November 11, 2021

from Renee Wright, Lower School Director

Trimester 1 Comes To An End November 18
Trimester report cards will be sent to you electronically through email on Monday, November 22. Report cards are a valuable tool for reporting progress, but can sometimes feel intimidating to students as well as parents. Report cards describe students’ learning progress based on grade level expectations. In addition, report cards inform parents about their child’s learning success and guide improvements. Positive communication about the report card is important and should send the message that school is important. Below you will find some tips for how to make report card time meaningful and guide your child to success.

1. Value the Report Card: At MPA we acknowledge that report cards do not tell the whole story about a student’s abilities, work habits, and intelligence, but they do provide critical information and evidence about a child’s academic effort and progress. The report card can be used to initiate conversations with your child or your child’s teacher.
2. Share the Report Card with Your Child: Meet privately with your child, without distractions and have a relaxed discussion. Sharing the report card with your child is beneficial as it provides an opportunity for your child to share his/her thoughts on school and share highlights in each subject area. Make sure to read through teacher comments with your child. These often provide additional insights and ideas for future success.
3. Offer Praise for Successes: Praise your child for strong effort and recognize progress. Make sure to let your child know that you are proud of his/her accomplishments.
4. Encourage Your Child to Self-Evaluate: Ask your child if he/she is satisfied with the grades in each subject area. This provides time to reflect on strengths and challenges.

Welcome To Holli Richgels
Lower School welcomes Holli Richgels as the new Lower School Administrative Assistant. She comes to us with much professional experience as a receptionist and admin assistant. She brings much school experience and a true love for children.

Parent and School Partnership

Reading Aloud Can Help Produce Better Readers
Most of us know the benefits of reading aloud to our children in the early years. More and more research reveals that reading aloud is important for older children too and a meaningful way for families to discuss difficult topics. Reading aloud as a family has been known to help people reduce stress, build hope, develop resilience, and bond as a family. Reading aloud can be fun and also expose children to a variety of genre such as classic novels, graphic novels, picture books, poetry, historical fiction, fiction, or non-fiction. In essence, reading aloud is not only about literacy, but also a tool for helping children and families learn to love books and even navigate the world.

Reading aloud as a family benefits readers at all ages and stages. For reluctant readers it can be a bridge to success as they shift their perspective and mindset about their reading ability. With support children can find joy in books and learn to love reading. Children with advanced reading skills benefit from the exposure to higher level books and profit from discussions around content and can help develop analytical skills with the help of a parent.

Carve out time in your busy schedule for family read aloud time. It will steer your family away from screens and become a cherished time for your family. Set a reading goal for your family and keep track of the books you read. Once you finish a book plan a dinner out or a special event to celebrate your accomplishment. Cherish and celebrate books!

Fall Campaign News
This year’s “Let’s Join Together” Fall Campaign kicked off on Monday, November 8 and will last through November 19. During this time, we ask families to help us meet the gap between tuition and the cost of an MPA education to help ensure students, families, faculty, and staff have the resources they need. Here are ways you can help:

• Spread the word! Help us to ensure other parents and community members know about this important time, where we step up and give back to support our entire community.
• Mark your calendars! Give to the Max Day is on November 18. This fun day is when Panthers everywhere join together to help us reach a big goal and enjoy a fun virtual lip sync battle with teachers, staff, and students.