech” at Chapel, giving the community a chance to create deeper connections and students an opportunity to practice public speaking. We open chapel with a moment of mindfulness, combining community building and individual self-regulation to lay the foundation not only for the rest of chapel service but for the day itself.
Step Into Art for the 6th Grade
Since 2008, we’ve been fortunate to boast a strong partnership with Step Into Art to engage MCA’s 6th graders in an eight-month long collaborative self-portrait project consisting of both artistry and writing to bring the full depth of their portrait pieces to life. MCA sixth graders make intentional choices at each step in the project to bring their full selves to life in their portraits through painting and collage, drawing inspiration from artists like Kehinde Wiley and local Roxbury artist Ekua Holmes.
Boston Children’s Hospital Internship for 7th and 8th Grade
The internship at Boston Children’s Hospital is designed to expose students to careers in medicine, selected hands-on medical training, practical experiences, simulations, and live demonstrations. Through this week-long immersive program, 7th and 8th graders gain the chance to put on scrubs and explore the operating room, gain hands-on experience with the use of ultrasounds, and engage with simulations to better understand how to respond to patient needs.
