Mounds Park Academy

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:

Non-Varsity Time Trial

October 12, 2020

On a beautiful fall afternoon, our non-varsity runners had one last chance to test themselves in a 2400 meter time trial.

Henry led from start to finish. Josh and Leo ran together the entire race, with Josh kicking past Leo over the last 100 meters. Josh ran 10 seconds faster than he did in the virtual meet over the same course. Megan finished only a few seconds behind those boys to lead our two girls. She ran almost 30 seconds faster than she did at the virtual meet a month ago.

Carter and Connor ran close together most of the way, with Carter sprinting ahead at the end. Both Carter and Connor ran much faster than they did over the same course in the virtual meet. Julia finished just ahead of Andrew, running almost a minute faster than she did in the virtual meet! Andrew was slowed by a sore back from hockey.

Ryan wrapped things up for our non-varsity runners.

Almost everyone who had run over this course during the virtual meet a month ago improved on that time. Some of you improved a lot. This is a credit to the work you’ve put in over the course of the season. This ends your season for this year. But hopefully you can make more progress in future seasons!

You can see the results of the non-varsity time trial here.

Meet the Short Herring Family

October 8, 2020

Dr. Courtney Herring, pediatrician and member of MPA’s COVID-19 Community Advisory Group, and her children, Carter (grade 6) and Harper (grade 5) share how their experience is going so far this fall at MPA.

How is MPA making sure you’re safe at school?

Harper: MPA has been and always will be my favorite school. They have spent a lot of time on making sure everyone is six feet apart, wearing a mask, and sanitizing their hands. MPA has kept me educated and safe.

How is MPA incorporating the important tasks of building community and maintaining joy while still ensuring the safety of all constituents?

Dr. Herring: The task of re-opening any school during a population health crisis is daunting. The administration and staff at MPA worked tirelessly to build-in safety provisions with logistical planning required to allow our children to return to the classroom. Whereas safety is first, social development and academic delivery should not be demoted to second-level importance. MPA understood these principles and picked up the gauntlet in a way that makes all of us should proud to be part of our “Dream Big. Do Right.” family. By not losing focus, our students have been re-engaged and families supported while relationships continue to be built through in-person and virtual platforms.

Important Clarification About Virtual Grandparents & Special Friends Week

October 8, 2020

Due to our essential COVID-19 safety measures, we are unable to host Grandparents and Special Friends on campus next week or gather as a school community for any type of live performance. Instead, we are excited to offer a virtual week aimed at celebrating the special relationships between our students and their grandparents and loved ones. Read More

Not Obstacles, Opportunities

October 8, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

Over the summer, a transformation took place at MPA. A little known and underutilized courtyard tucked away between the Lower School and our new Martin Lenz Harrison Library became a magical garden of discovery and joyfulness. What was grass is now a place where students can witness the growth and life, get their hands dirty, reconnect with the earth, and enjoy the bounty of fresh vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Each section of the garden is marked by hand-painted stones with the name of the plant in English, French, and Spanish. The garden is the realization of a vision shared with me by Lower School parent Michelle Mick. Together with husband Tim, children Isaac and Freya, Chef Doug, Upper School student Samantha Forgosh, Class of 2019 alum Jaeden McFarland, and grounds staff Andy and Josh, Michelle created this charming and enchanting space for all to enjoy.

Fast forward to this week when the Lower School gathered virtually to launch CHAMP for the 2020-21 school year. In case you are not familiar with CHAMP, it stands for Character Happens At Mounds Park. CHAMP is a time-honored program wherein a character trait is chosen to explore with students throughout the school year in the classroom, in special assemblies, service-learning, music, art, and drama. This year’s theme, perseverance, is particularly relevant given the challenges presented by the pandemic. Read More

Important COVID-19 Update

October 8, 2020

Since the spring, we have been hard at work planning and refining to welcome students back to campus. As we have shared all along, we know that while there is no such thing at zero risk while the pandemic continues to impact to so many, one thing has become very clear over the previous seven weeks of school: our layered approach of protective and preventative measures is working.

Thanks to our community’s diligence, we have had zero instances of community spread on campus. Some community members have been impacted by this terrible virus outside of the school hours. During the month of September, four MPA community members contracted the virus due to outside exposure to it. Our planning allowed our teams to quickly mobilize, work with the Minnesota Department of Health, and move through our 49-point flow chart that guides our contact tracing.

As a school, we are committed to ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of our community and appreciate your partnership in addressing rumors or concerns head on. It is also important to reiterate again that if you or your family has been exposed as a close contact to a case of COVID-19 connected to the school, you will hear from us immediately. This is our deep and sincere commitment to you. Read More

Girls Tennis Scores Upset Win in Section 4A Tournament

October 8, 2020

Congratulations to the Girls Varsity Tennis Team for upsetting the #4 seed Southwest Christian High School in the opening round of the Section 4A tournament. The girls won in a thrilling 4-3 victory. Check out the recap from Coach Slachta.

We had an exciting, entertaining and intense match against a strong and higher seeded team from Southwest Christian. Freya Rahm (#1 singles), Gabbi Magistad/Maggie Fritsch (#1 doubles) and Alina Ramirez/Mariana V. (3rd doubles) all put up hard fought battles in their respective positions but were denied a victory leaving Team MPA down 0-3.

With 4 remaining positions out on the court Team MPA needed to go four for four to secure a win. Meera Jain came up big at #4 singles with a convincing win (6-2, 6-3, by far her best effort of the season!) to make the team score 1-3. Meanwhile the dynamic duo of Soumya Raman/Nellie L. (#2 doubles) were in a heated battle and prevailed with a 6-2, 7-6 victory. Read More

More Opportunities To Connect With The Parents Association

October 8, 2020

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

Wednesday, October 21 will be a 30 minute walk with Michelle Mick. We’ll meet in the Lower School Parking lot and head out, rain or shine. Chat with new parents and connect with friends. Younger children are welcome to walk with us. Remember to bring a mask to all events! Hope to see you there!

Apple Picking
An apple picking outing to beautiful Aamodt’s Farm in Stillwater is in the works! We’ll wear masks, plus any MPA gear (lanyards would be perfect) you have, and stay physically distant and safe. Stay tuned for more details.

IMAC Championship

October 6, 2020

It felt like August but you raced like October at the IMAC Championship.

Our varsity boys started things off. It was already getting hot with a stiff wind as well. Isak ran for a short while with the top Breck runner, but he settled in with the 2nd and 3rd Breck runners. He led them through the second half of the race and finished well to earn 2nd in our race, and 4th in the merged results. Isak earned all conference honors for his efforts.

Peter, Evan, and Ben stuck together for most of the race, working against the top Providence runner and the 4th Breck runner. They finished within a few seconds of each other. Liam, Eddie, and Trevor also ran together for most of the race. Liam made a late move, but Eddie surged to finished as our 5th runner, with Liam finishing close behind, and with Trevor sprinting past Breck’s 5th runner.

Our varsity girls toed the line as the temperatures rose into the high 70s. Margo ran with the top Providence runner and the 2nd Breck runner. She surged up the big last hill to separate from them to finish 2nd in our race and 7th in the merged results. Margo earned all conference honors for her work.

Cara ran much of the race alone, but ran well to finish 7th in our race and 20th in the merged results. Izzy, Teagan, and Abigail ran together much of the race, competing against a couple of Providence runners. Izzy pushed hard over the last mile, and Teagan stuck not too far back, to separate from those runners. Abigail held on for a course best time.

I was pleased to see some good racing today. The weather and the course made fast times impossible. But you ran in groups and ran with the runners from Breck and Providence that you were targeting. If you bring that effort and focus to our section races next week, you will do well!

Results are available at Gopher State Events.