Mounds Park Academy

January 19, 2021

What are you currently doing, professionally and/or personally?
Right now, I’m on a gap year after graduating from Carleton College in June 2020 and attending Stanford Law School in August 2021. During this time, I’ve been working for Panther Club at MPA, volunteering for the ACLU-MN, and clerking for Judge Edward T. Wahl, Fourth Judicial District.

How did you get there? Where did you attend college? Are there some career moves or other key experiences or relationships that have inspired you?
Honestly, I’m still having trouble figuring out how and why everything ended up falling together so nicely for me this year. It’s probably some mix of networking (with both MPA and Carleton contacts), persistence, and a healthy dose of good luck. Being able to intern at legal advocacy organizations and firms was a big help for not just making contacts but also getting some real-world confirmation that this career path is a good fit for me. Read More

Alumni Board Seeks Members For Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Subcommittee

January 19, 2021

The Alumni Association Board is seeking members for its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion subcommittee! Led by the Board’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer Sidney Carlson White ’17, this subcommittee, which meets every other month, is for alumni looking to impact and guide antiracism efforts undertaken by both the Alumni Association Board and the broader MPA community.

To be considered for this subcommittee, you don’t have to be a member of the alumni board, simply reach out to alumni@moundsparkacademy.org if interested.

MPA Legacy Society Hosts Wealth Management Presentation

January 19, 2021

MPA’s Legacy Society Committee welcomes you to join MPA alumnus Ty Johnston ’04 for a special presentation on wealth management and creative giving vehicles to benefit important causes you care about. You will learn and gain perspective on tax implications, practical steps you can take, and a variety of giving vehicles you may benefit from. Save the date for January 27, 2021 to join us at 4 PM.

Ty serves as a wealth manager, working directly with his clients to create and maintain a customized financial plan addressing all aspects of a healthy financial life including investments, tax planning, risk management, retirement, employee benefits and estate planning.

Ty is a proud member of the Class of 2004 at MPA and enjoys visiting campus in non-COVID years to visit with former teachers and administrators as well as to keep in touch with existing alumni in the Twin Cities. He has also participated in the MPA Alumni Mentorship program, supporting current MPA seniors as they contemplate their career and college choices.

This presentation will be beneficial for any MPA parents, grandparents, alumni, and other community members. Following the presentation Ty will provide a Q&A session. Join us on Facebook Live or watch the video recording made available following the session.

Alumni Mentors Make Connections Virtually

January 19, 2021

The MPA Mentorship Program entered its third year with MPA Alumni being paired with a member of the senior class. The MPA Alums and seniors exchange three emails throughout the months of November and December. A survey was sent to both the seniors and alums to determine what their interests, career goals, college choice, etc. Work then began to recruit mentors who matched with the interests of our seniors. The program is proving to be successful and gain traction as for the second year in a row we had more alumni interested than seniors enrolled. Engagement continued to be at a high level and many connections were made that will continue far beyond the seniors’ last year at MPA.

This year’s alumni mentor program concluded on January 12, 2021 with a virtual networking event taking place on both Monday, January 11 and Tuesday, January 12. Switching to a virtual program proved successful for attendance with almost 90 percent of our mentors being able to participate. Mentors logged in from all over the country and the world.

A large thank you to our 63 mentors for their commitment, dedication and kindness to our seniors during this year’s mentorship program. We are grateful for your time and devotion to MPA!

If you have interest in joining the mentorship program in the next school year please contact Ashley Goetzke, Assistant Director of Development at agoetzke@moundsparkacademy.org.

Net Promoter Score At An All-Time High

January 14, 2021

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

We begin a new year with new hopes and resolutions and with optimism that the end of the pandemic is in sight. We begin a new year complete with new understandings of ourselves, our family, our society, and our values after an extremely challenging year. Our task will be to take what we have learned, put it to good use, and work for lasting change.

You may remember that in December, parents were invited to participate in our annual Net Promoter Survey. I was more than pleased with the incredibly high level of participation—a whopping 78% of our parent community completed the survey. If you are familiar with the Net Promoter Survey, you know that is commonly used in business to measure customer service. Similarly, MPA uses the Net Promoter Survey to measure parent satisfaction and solicit feedback for use in continuous improvement in order to make data-driven decisions. The survey and score is also important because word of mouth referrals are the greatest source of admission inquiries and the best predictor of new enrollment. Read More

MPA Legacy Society Hosts Wealth Management Presentation

January 14, 2021

MPA’s Legacy Society Committee welcomes you to join MPA alumnus Ty Johnston ’04 for a special presentation on wealth management and creative giving vehicles to benefit important causes you care about. You will learn and gain perspective on tax implications, practical steps you can take, and a variety of giving vehicles you may benefit from. Save the date for January 27, 2021 to join us at 4 PM.

Ty serves as a wealth manager, working directly with his clients to create and maintain a
customized financial plan addressing all aspects of a healthy financial life including investments, tax planning, risk management, retirement, employee benefits and estate planning. Read More

Stay Tuned For The Middle School Play!

January 14, 2021

Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming webisode series, created by the cast and crew of this year’s Middle School play! Inspired by John Krasinski’s “Some Good News” series, the ensemble came together to produce four webisodes, which will begin airing next Friday, January 22. The Middle School students (with Upper School students mentoring) were responsible for pitching ideas, collaborating, and writing stories, interviews, jokes, and sketches. This approach allows the cast to go beyond acting, but to be involved in writing, filming, and directing.

The Middle School Theatre Department is proud to offer students and community members meaningful theater experiences year after year. Given the unique challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Middle School production is fully virtual so all community members far and wide can experience the joy of the students involved in this special project.

If you love and support the Middle School Theatre offerings every year, please consider making a gift that is right for you to help offset lost revenue from ticket and concessions proceeds this year. Every dollar you give will directly support the students and staff making these experiences a reality. Click here to make your gift and help us reach our goal in support of the Middle School Theatre Department. Simply add Middle School Play in your gift designation on the easy giving form. If you have questions or want to learn more about giving opportunities at MPA, please contact Jennifer Rogers-Petitt director of development and community engagement at jrogers@moundsparkacademy.org.

Congratulations, Upper School Artists!

January 14, 2021

The 2021 Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards (MSAA) have been announced, and we have multiple MPA Upper School artists to congratulate this year! Award winners will have their work included in a virtual gallery and will be invited to an online awards ceremony hosted by the Weisman Art Museum in late February. Gold Key artwork will be submitted into competition at the national level of judging. Congratulations to these ambitious artists! Learn more at www.artandwriting.org/awards and view their pieces here.

Amelia Dickson, “Anxiety,” Drawing & Illustration, Gold Key
Amelia Dickson, “Golden Memory,” Digital Art, Gold Key
Amelia Dickson, “The Old Woman,” Drawing & Illustration, Gold Key
Amelia Dickson, “Through Shattered Glass,” Mixed Media, Gold Key
Amelia Dickson, “Enlightenment,” Painting, Silver Key
Amelia Dickson, “The Watcher,” Sculpture, Gold Key
Amelia Dickson, “2020 – A Lonely Demise,” Digital Art, Honorable Mention
Samantha Forgosh, “Flower in the Wind,” Painting, Silver Key
Amy Xiang, “Untold, unfold,” Painting, Gold Key
Amy Xiang, “Blossoms,” Painting, Honorable Mention

Boeder Risner Family Featured in Lake Elmo Magazine

January 7, 2021

Check out this wonderful feature on the Boeder Risner Family in the December 2020 edition of Lake Elmo Living Magazine! Adi Boeder Risner graduated from MPA in 2002, and after meeting her husband Kyle in Colorado, returned to Minnesota so that her children could attend MPA! “We wanted Luke and Levi to attend the same K-12 (now Pre-K-12) that I attended during my childhood. We chose Lake Elmo because of the unique homes, the privacy, history, and South Lake Elmo is located right between Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul and my parents’ place in Hudson,” she says. Article by Allison Lund-Zalewski, photos by Hilda Berdie Photography. Read More

Peacefully Working Through Our Differences

January 7, 2021

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

As I was putting the final touches on my original Panther Post message yesterday afternoon, news broke of the violent protest in Washington DC and the storming of the United States Capitol. The peaceful transfer of power is a cornerstone of our democracy. In the days, months and even years ahead, our nation must engage in serious reflection of who we are as a democratic society. How long can we say, with any sense of integrity, that this is “not who we are” before we must admit that this is who we are.

However, I am an eternal optimist and believe that American democracy is resilient. To me, it makes the case that education is important more than ever. Critical thinking, nurturing student voice and agency, character development, and civic engagement and responsibility are all antidotes to discord, division, and violence. These are important attributes of an MPA education. For instance, quite organically, 40 Upper School students joined a Zoom call last night under the guidance of several Upper School teachers who provided a context for students to think critically about the unfolding events in the context of civic responsibility. Read More