May 11, 2021
Mounds Park Academy competed at the NIETOC National Tournament this past weekend. The team finished ranked 14th in the nation!
MPA had 11 entries and nine students qualify, both school records. Four entries (five students) broke into outrounds, another school record. Seniors Lily Gasterland-Gustafsson and Garrett Hollihan finished in the Octafinal in Duo, senior Anna Gaudio finished in the Octafinal in Drama, senior Ryan Ghose finished in the Semifinal (11th overall) in Humorous, and senior Salmah Elmasry finished in the Final, placing fourth in Ex Speaking.
Salmah won the final round as the first MPA student to ever win a National Final Round. Because the tournament is cumulative, all of her scores combined placed her fourth overall.
Congratulations to the entire team!
When the Panthers girls volleyball team qualified for the MSHSL State Tournament in 2019, their achievement inspired many in the MPA community. Among those were a group of Upper School boys who saw their own future in volleyball. Fast forward two years, and the team is now competing in its first season this spring. “A lot of us had an initial interest in the sport, and we had watched it at the high school, college and professional levels,” recalls senior Callum Jones. We talked to the athletics department, started practicing, and asked (MPA Spanish teacher) Mrs. Kunze to be our coach. When she agreed, we got going.” 
by Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school
Let’s go Panthers! Two MPA athletes are up for winning Top Performer of the Week in their sport–vote for them with the links below. Voting ends Sunday, May 9 at 10 AM!
Click here to cast your vote for senior Evan Esch to be the MN Baseball Hub Top Performer of the Week!
The book festival has started and runs through Monday, May 3. Its goal is to encourage the love of reading and to contribute to the MPA Library. Books are available for purchase from two local booksellers, 
We invite you to join the MPA Parents Association Board! The Parents Association board is looking for volunteers to fill several positions next year. There are varying time commitments, but the experience is consistently rewarding. Over the next few weeks the current PA Board would like to share our reasons for volunteering.
Congratulations to senior Dhruv Muppidi on being named one of 625 Presidential Scholar semifinalists from out of 3.6 million seniors across the country! Since 1964, the Presidential Scholars Program has honored the nation’s most distinguished high school seniors based on academic success, leadership, and service to school and community. Dhruv is one of only 10 semifinalists from Minnesota. He will find out if he is selected as one of 160 Presidential Scholarship recipients in early May!
Congratulations to MPA sixth grader Josh M. on placing 4th out of 111 middle school competitors from across Minnesota at the Math Masters Competition’s Virtual Fact Drill and Order Of Operations Round on March 30 and 31! “It is quite a challenge for a sixth grade student to finish that highly because there are over one hundred students competing that are all very good in math,” says Middle School math teacher and Math Masters coach Chris Peterson. “As far I know, Josh is the only fifth or sixth grader from MPA to ever place in the top six in the Fact Drill and Order of Operations Round at Math Masters!” Way to go, Josh!
Congratulations to MPA Speech, the Class A State Team Champions! In the 2021 Speech Season, Mounds Park Academy had ten state finalists, two state runner-ups, and four State Champions. They also broke the prior Class A team points record. We are so proud of these students!
Congratulations to MPA’s 2021 Athena Award Winner, senior Izzy Quam for committing to St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont for Nordic Skiing! A four sport athlete, Izzy competes in Soccer, Cross Country Running, Nordic Skiing, and Track and Field. She is a captain in each of her sports. Izzy has accumulated 19 varsity letters in athletics, 9 All Conference or Honorable Mention awards from the IMAC conference, and countless team MVPs honors and coaches awards. She is also a stellar student who appears on the honor roll, has earned academic letters, and is a member of the Cum Laude Society.