Mounds Park Academy

January 31, 2019

Friday, February 1 is Free Food For Thought Friday at MPA! This is a wonderful opportunity for students who normally don’t take hot lunch or who haven’t for a while, to try MPA’s program.

A MESSAGE FROM SAGE: SAGE is excited to partner with Mounds Park Academy for this fun event! Come and enjoy lunch on us! We know you’ll love the selections we have to offer. That day features a crowd favorite—house-baked chicken tenders, quesadillas, and brown sugar sweet potatoes. You’ll also find a build-your-own California Cobb salad, creamy baked mac and cheese, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and much more. Our team will be proud to serve you. Come and experience the passion and care that goes into every meal we create here at Mounds Park Academy!
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Late Start Thursday Update

January 30, 2019

Mounds Park Academy continues to plan for a 10 AM start tomorrow, Thursday, January 31, with regular activities being held after school, including Pajamarama. Arrival should be at 9:30 AM or later. None of the buses to MPA will operate in the morning. In the afternoon, the MPA buses will operate, however, the routes within District 622 will not.

We will continue to monitor the forecast and if anything changes, we will notify families before 6 AM via email, text, voicemail, moundsparkacademy.org, and social media.

Please use caution when traveling to campus and know that tardies are excused during inclement weather. As always, if you determine that your/your student’s commute is too difficult or unsafe, the absence will also be excused—students are still responsible for work missed.

Please take good care and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning!

Severe Cold Closure

January 28, 2019

We have been closely monitoring the forecast today and have made the difficult decision to cancel all classes, activities, practices, and events for Tuesday, January 29 and Wednesday, January 30 due to extreme cold. In addition, we will have a 10 AM start on Thursday, January 31. Arrival should be at 9:30 AM or later. No buses will run on Thursday morning.

Students and/or parents should login to Schoology after 10 AM Tuesday to check if their teacher(s) have posted an assignment.

This is not a decision we take lightly as we balance the safety of our students and families with the commitment that we make to instructional time. Safety is always our highest priority.

Please take good care and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday morning!

School Closed Monday, January 28

January 27, 2019

Good evening, MPA Families –

Due to the weather conditions predicted overnight, and the forecasted road conditions, classes at Mounds Park Academy will be cancelled tomorrow, Monday, January 28. This includes all activities, practices, and events.

This is not a decision we take lightly. We have been in close communication with our bus company, First Student, and we have been monitoring the conditions closely. We believe it is in the best interest of all families that we not hold school tomorrow.

Please stay safe and warm. We look forward to seeing you on campus Tuesday!

Sincerely,
Dr. Bill Hudson
Head of School

Choosing A School Path That Inspires

January 25, 2019

There are so many things to think about when you’re raising a child, but there are few things more important than their education. A child’s educational journey only happens once, so it’s important to guide them down the path that is right for them.

For many, a private school education is the right choice because of the personalized attention students receive. Complementing the academic experience, many private schools teach students to be responsible community members and encourage them to make a positive impact on the world.

A strong focus on each child’s unique abilities

At Mounds Park Academy, our focus on every child’s individuality is one of the things that makes us so unique. We embrace every child, celebrate their differences, and help guide them to discover who they are truly meant to be. Teachers are not bound by test- score data as the sole measure of a student’s abilities, so they have more freedom and flexibility to accommodate individual students’ needs. Small class sizes allow teachers to better evaluate their students’ academic and personal strengths and challenges. Teachers engage with students every day in ways that help them thrive. Read More

It’s In Our DNA

January 24, 2019

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

Last week, a new lunch group was launched in the Middle School. Seventh and eighth grade girls were invited to participate in a “Girl Power Friendship Group” over the course of eight weeks. During lunch, Middle School girls are coming together to learn about how to navigate difficult emotions, confidently communicate with others, and build strong friendships. The new group, under the guidance of Ashley Cooper, Middle and Upper School counselor, and Aria Fiat, Ph.D. candidate from the University of Minnesota, is a proactive way to address the social, emotional, and mental health challenges that appear developmentally in adolescent girls.

Just last week in my head’s message, I reiterated a vision of MPA that reframes the understanding of “whole-child for whole-life.” Such an education is collaborative, experiential, and interdisciplinary, which values the assessments of broader aims—those skills, dispositions, and mindsets most necessary to live, learn, and thrive in today’s 21st century globalized society. A crucial aspect of which is the social, emotional, and mental health of our students. Read More

Strategic Planning From The Board’s Perspective

January 24, 2019

by Brent Peacock, Chair of the MPA Board of Trustees

In 2015, MPA launched an extensive, highly collaborative, strategic planning process. The process, which was initiated, designed and driven by a task force of the Board of Trustees and Head of School, involved and engaged 64 stakeholders from across the school community, including leadership, faculty, staff, families and, critically, students. The process was grounded in the mission and values of the school and was designed to be collaborative, comprehensive, transparent, and inclusive. It provided both a compass and a blueprint to make informed decisions in order to respond, anticipate, and proactively plan for changes and challenges ahead. Not only did the process produce a strong 5-year strategic plan (Momentum 2020), it also built trust and partnerships among its wide array of stakeholders. Read More

Become A Sponsor For The Spring Auction!

January 24, 2019

Sponsors are so important to the success of Once Upon a Time–MPA Spring Auction 2019. Your support allows MPA to extend its mission even further. As a sponsor, you will have the opportunity to raise awareness of your company to our parent, alumni, and alumni parent community and receive special recognition on the website and printed materials. You will be invited to the exclusive pre-party where you will have special access to the silent auction, great gatherings, and games. You will also support Mounds Park Academy’s faculty and staff by allowing us to provide them with complimentary tickets to the event. We can’t wait to see you there on May 11, 2019 at the Vadnais Heights Commons.

If you have any questions, please contact Susan Robertson, Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Manager, at srobertson@moundsparkacademy.org or 651-748-5531. Full event information and tickets may always be found at moundsparkacademy.org/springauction.

Maker Fest 2019: Meet Michelle Mick

January 24, 2019

We’re interviewing the Makers you’ll meet at at Maker Fest 2019 on Saturday, February 23 so you can get to know them ahead of time! If reading about Michelle’s work has inspired you to share your own, sign up here to be a Maker yourself!

What (or who) inspires you to make?

Having had a brain tumor that compromises my ability to do certain things, I find that having been told I am completely impractical–and now being able to function normally–I have an inner strength to try my hand at things that I have been told I can’t do or am no good at. I am inspired by bending down in the garden, in a parking lot, or wherever, and seeing this beautiful nature all around us. It could be as simple as this morning, with a few snow flakes coming down, and seeing them one by one land on our black truck, absolutely amazingly perfect. Or it could be sitting in the garden listening to the hum drum of the bugs in the middle of summer, and having a butterfly come and land on me and stay there for half an hour or so, or chatting with a tame blue jay!

What do you enjoy making?

I started by trying to paint butterflies on rocks, having read about the village members in Mexico selling rocks to tourists, to try and raise awareness of the Monarch butterfly. I donated the money that I raised to the Monarch lab at the U of M, and branched out by painting a swallowtail, caterpillars, hearts, you name it! I recently did a project for an MPA staff member, painting rocks and sayings, which was such an amazing thoughtful gift from the staff member to friends. Read More

Volunteer At These Parents Association Events

January 23, 2019

Last week the Gallery became New York City with the help of many, many volunteers. We want to thank everyone who volunteered, whether you donated drinks/snacks, decor, time, or ideas and hard work on the planning committees. It was so wonderful to see the entire Middle School joyfully sharing the same space! An additional thank you to Vern and his facilities staff for helping with heavy lifting and keeping our space clean, as well as Chef Doug and his kitchen staff for providing additional food, NYC style. A special thank you to MPA parent Melissa Johnson and her son Oliver (MPA class of ‘18) for helping to create our vision of NYC, from Central Park to the Food Truck to Bill’s Bodega. It truly made the Gallery a special place last week. We hope everyone had a great time. A huge thank you to Susan Knapp and Tara Lafferty too! It took lots of planning and hard work to put it all together. Kudos to both! Read More