Mounds Park Academy

MPA Alumni Award: Nominations Due April 1

March 16, 2021

The Alumni Association is looking for nominees for the MPA Alumni Association Award. Do you know an alum who is dreaming big and doing right? We want to hear about them. The MPA Alumni Association Award is intended to honor alumni of outstanding talent pursuing their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations, while embracing the spirit of MPA’s commitment to community and social outreach. They should be real-world examples for both current students and alumni to dream big and do right. Nominations are due April 1, 2021.

Please include the nominee’s name, email, and a brief explanation of why you believe they should receive the MPA Alumni Association Award (250 words or less). Send all nominations to alumni@moundsparkacademy.org.

MPA Math League Ties For Second At State

March 15, 2021

Congratulations to the MPA Math League Team! MPA finished in a tie for second in the state with Mahtomedi in Class AA at the Math League State Tournament.

MPA’s top individual scorer was senior Sean Park, who earned a perfect score of 14. Junior Amy Xiang earned 12 points in her events, including a perfect score in the geometry event. Junior Leo Yu earned eight points, senior Amit Manicka earned six points, senior Lareina Gu and freshman Ella Li both earned four points. Sophomore Anthony Troullier earned three points. Senior Steve Min earned one point. Steve also contributed a couple of answers (worth eight points) in the team round. The team earned 16 points in the team round total.

Congratulations to the team, which adapted so well to doing Math League online, and performed so consistently all season!

MPA Shines At NSDA National Speech & Debate Tournament Qualifier

March 15, 2021

This past weekend, MPA competed at the NSDA National Speech and Debate Tournament Qualifier. MPA advanced the following two students to the semifinal round: senior Ryan Ghose in Humorous and Drama, and senior Hana Miller in Humorous and POI! Additionally, senior Salmah Elmasry qualified for the National Tournament in Extemp Speaking! MPA has one of the hardest districts to qualify out of, and Salmah advanced through most of the tournament as the #1 seed, ending in third.

We are so proud of these teams! NSDA is very difficult to qualify to, and these exciting results are on top of the seven students MPA has qualified to a separate national tournament, NIETOC. Let’s go Panthers!

Meet Beth Larson ’08

March 10, 2021

What are you currently doing, professionally and/or personally?

I am a doctoral student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Population, Family and Reproductive Health Department. My research interests include the use of normative approaches to understand family planning use and how social norms affect people’s decision-making around family planning internationally, and with a focus on Francophone West Africa. I aim to base my work in reproductive justice, which represents the right of a person to have the autonomy to decide to have children, to not have children, and to parent children in a safe and supportive environment.

Outside of school, I work on several projects, including Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA), a large-scale international mobile phone-based survey on key sexual and reproductive health indicators. I also participate on a research project based out of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Health that aims to understand how to increase womens’ voices to ensure the ethical provision of family planning care to women in Francophone West Africa.

I also play on numerous tennis and softball teams throughout the year, volunteer as an escort at Planned Parenthood, have been providing emergency food relief to people in my community since the start of COVID, and, of course, strive to be the best dog mamma possible to my dog Sasha. Read More

10 Amazing (And Included) Features Of MPA’s International Student Program

March 9, 2021

MPA’s international program welcomes students in grades 7-12 from a number of countries and backgrounds. Here are 10 things to love about the international program at MPA:

1. International Student Program Coordinator Mr. Becker-Kim: MPA has a dedicated International Student Program Coordinator, Cory Becker-Kim who serves as an advisor, teacher, and confidant to all international students on a daily basis, and regularly monitors their academic achievement. Given MPA’s emphasis on public speaking, college preparatory writing, and higher Lexile level reading, students work through the challenging coursework in one-on-one or in small groups with Mr. Becker-Kim throughout the entire duration of their MPA experience.

2. Advanced language and culture (AL&C) Course: Taught by Mr. Becker-Kim, Advanced language and culture (AL&C) course, with a 6:1 student to teacher ratio for all international students, is built into the curriculum as a World Language credit towards graduation. First-year international students are enrolled in AL&C to help with the cultural transition to an American high school, to discuss important social and historical events of the United States and learn the nuances of strong academic English and vocabulary to achieve fluency. Click here for the Advanced language and culture (AL&C) course description.

3. College Application Support: For juniors and seniors, MPA dedicates significant time and resources to helping international students with college applications, particularly with primary college application essays and supplemental writing essays.

4. Social and Emotional Support: All international students have the International Student Program Coordinator available to help them navigate homesickness, friendships, social situations and events, stress, and culture shock. When needed, the International Student Program Coordinator works closely with the School Counselor and/or Director of Guidance to be sure the student is as happy and healthy as possible during their time at MPA. Support includes connecting international students to domestic students, faculty and administration, and co-curricular activities.

5. New International Student Orientation: This involves one-on-one meetings with the Director of Guidance to create class schedule, acclimation to classroom and school culture, laptop orientation, plagiarism discussion, school supply shopping, sight-seeing in the Twin Cities, student networking opportunities, team building activities, and more.

6. Transition Assistance: For both students coming into our community for the first time, and to assist returning students in forming connections within the school and the Twin Cities, MPA provides transition assistance in order to make an international students transition, or transition back as smooth as possible.

7. Daily Hot Lunch: Served with culturally and religiously sensitive options, daily hot lunch is delicious and unlimited!

8. Quarterly Events: Throughout the school year and the summer, MPA’s international program hosts joyful events, on and off campus, to help support new and returning students.

9. Host Family Selection, Acclimation and Support: International host families are carefully recruited, selected and vetted to ensure the highest quality experience for our students. The International Student Program Coordinator works closely with students and their host families to ensure that the home is a safe, welcoming, happy environment for all. Quarterly home visits, one-on-one check-ins with students and host families, communication with natural parents, and student/host family events are all ways that the Program Coordinator works with host families and students to build routine, communication, and a supportive experience.

10. Translation Services: MPA provides translation services for international student and/or parents. This includes both in person conversations and documentation translation for Visa and immigration support.

Two MPA Students Named MN Escape The Vape Finalists

March 9, 2021

MPA ninth graders Trevor Lien and Akshay Somayajula were named finalists for the recent Minnesota Youth Council Escape the Vape video contest! Escape the Vape is a vaping and e-cigarette prevention video contest for Minnesota high school students. The top five finalists (of 110 statewide entries) were selected by the Minnesota Youth Council (MYC), a statewide group of youth leaders who work to create equitable systems through youth-led outreach, education, and advocacy.

Watch and vote for their submission here! The first place winner receives $500 for the entrant and $500 for their school or organization and second place receives $250 for the entrant and $250 for their school or organization Public voting closes on March 23 at 11:59 PM.

To find out more about the contest, visit MNEscapeTheVape.com.

March 4, 2021

We are pleased to be offering an expanded summer program with a larger choice of academic programs, enrichment classes, athletic clinics, full and half day Panther Camp, and much more for students of all ages! As always, our goal is to provide our participants with the highest quality program in the context of a safe and healthy environment.

Register at moundsparkacademy.org/summer. All Lower School classes and camps are currently open for registration. More Middle and Upper School options will be added in the coming days.

If you have any questions, please contact Russ Purdy, extended day program coordinator, at 651-748-5571 or rpurdy@moundsparkacademy.org.

Summer Athletic Camps
Register for our great athletic camp options this summer! MPA is excited to offer a basketball, soccer, and volleyball camp this year. Panther Boys and Girls Summer Basketball Camp is open to students in grades 4-9 from June 14-17. Panther Boys and Girls Soccer Camp is open to students in grades K-6 from June 21-24. Panther Boys and Girls Summer Volleyball camp is July 12-14, and Panther Girls Volleyball Camp for grades 9-12 is July 19-21. Learn more and register here!

MPA PA Hosting Virtual Movie Event

March 4, 2021

Thank You!
In this time of re-enrollment, the Parents Association wishes to thank you for your contributions through TADS. In a normal year, because of your donations, we are able to foster a sense of community through events both on and off campus. This year has been more challenging and we have been limited to Zoom socials, Faculty and Staff Appreciation, online movies, and virtual educational events. It is important to us to be good stewards of your funds. Thank you to all the wonderful families that make up MPA!

Virtual Movie Event for MPA, Saturday, March 6
We’ve made it to Spring Break! Please join the MPA Parents Association for a showing of “Inside Out” (Rated PG). It’s been quite a year, with all kinds of emotions and stressors. If you tuned in to Dr. Hudson’s Town Hall, then you may have heard Dr. Jules Nolan speaking about emotions, stress and anxiety and her key point was to talk about your feelings…”Name it to Tame it”. That can be hard. Maybe this movie can help. Common Sense Media calls this movie, a “beautiful, original story about handling big emotions”. Look for an email coming on Friday with the Watch Link and Pass Phrase. The movie can be accessed all day Saturday March 6, so tune in at your convenience. If you don’t get an email by Friday evening please contact Tara Lafferty at tmattrn@aol.com.

How We Prepare Students To Live, Learn, And Thrive

March 4, 2021

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

Educators are infamous for creating esoteric terms and anachronyms to describe different approaches to teaching and learning. Project-based learning, or PBL, is one such term but should not be confused with problem-based learning, also PBL. Both PBLs are similar, yet different. Debate exists within educational circles as to whether Design Thinking is a more inclusive term for both PBLs. To further complicate matters, some educators prefer the term “inquiry-based learning”. Confused? Ambivalent? Let me try to translate.

Whether described as project, problem, or inquiry-based learning, this form of learning has roots in what John Dewey (American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer who is often referred to as one of the “fathers of American education”) called “progressive education.” Contemporary educational theorists refer to it as a pedagogy (another educational esoteric term that designates an educational method) that “engages students in creating, questioning, and revising knowledge, while developing their skills in critical thinking, collaboration, communication, reasoning, synthesis, and resilience” (Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2008). Read More

Get Your Spring Auction Golden Tickets!

March 4, 2021

This year’s MPA Spring Auction: The Best is Yet to Come has gone virtual! There are multiple ways to get involved and join in the excitement. It could be your chance to win a live auction item by purchasing a Golden Ticket. There are only 100 that will be sold so be sure to get yours today. Enjoy a meal at home and fun swag with your family the night of the event prepared by our very own, Chef Doug with one of our many sponsorship opportunities.

We are still accepting items for our silent auction. The silent auction offers a wide range of exciting experiences and items, be sure to check out the wish list for ways you could contribute.

The Spring Auction is a highlight event every year for the community and we know this year will not disappoint. Join us on April 16 via Zoom to see student performances, a special message from Dr. Hudson, and so much more!

Contact Jennifer Rogers-Petitt at jrogers@moundsparkacademy.org with questions or your donation information.