Mounds Park Academy

November 9, 2017

The theme of the Lower School CHAMP assembly Wednesday was “Be brave and dream big.” This represents the new CHAMP character trait, courage, reminding students of how much their dreams matter and to stay true to who they are, think big, take risks, and be courageous in all of their endeavors.

Students designed posters that served as self-reflections. They started with an outline of their faces, and sketched in portraits of unique hairstyles, sleeping eyes, and whatever they were dreaming up at the moment. These illustrations are an emblematic way to show what kind of dreamer they are, including responses such as World Dreamer, Outside-The-Box Dreamer, Silly Dreamer, and Independent Dreamer. The posters will soon decorate the Lower School hallway.

Click here for more photos of our dreamers!

Gallery Opening: “Two Perspectives”

November 9, 2017

Visit campus to walk through “Two Perspectives,” a beautiful and expressive tandem photo exhibition by MPA Upper School students Alex Esch and Siri Vorvick! The display opened November 6 in the Gallery. Both students are working toward their Certificates of Distinction and describe their art as purposeful, exploratory, and adventurous.

“When I’m with my camera, I feel purpose,” Alex said in her personal statement, also on display in the entrance of the exhibit. “There’s power in being able to capture a moment that vanishes almost instantaneously. I’m truly fascinated by ability I have to forever encapsulate such a small period of time.”

Alex says that the inspiration for her artistic vision comes from the human condition, identifying herself as a portrait photographer. She aims to add dimensions to portraits, capturing ideas and emotions. She also likes to show humans as figures rather than individual people, to focus on the broader nature of humankind.

Give To The Max Day

November 9, 2017

Mark your calendars for Give to the Max Day on November 16 and the end of the Fall Campaign on November 17. If we reach our goal of $75,000 that day, a generous MPA family will contribute an additional $25,000, bringing our grand total to $100,00!

Also, please join us for a Lip Sync Battle on Give to the Max Day in the Lansing Sports Center at 2:20 PM featuring performances from faculty and staff across all divisions. Check out a recap of last year’s event to get you excited!

To make a gift …

Pledge now and donate later! Make a pledge by simply emailing Matt Magers, Director of Development, at mmagers@moundsparkacademy.org.
Click here to give online today or on Give to the Max Day!
Visit the Development Office anytime or on Give to the Max Day. We accept cash, check, or credit cards and are open daily from 8 AM–4 PM.

If you have any questions about making a gift, please contact the Development Team, at 651-748-5532 or via email.

“Peter Pan” Across Disciplines

November 9, 2017

This isn’t your traditional Peter Pan! Twenty-seven Middle School actors and more than 20 students working backstage have been dedicating their time in and outside of school to concentrate on even the smallest details of costume design, set construction, and more. The sold-out production is bringing the community together in creative, challenging, and hands-on ways.

Weeks ago, before anyone knew all the words to “Neverland,” Upper School students started working with Middle School students on costumes for the cast. The kind of imagination possible through this mentorship shows the strengths of our PreK-12 community.

“Our costume crew grew from five to nine people in basically a day, and a few of them are younger siblings of my friends, so it’s cool to get to know them better,” said sophomore Solie Svennevig-Brosi. “I’m excited to make an awesome show with them!”

College Years

November 9, 2017

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

A week ago, I had the pleasure of attending a social event at Dellwood Country Club organized by the MPA Parents of Alumni Association. The event brought together parents who have MPA graduates currently in college. It was a spirited group—all were very excited to talk with one another and share stories of how their children are faring at school. I enjoyed hearing from them and learning how well their children felt prepared for college after MPA. In addition to feeling prepared, I frequently hear that many of our alumni are assisting their friends and roommates with schoolwork and/or teaching them how to study and manage their time.

Another common observation that I hear from parents of alumni is that they continue to develop relationships with their professors. In the words of one parent of alumni, “My child has transitioned beautifully to college. She knows how to advocate for herself and how to learn. I am amazed by her ability to access teachers and get her questions answered. I couldn’t be more pleased with her high school experience.” Because of the meaningful relationships they form with their MPA teachers, they have the same confidence and comfort to talk to their professors after class or visit them during office hours. In some instances, this has led to internships or research assistant opportunities.

Declan Dahlberg Signs With U of M

November 8, 2017

Mounds Park Academy is proud to announce that senior Declan Dahlberg signed with the University of Minnesota’s Track and Field and Cross Country Teams. An exceptional student athlete, Declan was accepted to the University’s College of Science and Engineering.

“I’m extremely excited to start this new chapter of my academic and athletic career next fall, and I’m honored to do it at the University of Minnesota. In the end, the combination of my interactions with Coach Plascencia, the boys on the team, and the school in general made this an easy choice. I’m extremely grateful to my high school coaches, Dan Ethier, Jerry Slater, and Bev Docherty, my parents, and my teammates and friends for helping me get to this point. I could not have achieved any of this without all of their support,” said Declan.

Declan is a two-time state champion (1600m in Track and Cross Country as a junior). He also finished second twice (3200m in Track as a junior and Cross Country as a senior). He is a seven-time state qualifier and seven-time All State Honoree between Track and Cross Country. Remarkably, he was part of both of the two closest finishes in Cross Country State Meet history.

Outside of athletics, Declan is an exceptional student and volunteer. He is an academic All State Recipient with a 3.98 Cumulative GPA, making honor roll every semester of high school. Declan was one of 14 members of the MPA Class of 2018 to be inducted into the National Honor Society on October 12, 2017. His selection was due to his exemplary commitment to service, leadership, character, and academics, tenants of NHS and Mounds Park Academy. He writes the weekly Run, Write, Repeat Blog for running website MileSplit MN.

Interested in pursuing medical school after college, Declan volunteers in the emergency room at St. John’s Hospital and does melanoma research with Professor Timothy Lyden at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls specifically related to the 3D modeling of melanoma tumors.

He is a highly skilled percussionist, pianist, violinist, and choral member, exemplifying the balance between academics, arts, and athletics that students find at Mounds Park Academy.

Click here to see more photos!

Press Release: Declan Dahlberg Signing

November 7, 2017

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Natalie Waters Seum
Director of Communications and Marketing
nwatersseum@moundsparkacademy.org
651-485-1597 (cellular)

MOUNDS PARK ACADEMY’S DECLAN DAHLBERG CHOOSES UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA TRACK AND FIELD AND CROSS COUNTRY

Signing Wednesday, November 8 at 8:25 AM

November 7, 2017 – Mounds Park Academy is proud to announce that senior Declan Dahlberg will sign with the University of Minnesota’s Track and Field and Cross Country Teams. An exceptional student athlete, Declan was accepted to the University’s School of Science and Engineering.

Members of the media are invited to join us on Mounds Park Academy’s campus Wednesday, November 8 for his signing, which will begin promptly at 8:25 AM. Enter the Lansing Center through door seven, which is located on the north end of campus, furthest from Larpenteur Avenue. Prior notice of plans to attend would be greatly appreciated via email at nwatersseum@moundsparkacademy.org,

ABOUT DECLAN

Two-time state champion (1600m in Track and Cross Country as a junior). He also finished second twice (3200m in Track as a junior and Cross Country as a senior).
Seven-time state qualifier and seven-time All State Honoree between Track and Cross Country.• Part of both of the two closest finishes in Cross Country State Meet history.
Follows in the footsteps of MPA alumnus Evan Ferlic ’15 who currently runs Cross Country and Track for the Gophers.
Writes the weekly Run, Write, Repeat blog for running website MileSplit MN.
Academic All State Recipient, 3.98 Cumulative GPA, honor roll every semester of high school. Declan was one of 14 members of the MPA Class of 2018 to be inducted into the National Honor Society on October 12, 2017. His selection was due to his exemplary commitment to service, leadership, character, and academics, tenants of NHS and Mounds Park Academy.
Volunteers in in emergency room at St. John’s Hospital and does melanoma research with Professor Timothy Lyden at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls specifically related to the 3D modeling of melanoma tumors. He is interested in pursuing medical school after college.
Highly skilled percussionist, pianist, violinist, and choral member, exemplifying the balance between academics, arts, and athletics that students find at Mounds Park Academy.

About Mounds Park Academy
2051 Larpenteur Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55109
Founded in 1982, Mounds Park Academy is a private, PreK-12 college preparatory school serving nearly 500 students from throughout the Twin Cities. The MPA environment is designed to allow each student to discover who they are truly meant to be through rigorous offerings in academics, arts, and athletics. For more information, visit www.moundsparkacademy.org. For more information about Athletics at MPA, visit www.moundsparkacademy.org/athletics.

State Meet

November 4, 2017

The state cross country meet provided a little drama, with Declan once again involved in the closest finish in meet history.

Margo was first on the line for us. She was under strict orders to have fun. Despite a very fast first mile (only a few seconds slower than what she did in Phy Ed a few weeks ago!), she ran one of her best times of the season to finish 46th. Afterwards, the winner of the race took a few minutes to talk with her about her race!

Declan led our boys team during their race. In a near replay of last year, Declan and Matt Steiger sprinted down the final straight side by side. But this year, Steiger outleaned Declan by less than a tenth of a second. Once again, the closest finish in state cross country history. Those two sure know how to put on a show!

Tanner led a pack of panthers across the line, running his second best race ever. Matt was close behind, running his second best time of the season. Henry S. and Isak were only seconds behind to complete the scoring for the boys.

Henry P. and Sumner finished up their races to wrap up the race for the boys. Henry’s time, while not his best of the season, was still a minute faster than his best of last year. Sumner may still be wondering how he wound up running in the state cross country meet. But the answer is simple: he ran a lot of miles last summer.

The state meet is a challenging affair. The course, despite lacking big hills like Battle Creek, is deceptively challenging, and has a way of sucking the life out of your legs. The race starts fast and you’re always running in a crowd. And most of you were tapering for our section race and were probably a little past your peak.

Despite those challenges, you all ran reasonably well. I hope you enjoyed this opportunity. We bid farewell to Declan and Sumner. But the rest of you might just be back here next year.

Results for girls and boys are available at Wayzata Results. There are articles at the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press (with many nice photos of MPA runners), and Down the Backstretch. There is a post-race interview with Declan on Milesplit.

Evan Ferlic ’15 Receives Big Ten Sportsmanship Award

November 3, 2017

Congratulations to Evan Ferlic ’15 for receiving the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the University of Minnesota Men’s Cross Country Team!

The Big Ten Conference honors athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. Athletes must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

As a Panther, Ferlic helped lead MPA to a second place finish at the 2013 MSHSL State Cross Country Meet and anchored the 2015 Class A State Champion 4x800m relay team in Track and Field.

Congratulations, Evan!

Can We Count On You?

November 2, 2017

Gifts of all size are an affirmation of your commitment to MPA. It sends a powerful message to the students, faculty, staff, and the community that MPA is an institution worth supporting, that the work we are doing to prepare our future leaders to dream big and do right has an impact on our world, and that you know how valuable participation truly is in the Fall Campaign. Thank you!

We all love a pizza party! Your class can join the celebration of giving! Participation is what really makes the difference! Classes that reach 70% participation via their families’ giving will then receive a free pizza party! Also, mark your calendars for the Give to the Max Day Lip Sync Assembly on Thursday, November 16. We can’t wait to see you there!