MPA Student Makes Local Impact With “Max’s Muffins”

Max's annual muffin saleIt’s time for the third annual Max’s Muffins fundraiser! Every summer, MPA fourth grader Max sells muffins to raise and deliver funds to a local food pantry. Max was first inspired to host these summer muffin sales by Ms. P’s Kowalski’s food shelf project in kindergarten. When he learned that families struggle more in the summer when children aren’t in school with lunch provided to them, he decided he had to do something to help.

After first grade, Max created and led his first muffin sale. He donated more than $200 to the Hugo Good Neighbor Food Shelf, where he took a tour of the organization and fell in love. Max’s family continuous to volunteer throughout the year to support the cause, and for the third year in a row, Max keeps up his summertime muffin sale to contribute and give back to his community. Way to dream big and do right, Max! We are so proud of you!

 


Alumni, We Need Your Help!

Alumni at the 2019 alumni panelDo you enjoy reconnecting with your classmates and like to stay up-to-date on the milestones in their lives? The MPA Alumni association is seeking additional class representative volunteers to help us stay connected with you and your classmates.

These class leaders will help to keep their fellow alumni engaged and serve as the lead in helping to share exciting life events happening with their classmates. Your commitment will be minimal and the MPA Alumni Association will make it easy for you to have what you need to serve as your class representative. Contact us to learn more!


Homecoming and Reunion Weekend Save the Date!

group photo from alumni reunion 2018The weekend of September 27-28, 2019, we will be celebrating the classes of: 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015 for their milestone reunions.

On Saturday, September 28, we will have an alumni gathering for these class reunions and an All Alumni event at Lake Monster Brewing Company, 550 Vandalia St. #160, Saint Paul. Plan to attend for a great time and to reconnect with your classmates and other MPA alumni!


MPA Alumni Student Mentorship Program

MPA Alumni Student Mentorship ProgramLast year, the MPA Alumni Association launched an innovative student enrichment opportunity, pairing Upper School seniors with alumni mentors. The program is designed to enhance personal and professional development experiences for our senior class students, while also providing alumni with an opportunity to reconnect to MPA and share their own experiences and knowledge with the next generation of graduates.

The program connected alumni like Meghan Martineau ’02 with Rayaan Ahmed ’19. Upon the program’s conclusion, Martineau shared, “She blew my socks off. I was so impressed to know that she volunteered with newly elected U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. As she heads off to George Washington University in the fall, I know she’s poised to change the world. Serving as a mentor to Rayaan was a lovely experience.” Read More


Welcome To The Family, Ms. McCall!

summer mccallMeet Summer McCall, who is joining MPA as a social studies teacher. Ms. McCall has a Bachelor of Arts in history and Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota, and has been teaching high school for the past fifteen years across the country and internationally in Louisiana, Arizona, and Korea. After moving back to Minnesota, she worked at Bloomington Kennedy High School until joining the faculty at MPA!

What did you love about MPA right away?
My favorite part was my interaction with the students! I loved the student interview and the sense of community at MPA.

What’s your big dream?
My big dream is to live in a world that thrives on open discussion of the world’s issues. We need more conversation and less division! Read More


Welcome To The Family, Mr. Harris!

Rich HarrisMeet Rich Harris, who is joining MPA as a Physical Education teacher. Mr. Harris graduated from Southwestern College in Kansas in 1996 and has been following his passion of teaching ever since. He taught for two years in Kansas, 10 in Massachusetts, three in Qatar, five in London, and the past three in Saudi Arabia. He has also coached a variety of sports, but always basketball.

What did you love about MPA right away?
The communication was fantastic and the people, especially Mr. Segal, are so nice and kind.

What’s your big dream?
To coach college basketball some day. Read More


Welcome To The Family, Ms. Joyce!

Tracey JoyceMeet Tracey Joyce, who will be our new PreK-12 academic technology integrationist. Tracey comes to us from Visitation School where she has worked in the area of technology for 12 years. Prior to that, she was a classroom teacher for eight years. Ms. Joyce has extensive experience developing curriculum and promoting the intentional use of technology to support student achievement in the PreK-12 classroom. She is an exceptional parent educator and advocate of digital citizenship and security who deeply cherishes whole child education and loves to celebrate the joy of learning!

What did you love about MPA right away?
My favorite part of the interview process was meeting the students. The students I interacted with from all three divisions were helpful, kind, articulate, and charming. It is evident that the entire community supports a “students first” mentality and I absolutely cannot wait to join that effort. And, in full disclosure, I should also mention how much I enjoyed the “spa water” at lunch, too! Read More


Panthers Embark On Global Summer Adventure

students on their global summer adventureOn June 16, 16 MPA students, parents, and faculty headed to London for the first leg of a two-week journey that would take them from London to Paris via Normandy, Brittany, and the Loire Valley.

The trip began focused on British history with an emphasis on World War II. After a visit to the Churchill War Rooms in London, students boarded a boat and crossed the English Channel to Normandy, where they spent the next few days exploring and learning more details of the D-Day invasion. Since it was the 75th anniversary, this visit was even more poignant in the villages and historic sites of Cherbourg, Caen, Arromanches, St. Mère Eglise, the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, and Point du Hoc. Students were assigned a person involved during the D-Day invasion and had several days to prepare a presentation about them, which was shared with the group at Point du Hoc. MPA Senior Charlie Galicich also shared with the group the story of Class of 2018 alumna Katie Jacob’s grandmother, following her experiences as a nurse days after the initial invasion. Read More


Now Offering Girls Swimming Swimming and Diving

swim club swimmersDue to student interest, MPA is pleased to announce that it will offer an Upper School Girls Swimming and Diving Team starting this fall!

Details:

  • This four-day-per-week program is for students entering grades seven through 12 and no exceptions can be made.
  • This offering will be in addition to the Lower and Middle School Swim Club for boys and girls, which is offered in the winter. Swimmers may participate in both opportunities (correction from an earlier communication).
  • This will be an MPA-only team with no other school partnerships.
  • This team will be coached by Ms. Stacy, fourth grade teacher.
  • Practices will begin August 12, 2019 at the Maplewood YMCA. Meets will be determined at a later date.
  • Transportation to and from practices and meets will be the responsibility of the families.
  • A parent/coach meeting will occur later in July.
  • The cost for participation will be $175 per student.

To register for the team, email Dan Haase, athletic director, at dhaase@moundsparkacademy.org and include your student’s name, grade level, and preferred parent email address.

Go Panthers!


MPA Expands Transportation To South Minneapolis

Bus pulling up to Mounds Park AcademyMounds Park Academy is happy to announce the expansion of its bus services to the Minneapolis area for the 2019-20 school year!

This expansion is the result of unprecedented interest from prospective families in the area as well as the school’s desire to serve current and future families better. This new route will be in addition to the routes that are currently offered to and from Stillwater, Lakeland, Woodbury, North Oaks, Roseville, St. Paul, Highland Park, and throughout District 622.

Minneapolis bus route details:

  • Unlike our other bus routes, the cost of the Minneapolis route will include before and after school care for Lower and Middle School children.
  • To allow for participation in athletics, enrichment classes, and other after school activities, many of which are offered at no additional cost, this route will leave the MPA campus at 4:30 PM.
  • The tentative group stops will be at Lyndale Ave S & 50th Street E and Lyndale Ave S & 42nd St E. These stops may be adjusted.
  • This route is pending ridership. We will confirm the route when the minimum number of riders is reached.

For more information about this as well as MPA’s other bus routes, visit moundsparkacademy.org/mplstransportation. To sign up for transportation, current and new families may contact Amanda Platson, student billing coordinator, at aplatson@moundsparkacademy.org or 651-748-5502.