This week, the sixth graders had an all-day field trip to two locations--Feed My Starving Children and to their sister school, Birch Grove School of the Arts in Brooklyn Park.

At Feed My Starving Children, their task was to pack boxes of meals for overseas donations. Last fall, the sixth graders packed around 11,000 meals, but this spring packed an incredible 15,000+ - something the organization's team leader said was almost unheard of with sixth graders!

The other half of the day was spent with their buddies at Birch Grove.  MPA's sixth graders met earlier in the year with first graders from Birch Grove and have since exchanged pen-pal letters with them. ,On this visit, the MPAers got there in time for lunch, then played games outside at recess with the other children. Following that, the sixth graders shared the picture books they created as part of their English class, worked with the first graders on a science project (life cycles of a frog), and generally had a great time together.

A few examples of the bonding that took place: