Thinking about the New Year often brings images of change: new resolutions, new habits, and even new people. The elusive New Year’s Baby, born just in time to celebrate the changing of the date, is special indeed. And this year, that something special came to MFS.

On New Year’s Day, Jamie Mackenzie was annointed the Philadelphia region’s official 2017 New Year’s baby. While most of us were busy excitedly celebrating the new year, MFS English teacher Clare MacKenzie’s son was born at 12:12 AM. Born at Pennsylvania Hospital, Jamie Mackenzie was the first baby born in 2017 in Philadelphia.

“It was a complete surprise!”, exclaimed Ms. MacKenzie when asked whether she was expecting her son to be born at such a monumental time. “I had no idea what time it was at that point.” Perhaps Ms. MacKenzie’s sense of shock sprung from her expectation that Jamie would be born on his due date, December 26. “He needed a little extra time, but it’s exciting that he ended up being a New Year’s baby,” stated Ms. MacKenzie.

A common rumor has it that the family of a region’s  New Year’s baby receives a cash prize. Unfortunately, Ms. MacKenzie squashed these rumors, at least for the local area, stating that, “if there’s a gift, I haven’t seen it.”

To most of us who were ebulliently celebrating the New Year as midnight struck on the first of this month, being the mother of the 2017 New Year’s baby sounds like a perfect reason to amplify our usual New Year’s celebrations. However, upon being asked whether Jamie being ordained the 2017 New Year’s baby was of strong importance to her, Ms. MacKenzie happily denied. “It was cool, but nothing in comparison to how happy I was about Jamie being born,” she explained contentedly.