Grade-level Homerooms in Lower School (K-4) and Advisories in Middle School (5-8) provide both time and space for students to connect and feel grounded.

With three homerooms per grade level in the Lower School, students build relationships with each other and their homeroom teachers, most academic subjects stay within the homeroom. Each morning students gather in a circle to share prayers and individual intentions.

Middle School Advisories range between four and five per grade level and meet every morning for approximately 30 minutes. From welcoming cubbies to opportunities to share or collaborate, the goal of the advisory program goes beyond attendance. Advisors work with their students to set goals, work on communication skills, and check in, offering support in a safe space.

Whole child education inherently supports and encourages finding one's voice and communicating well. It takes multiple opportunities and a great deal of practice. Mayfield students are regularly described as well-spoken, curious, balanced, and comfortable with who they are, what they share, and how. This confidence and presence are natural for some students, and the skill comes easily. For others, the challenge is overcome with opportunity, guidance, and a growth mindset. Whether public speaking, performance, or collaborative dialogue, these opportunities exist at Mayfield beginning in kindergarten, expanding in scope and purpose for the next nine years. Add multiple occasions for presentation, such as addressing the student body at Morning Prayer or showing and sharing work at a Maker Faire, and the benefits grow. Students build a foundation and experience that they can draw upon again and again.

The Reach Out and Service Learning programs provide students with multiple opportunities to empathize, take action, and develop a sense of global responsibility.

In addition, our program incorporates another critical component in educating our youth about serving others and the world: Service Learning. Service Learning is relational, collaborative, and inclusive. In kindergarten, our students participate in a year-long project integrating animal welfare and awareness education across subject matters. In the Middle School, service learning led by our student leadership club: Helping Hands, has embarked on an environmental education and awareness project working toward a future zero waste campus.

Learn more about Reach Out and Service Learning at Mayfield.

The Technology and Design program is built on the belief that our community employs technology best when in service of curiosity, creativity, connection, and care for others. We don't simply teach students to use devices; we help them develop the confidence, judgment, and skill to use technology as a means of expression, collaboration, and positive impact in the world. Grounded in Design Thinking and the Mayfield tradition of educating the whole child, our approach ensures that every digital experience at MJS reflects our deepest values: wonder, responsibility, and a joyful pursuit of learning.

Learn more about Technology and Design at Mayfield.

As a Holy Child School, one of Mayfield's goals is "To deepen an understanding of Catholic community." Through a Student Activities Program called School Families, the students at Mayfield Junior School live this goal.

School Families is perhaps the most anticipated leadership opportunity during the eighth grade year. Since its inception, it has become a beloved tradition. Each School Family is comprised of one student from each grade level, beginning in first grade, with an eighth grade student as the head of the Family. The Families gather on Friday mornings for an organized meeting and remain a family unit throughout the school year, participating in special projects and often sitting together during a mass or special assembly or competing on the same team for Blue & White Day. 

How should academic achievement celebrated at Mayfield? While grades and test scores have their place, they do not fully capture the growth, creativity, and spirit of our students. We believed a deeper way of honoring learning was needed; a format rooted in Holy Child philosophy and that promotes the future-ready skills and characteristics outlined in our Portrait of a Graduate. From this vision, the Inspired Learning Showcase was created.

The Inspired Learning Showcase, held for students in kindergarten through seventh grade, gives children the chance to share their growth in authentic and personal ways. In the Lower School, students undertook design-thinking challenges aligned with their classroom learning. They identified real-world problems, brainstormed creative solutions, built prototypes, and presented their ideas to parents and community members. In the Middle School, students reflected on their year and selected three projects that best illustrated their growth toward becoming Inspired Leaders—students with curious minds, creative spirits, open hearts, and confident voices. The Showcase is called Inspired Learning to emphasize the K–7 journey toward Inspired Leader in their graduating year, achieved through incremental gains in perspective, skill, and resilience.

Classroom lessons come to life with the variety of experiences field trip provide. Whether hands-on exploration in science, the arts or nature - experiences inspire personal growth. Examples include:

• Latin class architectural walking tour of Pasadena
• Seventh Grade overnight CELP Catalina Environmental Leadership program on Catalina Island
• Eighth Grade Day Trip to Mount Wilson Observatory
• Fifth Grade overnight trip to Astrocamp in Idyllwild
• Kindergarten visit to the Sylmar Wildlife Center