Alumni Association Welcomes New Members

August 15, 2023

As the new year approaches the Alumni Association welcomes new members. Join us in welcoming the new alumni board members!

Isabel (McKeown) O’Branski ’14

For what grades did you attend MPA?
K-12

Why did you choose to pursue a position on the Alumni Association Board?
MPA made a great impact on my childhood (being there since kindergarten!), growing up and preparation for college – I want to help keep it the great school it was for me!

In what ways do you see yourself as a supporter of MPA and its mission?
At MPA I never felt anything was out of reach, excelling in sports, pursuing your passions, achieving good grades in the hardest classes, because I was so well supported! I hope to give support to current and future students to dream big.

What are you currently doing, professionally and/or personally?
I currently work at Topgolf Callaway Brands (formerly Callaway Golf Company) as a Project Manager. I just got married in June in San Diego where I’ve lived the last 3 years, but will be moving in August to NYC with my husband and mini golden doodle.

How did you get to where you are in your career? Did you attend college and if so, where? Are there some career moves or other key experiences or relationships that have inspired you?
After MPA, I went to the College of Saint Benedict where I studied Global Business. After graduation I worked at 3M (right down the road from MPA!) in their Global Sourcing Department until moving to my current role.

How did your MPA experience prepare you for your life today? How did MPA help you dream big and do right?
MPA helped me immensely in preparation for college – I felt extremely ready for the college curriculum and professor expectations. MPA prepared me for my liberal art college since I was ready to study multiple topics, be involved in sports on top of academics, and stay well-rounded. Today, I still feel inspired to stay well-rounded, focusing on both work, my health, and relationships all at once—just as I did at MPA. Read More

Join Us For Back To School Night

August 14, 2023

We are busy getting ready for the 2023-24 school year and we hope that you are as excited as we are! We have lots of information to share, including some important changes below. If you have any questions, please reach out to your division director or the Office of Communications at communications@moundsparkacademy.org.

Thursday, August 24

  • New Family* Orientation & Back To School Night
    *New families are considered those with students who are just joining our school plus all returning families with a student in grade 5 or 9

    • 3 PM | New Family Arrival, plus all returning families with a student in grade 5 or 9
    • 6 PM | Returning Family Arrival
    • 6:15 PM | All-School Welcome Back Assembly
    • 7:30 PM | Departure

Click here for the New Family Detailed Agenda.
Click here for the Returning Family Detailed Agenda.

  • School Photos During Back To School Night
    Martin Lenz Harrison Library

    • 4:30-6 PM | Session One
    • 6:30-7:30 PM | Session Two

We are so delighted to be joining you for Picture Day this year. Picture Day with Slow Road Photo is a little different, in all the best ways! Get ready for the BEST PICTURE DAY EVER!

  • School pictures will be happening at Back To School Night on August 24! Click here to sign up for your student’s picture time!
  • If you are unable to attend Back To School Night, the second Picture Day will be September 8. Retake day will be October 6.
  • Lower School students will no longer be in uniforms for Picture Day.
  • Be sure to add hello@slowroadphoto.com to your email contacts to ensure you receive all the communications and info from us. You will hear from us directly via email on August 17.
  • Please feel free to check out the resources available on our website, including our Welcome Message here and Parents’ Guide here.

If you have any questions regarding Picture Day or image ordering and delivery,
please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly at hello@slowroadphoto.com.

Sign up for a picture time here.

Monday, August 28

  • New Student First Day Of School
    Includes All Returning Grades 5 and 9
    No transportation available.

    • 10:30-12:40 PM | New Lower School Students PreK-4. Before and after care is available for grades kindergarten through fourth grade with advance registration here. PreK before and after care is not available this day due to licensing restrictions.
    • 8-3 PM | New Middle School Students, including all grade five and all new grades six through eight. After care is available with advance registration here.
    • 8-3 PM | New Upper School Students, including all grade 9.
    • 8-12 PM | New Upper School Students in grades 10 through 12.

Click here for the detailed agenda.
Click here to sign up for before or after care.

Download the full back to school guide here.

Welcome to MPA, Katie Roche!

August 4, 2023

What position will you be holding at MPA?
Kindergarten Teacher

From what school/organization are you coming?
I most recently taught at Carver Elementary.

Tell us about your education and past experience.
I have a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and German from the University of Notre Dame. Before becoming a teacher, I worked at the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency in Chicago. I moved home to Minnesota to raise my family and realized that teaching was my calling. I received a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from the University of Saint Thomas and have loved being in the classroom for the past 13 years! I have taught in private, public, and charter schools at the elementary grade levels. I love working with young students and inspiring them to become excited about learning!

What did you find appealing about MPA?
Do you believe in magic? Have you ever visited a place and felt a spark that made you just know you wanted to be a part of it? That’s how I felt during my visit to the MPA campus! I was so impressed by everyone I met. I knew this would be a great place to teach! I love the strong sense of community MPA has established, and the importance placed on relationships between staff, students, and families.

What lasting impact do you plan to have on MPA?
I cannot wait to help our youngest students become readers and mathematicians, discovering the world around us. More than that, I hope to instill a lifelong love of learning in them!

What’s your big dream?
Early childhood education is so important! I dream of a world where all children have access to these programs.

What are you (and your family, if you so choose) passionate about?
My family has a great love for musical theatre! We have all taken turns being on the stage, occasionally getting to perform together! In addition, I have been the costumer for many high school and community theatre performances. Broadway has become a favorite vacation destination!

What’s a fun fact about you that our community would love to know?
I am a waterfall chaser! My family is used to rerouting adventures so that I can cross another waterfall off my list. On a trip to the North Shore this spring, I went as far as Canada to see the famous Kakabeka Falls.

Welcome to MPA, James Lekatz!

August 1, 2023

What position will you be holding at MPA?
Middle and Upper School Theater Teacher

From what school/organization are you coming?
International School of Minnesota

Tell us about your education and past experience.
I graduated in 2007 with a Theatre Arts degree from Augsburg University. Right after undergrad, I moved to London, England and completed my studies at the London International School of Performing Arts. Upon my return to Minneapolis, I worked as an Education and Access Associate at Stages Theatre Company, as well as music directed and composed many productions while on staff. I was Artistic Associate of Performing Arts at Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts where I collaborated to produce new works of musical theater with artists with and without disabilities. During Covid, I switch careers and moved fully into education. I taught music at Alice Smith Elementary and was the Head of Performing Arts at the International School of Minnesota.

What did you find appealing about MPA?
The atmosphere at MPA is so welcoming and kind, who wouldn’t want to be a part of it? As schools start more and more to take away arts classes, I found it exiting to see that MPA has the arts fully woven into the curriculum. Not just theater, but all arts have a place for students. Read More

Making Wishes Come True

July 21, 2023

Molly Vergin is a rising senior in the Class of 2024, and she’s attended MPA since pre-Kindergarten. Molly is a two-time leukemia survivor, being initially diagnosed in first grade and then again in the final days of eighth grade. She’s just over two years out from a bone-marrow transplant and continuing her volunteer work with Make-a-Wish. MPA Seniors complete a service project as the culmination of their community service, and we’re happy to share some information from Molly with the MPA Community.

From Molly:
As I am approaching senior year (hard to believe!) I am beginning to work on my senior service project. For this project, I am continuing to work with an organization very close to my heart, Make-A-Wish Minnesota. As part of this, I will be leading a team at the Make-A-Wish Walk for Wishes on Saturday, August 5 at 10 AM at Minnehaha Regional Park. As most of you probably know, Make-A-Wish grants wishes for children with serious illnesses. The Walk for Wishes is a 5K with the goal of raising awareness for Make-A-Wish and funding future wishes. As a Wish Kid myself, I’ve seen the transformative impact that Make-A-Wish has on the children and families they serve, mine included.

In 2014, my wish was granted—to travel to LA to meet the cast of my favorite show, one I spent many hours in the hospital watching, The Amazing Race. My wish gave me something to look forward to–bringing me joy and excitement in a really rough time. The wish also helped bring our family together when our world had completely changed. I have volunteered and spoken for Make-A-Wish for the last eight years and I can say I am thrilled to support the organization through this year’s Walk for Wishes, and I hope that some of you would like to join me. There are two ways to do this—by visiting the Make-A-Wish Minnesota Walk for Wishes website, you can donate to a team participating in the walk and/or join us to participate in the walk. My team is named Team Molly, and my goal is to raise $5000 dollars for Make-A-Wish. This is a great opportunity to fund wishes for more children, and any amount helps!

  • If you would like to walk with us on Team Molly, registration for the walk is $25. You can do that here. (This will take you to the Team Molly page. You choose the “SIGN UP” button which begins the registration process.) That $25 goes directly to Make-a-Wish MN, and it also gets you a t-shirt.
  • If you are interested in making a donation, you can use this link. Donate to Make-a-Wish through Team Molly. (You will see a yellow “DONATE NOW” button near the top and/or a pink “DONATE” down next to Molly’s name).

Thank you so much to everyone for helping make Wishes come true for kids facing serious medical challenges. All donations go directly to Make-a-Wish MN to help fund future Wishes. In the photo included, I just learned my Wish had been granted. In the second, my sister Ellen ’21 and I are posing with the host of The Amazing Race, Phil Keoghan.

Welcome to MPA, Michelle Wiger!

July 18, 2023

Michelle WigerWhat position will you be holding at MPA?
Lower School Assistant

From what school/organization are you coming?
Bank of America

Tell us about your education and past experience.
I have a B.A. in Psychology from Cedarville University. I have worked in marketing and sales as well as office management for more than 25 years. I have worked at large corporations and small family-owned businesses. My volunteer work is my heart, working for vulnerable children and helping their families and caregivers.

What did you find appealing about MPA?
I am drawn to the sense of family, welcome, and acceptance at MPA. I love MPA’s values and community focus to dream big and do right. Read More

Welcome to MPA, Louis McLaughlin!

July 17, 2023

What position will you be holding at MPA?
Upper School English Teacher

From what school/organization are you coming?
Visitation School

Tell us about your education and past experience.
Before becoming a teacher, I worked in the front offices of two businesses. I was a freelance graphic designer and web programmer. I even co-founded a tech startup right out of college. I also lived in five states as an adult before I turned 30 (Missouri, Louisiana, Washington, New York, and finally Minnesota). That said, I was probably 15 years old when I realized I wanted to teach high school English. So all my degrees are in literature. I have a BA in English from Loyola University New Orleans; an MA in English from Western Washington University; and an MA in Medieval Studies from Cornell University.

What did you find appealing about MPA?
Mounds Park Academy has a special place in the landscape of independent schools in the metro area. Teenagers I’d taught elsewhere described MPA as a place where students could have healthy balance, a school known for rigor, but also for fostering relationship. Coming in as a new faculty member, it seems like a place where you not only receive a great education, but where your whole, unique, individual self is welcomed and celebrated, and where your personal journey is supported.

What lasting impact do you plan to have on MPA?
I hope I can be an important force in my students’ lives. To help them grow in the subject I teach. But even more so, to be an adult who sees them, not just as the people they are, but the people they aspire to be.

What’s your big dream?
To find peace and to share it with others.

What are you (and your family, if you so choose) passionate about?
It’ll be no surprise to hear I’m passionate about education, especially about evolving what “English” class looks and feels like. Mindfulness plays a large role in my approach to teaching and to what we do each day in the classroom. My family and I are passionate about environmental education and grassroots political involvement.

What’s a fun fact about you that our community would love to know?
In graduate school, I studied three languages besides English.

Welcome to MPA, Michael Claver!

July 17, 2023

What position will you be holding at MPA?
Middle School Music and Vocal Teacher

From what school/organization are you coming?
Saint Paul Public Schools

Tell us about your education and past experience.
I earned my undergraduate degree in vocal music education from Millikin University. After graduating in 2015, I taught middle and high school choir in northern Illinois. In 2018, I made the trek north, and began teaching with Saint Paul Public Schools. While working with Saint Paul Public Schools I taught K-5 general music, and 6-8 band, choir, and general music. I hold a graduate degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

What did you find appealing about MPA?
Initially, MPA’s strong sense of community stood out to me. At MPA, everyone is supported and everyone belongs. The prospect of joining such a tight-knit community was really exciting. As I learned more about the wonderful work being done at MPA, I was delighted to find a community dedicated to doing right by students. From a focus on equity to a dedication to arts education, I am so excited to be a part of a community that values the holistic development of a person.

What lasting impact do you plan to have on MPA?
As a music teacher, I hope to give students tools to creatively find their voices. Music is a beautiful vehicle for self-expression. Through our work in music, I aim to give students the tools to grow into thoughtful, expressive, and authentic individuals.

What’s your big dream?
My big dream is to write a musical! This summer, I plan on making some headway toward this dream.

What are you (and your family, if you so choose) passionate about?
I have so many passions! I love singing, and getting a chance to share my voice with others. I am passionate about equity within education, and finding ways to develop equity within the spaces I manage. Also, I have a deep commitment to learning and growing. I love exploring new and unfamiliar topics!

What’s a fun fact about you that our community would love to know?
I love theatre! Throughout my life, I have worked on more than 50 theatrical productions.

Welcome to MPA, Heather Rankin!

July 17, 2023

What position will you be holding at MPA?
Upper School Science Teacher

From what school/organization are you coming?
The Science Museum of Minnesota’s St Croix Watershed Research Station

Tell us about your education and past experience.
I hold an MA in teaching from George Fox University and a BS in Chemistry from The Evergreen State College (go geoducks!). I have been an environmental chemist for most of my career, focusing primarily on water quality. I’ve worked in both the private and public sectors and have held a range of positions from laboratory technician to regulatory compliance administrator. I have taught science at both the University and secondary levels, including chemistry at Boise State University and general science at an independent school in Costa Rica. Most recently, I managed the environmental research laboratory for the Science Museum of Minnesota.

What did you find appealing about MPA?
Everything. Have you ever walked into a place and it just felt good to be there? That’s how I felt during my interview and campus tour. The Upper School science staff and leadership are amazing and I really appreciate the in-depth interview process. I’m looking forward to collaborating with fellow scientists in the Upper School.

What lasting impact do you plan to have on MPA?
I hope to give my students strong foundational knowledge that will aid them in solving future problems and building the truest, most beautiful lives for themselves that they can imagine.

What’s your big dream?
My big dream is a world with clean water, air, and soil for all living things, where the majority of people wake up feeling safe and fulfilled.

What are you (and your family, if you so choose) passionate about?
Travel, water, sunshine, the environment, reading, and community.

What’s a fun fact about you that our community would love to know?
I am learning to play the accordion. My oldest brother recently brought me my mother’s old accordion, which was purchased by my grandfather in the early 1960’s from a door to door accordion salesman.

MPA Alum Receives Award Posthumously

July 17, 2023

The MPA Alumni Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce the 2023 MPA Alumni Association Award recipient, Jaye Sinkfield ’12. This award honors alumni of outstanding talent pursuing their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations while embracing the spirit of MPA’s commitment to community and social outreach. Award recipients are real-world inspirations for both current students and fellow alums to dream big and do right.

Jaye was nominated posthumously in honor of their impact on the world. Tragically, Jaye passed away in January 2023, leaving behind lifelong friends, family members, and hundreds of people who felt their impact and were inspired by Jaye. We sat down with Tammy Sinkfield, Jaye’s mother, to learn more about how and why Jaye lived and the legacy they left behind.

Jaye and their twin brother, Jordan, were born to Tammy, a single parent who never dreamed of having children due in part to fibroids that prevented pregnancy. “That’s why I say, ‘They are my blessings, because God saw it fitting that I should be their mom,’” says Tammy, an inpatient nursing supervisor at Gillette Children’s where she has been for more than 25 years. “At their birth, from the moment Jaye came into my view as the doctor lifted them from my womb, Jaye was the most beautiful androgynous precious being. Though I hardly knew what androgyny meant, I understood in that instant what it was when I saw my first born baby, Jaye, this beautiful combination of beauty, grace, masculine, and feminine. Everything about this baby was symmetrical, balanced, beautiful, and perfect. Jaye was like the Black Gerber Baby. Everybody commented on what a calm and gentle spirit that Jaye had at birth. That carried them through life.”

When the time came, Tammy took great care to find a school for Jaye and Jordan, interviewing more than 12 and selecting Four Seasons A+ Elementary. “We knew we wanted private schools. I was always in private schools. But I couldn’t afford MPA at the time,” she shares. The twins thrived in elementary school, often serving as the leads in the annual plays. They were excellent performers. They came to MPA in Middle School—Tammy took a second job, the twins received a scholarship, and they got here. “I wanted them to have opportunities.” Read More