June 19, 2019
MPA Track and Field went toe to toe with the best competition in Section 4A and emerged with a record number of runners advancing to the state meet!
On the girls side, highlights include eighth grader Zoe M. winning her prelim heat in the 100m, advancing through her semifinals heat, and qualifying for finals, placing fourth with a season best time of 13.17. In the 400m, 8th grader Greta M. (Gentry) advanced to finals and placed fifth, running a near season best of 1:02.81. In the 800m, senior Sofia Walker’s dream of qualifying for the state meet came to fruition, as she won the 800m in 2:26.43, just off her personal best. Sophomore Izzy Quam ran near her season best to make finals in the 800m and finished seventh in 2:34.94. In the 1600m, Sophomore Katie Dahiya earned a medal with her sixth-place finish, running her second-best time of the season in 5:49.26. She added another medal in the 3200m, running 12:26.80 and finishing fifth with a personal best by nearly 30 seconds! She is now fifth all time in MPA history in the 3200m. In the 100m hurdles, 8th grader Emily B. qualified for the finals running a personal best time of 18.56 in the prelims (now eighth best all time at MPA) and took eighth in the finals.
In the 4x100m, the team of eighth grader Zoe M., ninth grader Ella Fruchterman, junior Catherine Moore and senior Ellie Quam made the finals and placed seventh, running 53.34. They are now sixth all time at MPA. In the 4x200m, the team of eighth graders Zoe M. and Greta M., ninth grader Ella Fruchterman, and junior Catherine Moore. ran 1:52.22 to earn medals with their fifth-place finish. Their time is now eighth all time at MPA. In the girls 4x800m, the team of seniors Sofia Walker and Gabby Law, tenth grader Izzy Quam and 8th grader Margo N. ran a heroic race to finish second and qualify for state! Their time of 10:05.06 is the second fastest ever at MPA and the fastest in 21 years. Read More
Meet Hannah Lawson, who has been selected as the new director of orchestras and music teacher. Ms. Lawson will join our community and the Twin Cities after eight years of public and private school teaching in the United States and abroad. Most recently, she has been teaching orchestra and general music in Saudi Arabia! She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Music Education from Boston University. We are excited about Hannah’s passion for music, her deep and thorough knowledge of composition and music theory, and her excitement to lead MPA’s orchestras to continued excellence.
Meet Ian Cunningham, who we are thrilled to welcome back after he completed his student teaching with us just last fall! Mr. Cunningham is joining the Middle School faculty as the new social studies teacher for grades five and six. He is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota with a Master of Education in social studies, and his Bachelor of Arts in history with a minor in youth studies is also from the University of Minnesota. He brings a wonderfully positive energy to the Middle School and is already a beloved member of our community, especially by students. He is a talented young teacher with a real passion for the social studies, an ability to connect students with content, and a commitment to equity, justice, and goodness.
As the 2018–19 school year comes to an end, we’re sharing the college choice stories of several members of the Class of 2019!
During its June 2019 meeting, the MPA Alumni Association unanimously approved the following new board members.
Meet Lauren Drake, who is joining MPA’s faculty as an Upper School English teacher! A veteran English teacher, she has taught in both Northern California and in Colorado and recently relocated back to Minnesota. After graduating from Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., Ms. Drake matriculated to Carlton College where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English (magna cum laude) and then received a Master of Arts in British and American literature from Mills College. Learn more about her below!
In May 2018, Middle School faculty members Ms. Meras, Ms. Powell, and Ms. Nagle first began thinking of ways to better utilize the food waste in the cafeteria. With the help of a Ramsey County grant and members of EcoConsilium, MPA was able to purchase a food recycling system and larger waste bins. MPA’s food waste is now sent to a pig farm, where it can be recycled as feed. There are two other bins available at lunch–one for trash and one for recyclable materials. While this was a significant change from simply dumping all lunch waste into one bin, our community adapted quickly and the student body has been enthusiastically cooperating. MPA has received positive feedback and high remarks that we are doing an excellent job of sorting our food waste and the impact has been positive.
On June 8, 2019, students, families, and faculty gathered in Mounds Park Academy’s Nicholson Center to graduate the Class of 2019. The evening began with the Upper School Band’s rendition of “Pomp & Circumstance” as the junior color guard and MPA faculty and staff presented the graduates. Throughout the ceremony, the Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers shared songs and three members of the Class of 2019 spoke. Gabby Law ’19, Julia Portis ’19, and Valedictorian Ajay Manicka ’19 shared words of pride, encouragement, and inspiration for their fellow classmates.
MPA senior Parker Law entered the 2019 Class A Singles State Tennis Tournament as the #1 seed. Parker’s path to the State Championship included four matches, in which he defeated Worthington High School’s Blaine Doeden in the opening round of 16, St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s Kai Sih, the #4 ranked player from the Breck School Ishan Nadkarni in the final four, and the #2 ranked player from Redwood Valley Rikard Wilkens in the Championship match. After these crucial wins, Parker finished as the 2019 MSHSL State Class A Singles Champion!