Mounds Park Academy

September 28, 2017

Homecoming was spectacular! Thank you to everyone who attended the festivities. Find professional photo from Saturday on campus here and photo booth moments here!

Senior Rachel Lindrud of “Freethinker,” MPA’s new student-run news source, covered the excitement of Homecoming Week …

Homecoming: A Time for Pride, Competition, and Dancing
by Rachel Lindrud

On Friday, September 22 through Saturday, September 23, Mounds Park Academy came together as an entire community for its annual and spirited Homecoming events. In the days leading up to the games and festivities, parents decorated the hallways and coordinated multiple events, while over the weekend, kids from all grades streamed to the fields and courts to cheer on their classmates, siblings, and mentors. MPA’s “Panther Pride,” an appellation referring to the school’s panther mascot, was uniquely demonstrated throughout the week in the forms of volunteer work, athletic skill, and blue and white pompoms. This event models not only MPA and its athletic accomplishments, but also its proactive parent, student, and teacher volunteerism and its dynamic community-building spirit.

On Friday, the day before the sporting events, MPA held its annual Homecoming Assembly, at which students and faculty of all grade levels came together to wish the athletes a final good luck and also take part in various competitive community-building events. Sylvia H. ’24, supported her sisters and enjoyed watching her friends and teachers compete with one another: “I supported Soccer and Volleyball because my sisters are on those teams. My favorite part of the assembly was watching the sports teams and teachers do relays.”

Nourishing Since 1982

September 28, 2017

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

I hope that you were caught up in the wave of school spirit last week during Homecoming. It was a fantastic week as students, parents, and alumni “came back” to celebrate the special place that MPA holds in their hearts. Newly retired athletic director Joe Kordosky remarked that the turnout for Saturday’s events was the largest he could remember. As I moved from event to event, I reveled in the strong school spirit and morale.

We had a wonderful showing of alumni for a happy hour Friday night and a more formal reunion on Saturday evening. Several alums participated in a tour of the school that I led on Saturday morning. Interacting with alumni is an aspect of my job that I really enjoy. You’ve probably come to know that I love to hear people’s stories. It is particularly rewarding to listen to the stories that alumni tell about the influence MPA has had on their lives. Many say that it was, in fact, “life-changing.” For instance: Read More

Winter Sports Sign-Up

September 28, 2017

Athletics has a new online process for winter sports sign-up and it is live now. Visit www.moundsparkacademy.org/athletics for Middle and Upper School opportunities! Contact Dan Haase, Athletic Director, at dhaase@moundsparkacademy.org with any questions. Go Panthers!

Suicide Awareness And Prevention

September 21, 2017

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this event on Thursday, October 5, 6:30-8 PM in the Recital Hall. Dr. Todd A. Savage, MPA parent and professor of school psychology at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and Dr. Scott Woitaszewski, also a professor of school psychology at UWRF, will be sharing a research- and evidence-based presentation that will further inform and equip our community regarding youth suicide awareness. They will help us all to be proactive and to understand the issue better, provide tips on what to look for in students, and give tools and resources to utilize if concerns arise. The final 15 minutes of the time together will be open for questions and answers and will allow MPA to share the resources that exist on our campus. The presentation is geared toward Middle and Upper School families; however, Lower School families are more than welcome to attend, as well. Note: This presentation will be similar to the one given in May. No RSVP needed.

Prep Athlete Of The Week!

September 21, 2017

MPA Senior and lifer Declan Dahlberg was named as one of the Star Tribune’s Prep Athletes Of The Week!

“He won the Private School Championship at St. Catherine University with a time of 16 minutes, 25 seconds over the 5,000-meter course on a steamy 88-degree day. Earlier this season, the top-ranked runner in Class 1A won the Ron Kretsch Invitational,” the Tribune mentioned.

Last fall, Declan finished as the Boys Cross Country Class A State Champion, running a personal record time of 15:57.1, with the closest finish in meet history.

He is also currently writing posts for “MileSplit,” a popular athletics blog covering high school track and field and cross country news across the United States.

Articles Published In “Freethinker!”

September 21, 2017

MPA’s new student-run school newspaper, Freethinker features stories this week ranging from fostering friendships to nostalgic goodbyes.

“Mr. Meacock – A Final Farewell” is one of the most recent stories published in MPA’s independent student newspaper, “Freethinker.” The article is a heartfelt letter saying goodbye to former MPA Upper School English teacher Mr. Meacock, reminiscing about “the unplanned” days in his classroom and thanking him for encouraging students to “not only to be good academics, not only to constantly question and discuss, but also how to be good people.”

“A Story of Fried Food and Friendships: The Freshman State Fair Retreat” illustrates the famous, massive, and historic Minnesota State Fair and the MPA Freshman school field trip to it. The story captures the importance of independence and building relationships, all while surrounded by meals on a stick.

MPA Student Appointed To Cabinet

September 21, 2017

On September 9, MPA junior Ling DeBellis was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith to the Young Women’s Initiative Cabinet! The Young Women’s Initiative of MN aims to improve the lives of young women between the ages of 12 and 24 statewide.

The Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota specifically prioritizes participation and inclusiveness. They seek to “make the invisibility of disparities visible” and does so through three committees: community-specific working groups, the Young Women’s Cabinet, and the Young Women’s Initiative Council.

“It is a privilege and an honor to be a member of the Young Women’s Initiative Cabinet. We need to raise our voices together so we can ensure that all young women in MN have opportunities to thrive,” Ling said.

We Sing. We Dance. We Laugh.

September 21, 2017

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

When I first heard that Lower School Music Teacher Mari Espeland was introducing her second graders to musician Lionel Hampton and to jazz, I had to see for myself. I thought I was going to simply observe a class, but I was drawn in as a participant, singing, dancing, and learning alongside the students. As a master teacher, Ms. Espeland wove together the basic musical foundation of rhythm and beat in jazz with a history lesson of race in America through the life of Lionel Hampton. I don’t know about the music education you received at this age, but I know this wasn’t part of mine.

I am continually amazed by the incredible music program we have at MPA. Students benefit from early and sustained music education that not only fosters a life-long appreciation for music, but engages students in making music, aesthetic appreciation, and creating beauty. Education in general, and most self-contained gifted and talented programs in particular, sacrifice time for the arts in favor of time for a narrow STEM-related curricula. I think that is a mistake and counter to good pedagogy. It also runs counter to the MPA mission.

STEAM, The MPA Way

September 15, 2017

One-dimensional teaching creates one-dimensional learners, and today’s world is too complex for linear thinking. From PreK through 12th grade, MPA students explore topics and ideas through multiple disciplines, examining problems and situations with insight from the sciences, math, arts, and humanities.

Recently, hurricanes ravaged Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean, dominating our news cycles and public consciousness. How would MPA faculty approach a lesson on Harvey and Irma?

Science faculty would examine weather patterns, track the storms, evaluate the destruction, and analyze climate change. Math teachers might use hurricane-related figures in their problems or examine all of the calculations involved in monitoring or categorizing the storm or evacuating millions of people.

Social studies teachers might examine early explorers’ descriptions of Florida as uninhabitable swampland, debate land-use issues surrounding the control of water, and discuss how history might inform how best to rebuild. English teachers might use survival narratives or writing exercises as part of their hurricane-related curriculum. Engineering classes could examine the destruction with an eye toward the buildings that withstood the storm, and ones that didn’t. Technology would be used in meaningful ways throughout all of these lessons.

Alumni In The News

September 14, 2017

Erik Sand ’08
Check out this feature on Erik Sand ’08 as he pursues his PhD at MIT. Investigating the dynamics of war and peace, Erik Sand brings a perspective shaped by eight years of service in the U.S. Navy to his doctoral studies. read the article >

Mason Ferlic ’11
MPA alum Mason Ferlic ’11 was selected as the USATF Minnesota August Athlete of the Month! Congratulations Mason! read the article >