Mounds Park Academy

October 29, 2020

The MPA Fall Campaign Committee invites you for a fun virtual kick-off event on Monday, November 9 from 7-7:30 PM. Hear a state of the school update from Dr. Hudson, listen to great student speakers, help us meet a special giving challenge, and celebrate the success to the start of the school year with other MPA families. The whole family is invited to attend to learn more, join in singing our school song, and if 50% of our community joins the call, we have a special challenge donation we will be eligible to receive from a generous donor of $10,000! Join us to learn more about this year’s You Give Fall Campaign, how your family can join in, and help us to build community virtually until we can all be together again safely in person. Contact Jennifer Rogers-Petitt, director of development and community engagement with any questions at jrogers@moundsparkacademy.org. Join via Zoom >

Parents Connect Wednesday Mornings

October 29, 2020

The Parents Association invites parents and guardians to get together Wednesday mornings after drop off. We are still walking! Mark your calendars, it will be fun!

Wednesday, November 4 and November 11 will be a 30 minute walk with Michelle Mick. We’ll meet in the Lower School Parking lot by the crosswalk and head out, rain or shine. Chat with new parents and connect with friends. Younger children and furry friends are welcome to walk with us.

Future Wednesday morning walks will depend on the weather.

Remember to bring a mask to all events! Hope to see you there!

Traditions Reimagined

October 29, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

I was at Home Depot a week or so ago with my husband Ross picking up a few materials for a home improvement project we are working on. What was supposed to be a quick trip turned out to be an adventure as he led me on a search for the plumbing aisle. Exasperated (and a little bit irritated) I asked him why this detour was so important. He said he wanted to purchase six feet of PVC pipe for Halloween. Still a bit irritated but now curious, I pressed further. As it turned out, he saw a device online constructed out of PVC pipe that delivers Halloween candy into the bags of trick or treaters while maintaining proper physical distancing. As head of school of MPA, I had to applaud his creativity and adherence to proper health and safety measures.

Like so much in our day to day lives, COVID-19 is requiring us to reimagine just about everything, including Halloween. Hardly a day goes by when a need arises to rethink a tradition, policy, practice, or program. Teachers, students, staff, and administrators have all become adept at holding fast to our traditions and values while at the same time making the necessary accommodations for health and safety purposes.

Our much beloved Halloween tradition, the Lower School Halloween Parade, is the latest example of this phenomenon. It is one of my most favorite traditions for many reasons, not least of all the joyfulness of a PreK-12 school under one roof. It is pure magic seeing the joy-filled faces of the older students and the excitement on the faces of our younger students as they parade through the Middle and Upper School hallways—and to have parents on campus to witness it. Not to fear, a virtual parade of sorts is taking place as adorable pictures of our Lower School students in their Halloween costumes are on display on the many display screens located throughout the building. I’ve seen Upper School students seated to watch the rotation in its entirety—staff too. Click here to see last year’s parade on campus and here to see this year’s virtual version. Read More

Meet Justin Choi ’23

October 27, 2020

Justin Choi ’23 and his family relocated to MPA from Hong Kong. He began at MPA in ninth grade in the fall of 2019.

What do you love about MPA?
I love the support I have received from absolutely everyone here.

How are you encouraged to dream big and do right at MPA?
I have a choice and a voice in what I do. There’s a large variety of electives, sports and clubs and I have chosen to get involved in a lot.

Why do you believe your teachers teach the way they do?
Teachers teach in this way because they want me to succeed. They are helping me to find something that I truly love doing. Read More

We’re Number One!

October 22, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

For most of our school’s history, MPA was considered the best-kept secret in the East Metro. Our humble beginning led to an institutional humility that while we enjoyed great success, we were a bit hesitant to say that too loud or too often. That humility was one aspect of MPA that I clearly identified with, personally and professionally. The lack of a sense of entitlement and elitism at MPA is consistent with the admonishment of my parents “to let my actions speak louder than my words.” However, when words and actions do align, people begin to take note and affirmation and recognition soon follow.

Such was the case last week when MPA received news that our school is now ranked #1 among the 62 private schools in the state of Minnesota according to Niche.com and #60 among 2,525 private schools in the United States. Many of you are probably familiar with Niche, an online, crowd-sourced review of schools, colleges, and neighborhoods. Built upon the reviews and recommendations, Niche also incorporates quantitative data in making their determinations. Read More

Thriving In Class, On Campus And At Home

October 22, 2020

At the front of her hybrid classroom, Upper School history teacher Katie Murr sits facing her physically-distant classroom of students faces, in person and on screen. Behind her, the virtual students’ faces are also projected on the whiteboard to face the rest of their peers. The room is equipped with an Owl Pro speaker and a brand new mobile screen to keep her virtual students connected in the classroom, even from home.

Though the class is physically in two places at once, the student experience remains whole. In a recent classroom discussion about the presidential and vice presidential debates, students on campus and online popcorned their way through their thoughts and questions. At each hand that was raised, Katie listed who was next in the discussion queue. “It feels ‘normal!'” Ms. Murr remarks. “It’s working, because I can still enable an engaging discussion.” Read More

Garseng Wong ’11 Shares His Knowledge On MPA Talks

October 20, 2020

Our Virtual MPA Talks last month featured Garseng Wong, an MPA Class of 2011 alum and a passionate mental health advocate. He is currently a resident psychiatrist at NYU and hopes to specialize in child-adolescent psychiatry, focusing his work with queer youth and young adults. In his MPA Talk, he discussed mental health, skills and ideas for maintaining it, and how to address the stigma around it. Watch Garseng’s full MPA Talk here.

We are looking for additional MPA Alumni who want to share their passions and stories with the MPA Community. Contact alumni@moundsparkacademy.org if you are interested.

Freethinker Friday: Making Relocations Work

October 19, 2020

Join us live on Facebook Friday, October 23 at 12 PM for “Freethinker Friday: Making Relocations Work.” Relocations can be complicated. There are many moving parts as families transition their lives somewhere new, sometimes with little notice. Finding a warm school community is one of the most important factors in a successful relocation. Mounds Park Academy has become a premier destination for families relocating to the Twin Cities because of its welcoming, inclusive, and globally connected community. With 3M, Ecolab, The University of Minnesota, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and many other corporations and nonprofit organizations nearby, MPA welcomes numerous transplants from across the United States and around the world.

Whether you are moving within the Twin Cities, from a different state, or from a different country – there’s a lot to learn! Hear from three MPA families, representing all three divisions, who have recently relocated to the Twin Cities, and learn how they successfully navigated the trials and triumphs of relocation.

Meet RuoHan (Kitty) Li ’21 and Xinyuan (Ella) Li ’24

October 14, 2020

Between visa issues, parent concerns, and travel challenges, COVID-19 has presented many obstacles for MPA’s international students. In fact, two students from China, 12th grader RuoHan (Kitty) Li and 9th grader Xinyuan (Ella) Li (no relation) have had to stay at home this semester and attend virtually from thousands of miles away. In a testament to their commitment to remaining a part of the community, Kitty and Ella have rearranged their schedules to accommodate the time differences. Hear how they are making this tremendous sacrifice in order to continue their educations at MPA.

What does your daily schedule look like? What time are MPA’s classes for you? Has your sleep and meal schedule changed?

Kitty: Right now, my daily schedule is class from 9:00pm to 2:30am since I do not have 6th block this quarter. However, next quarter, I will have class from 9:00pm to 4:00am since I have Physics. I have been sleeping from 3am to 12pm recently. My meal schedule has not changed too much, but I have reduced it from three meals to two meals since I have not been eating a lot for breakfast. Read More

Section Meet

October 13, 2020

This was a section meet in two acts.

Our girls ran in the morning, enjoying crisp autumn weather but also dealing with blustery winds. Margo ran with the 2nd Breck runner for most of the race, sprinting past her over the last part of the race. She finished 9th overall. Cara ran with another Breck runner for much of the way, but she also kicked hard to finish ahead of her competition. Izzy, running her last high school cross country race, ran one of her best races of the season, finishing strong. And she had to because Teagan was just a few seconds behind her, earning a personal best time. Abigail ran close to her personal best time, set on a flat course at Blake. Sophia, running on legs that were feeling much better after a week of rest, improved her best time on this course from last year.

The girls team, which had been seeded 8th, improved on that, finishing in 7th place in the merged results.

Our boys team ran in the afternoon, enjoying slightly warmer temperatures, but also dealing with the same strong winds. Isak ran with the top Holy Family runner, staying with him until the last hill, when he moved ahead. He finished with a strong kick to win our pod. He finished 3rd overall. Ben moved up steadily the second half of the race, finishing with a good surge to improve his personal best time. Peter, running in his final high school cross country race, started pretty fast, and hung on for his best time of the season. Not bad for someone who broke his ankle in June! Evan started out with Ben, but had some trouble, hanging on to finish as our 4th runner. Trevor ran close to his personal best time and finished well. Eddie also finished well, improving on his best time on this course from last year. Liam also had some trouble during the race, but hung on to close things out for the boys.

The boys team, which had also been seeded 8th, finished in 6th place in the merged results.

Since there is no state meet this year, this section meet marks the end of our season. Thanks to your ability to adapt to many new ways of doing things, your willingness to take responsibility for your own training when you were not on campus, and all your hard work over the summer and during our season, you ran some excellent races today. Congratulations on completing a memorable season!

Results for the girls and boys races can be found at Gopher State Events.

And if you’ve never seen our girls do their pre-race routine, check out this video: