All School Archives

Virtual Learning Extended: Lower School Update

April 23, 2020

by Renee Wright, Lower School director

It is with a growth mindset that the Lower School faculty have collaborated on the next iteration of virtual school. As we reflect on the first five weeks, we celebrate our successes, but also know that we need to put the emerging needs of our students first. We must pay attention to the fact that student engagement may wane as we finish the rest of the school year off campus and away from the excitement and joy of being together as a community.

Starting the week of May 4, we will be instituting a new weekly schedule with Fridays designated as “Finish-Up Fridays.” Feedback from families shows that managing workload can be challenging at times. Fridays will allow families flexible time to complete assignments and access specialist lessons that were posted earlier in the week. Research shows that young students thrive on structure and need the security of a routine, so Lower School teachers will continue to meet with students for Zoom check-ins and lessons according to the current schedule. The major difference will be that homeroom teachers will not be assigning new work on Fridays. Read More

Virtual Learning Extended: Middle School Update

April 23, 2020

by Dr. Jenn Milam, Middle School director

As we have made our way through the last five weeks of virtual teaching and learning we have found great success in connecting with students, engagement in virtual school, and continuing with the joyful learning that is the hallmark of MPA. We, as an educational community, continue to learn and grow in our knowledge of how this unique time in our world is impacting our bodies, our brains, and our being in the world. More, as your teachers and I have come to understand, it is now even more important to be responsive to our young people as they reveal to us their unique needs as learners in the virtual world. We have always grounded our practice at MPA in a growth mindset—a constantly and purposefully evolving pedagogy that honors the process and the person. Given our new reality in which we continue in virtual school through the end of the year, the next iteration of our schedule and programming is an example of our responsiveness to students and our deep commitment to meeting the needs of our Middle School students in a holistic way.

Beginning the week of May 4 and continuing through the end of the school year, we will begin implementing WE-CONNECT WEDNESDAYS in the Middle School. Wednesdays, in our next phase of virtual school, will be a time to connect individually with teachers for academic support, gather in small groups with each other for projects and social time, meet with Dr. Nolan or Ms. Cooper, and offer enrichment and social opportunities for social and personal connection in fun ways. Parent survey data and the lived experience with our students to date, has revealed to us that students are missing the deeply personal connections with teachers and with each other. WE-CONNECT WEDNESDAYS will offer students a bit of a break from the regular school day schedule while opening up time for self-care, enrichment, academic support and meetings with teachers, social connection, play, and creativity. While this day will look different than a regular school day, it is important to note that this is not a “day off” for students and teachers, it is a “day done differently” to bring some fresh, inspired, and connected programming to our virtual school world. Read More

Virtual Learning Extended: Upper School Update

April 23, 2020

by Mark Segal, Upper School director

As we now transition to virtual school for the remainder of the academic year, the Upper School will make an important modification to our weekly schedule. Classes will continue to meet as they have on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, but Wednesday will now be set aside as a work day. This iteration of the weekly schedule and educational program will allow us to meet the new and emerging needs of our students while at the same time maintaining our rigorous, college preparatory approach. Through this lens, Wednesday will not be a “day off,” rather it will be a day for students to connect with their teachers and one another to deepen the relationships and connections that are key to our MPA ethos.

This schedule adjustment will allow us to pause direct instruction and allow students the opportunity to digest the material taught and maintain the important social connections that are such a special part of the MPA experience. Wednesdays will provide time for students and teachers to preserve and maintain the continuity of learning through one-on-one and small group meetings to ensure that curricular concepts are understood by offering routine meeting times for students and allowing for clubs and organizations to meet. Read More

Spring Athletics And Summer Sports Camps Update

April 23, 2020

Consistent with the Executive Order issued on April 23, 2020 by Governor Walz that schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year, Mounds Park Academy is canceling spring sports for the 2020 season. This is not the information we hoped for. We are holding our students and their families in our minds and hearts, as we recognize the deep loss many are feeling.

To ensure the safety of campers and counselors, we are canceling summer sports camps scheduled for June (soccer camp and basketball camp). We are exploring the possibility of rescheduling the June sports camps to dates later in the summer. We plan to start scheduled summer sports camps on Monday, July 13 and continue them through Friday, July 26.

If you have any questions, please direct them to athletic director Dan Haase.

Thank You For Lighting Up The Night

April 23, 2020

Thanks to our incredibly generous community, the first-ever MPA Virtual Spring Auction: Light up the Night was a huge success! Our community joined together to raise nearly $230,000! MPA families, alumni, grandparents, parents of alumni, and friends joined together as a community to dream big, do right, and light up the world. Thank you for being part of the most successful auction in several years!

In case you missed our incredible live program featuring student performances, guest speakers, and exciting announcements, you can view a recording by clicking here.

Thanks to our community, we have gotten a jump start on our Community Care Fund. These flexible funds will allow us to respond to emerging needs, including:

financial assistance for MPA families in need;
technology access for teachers to continue enhancing virtual learning;
employee support funds for wellness and emergency resources; and
the cost of additional supplies to ensure a whole child education can continue, including art supplies, books and e-books, software and hardware, and devices for families without access to adequate technology or wi-fi for virtual learning.

Middle School Earth Day Celebrations

April 23, 2020

MPA Middle School students were enthusiastic to celebrate the 50th Earth Day on April 22. Dr. Milam challenged students to go outside to be in nature and take photographs, and students in Ms. Atchison’s class wrote poems honoring Earth. Get lost in their beautiful writing and enjoy a few of their poems.

“The Lilac” by Zain A.
The lilac that grew from the rocks,
did what it had to do
to grow its stalks.
Do you know what it went through
to accomplish that?

It had to work.
It pushed and pushed.
Till it became a plant.
Then it soaked and soaked in nutrients,
and with all that effort,
it was beautiful.

It wasn’t easy.
There were rocks piled on it.
and then some snow,
and then some drought.
It should have died.
There was so much to overcome,
but it stayed alive with its will to grow
and be beautiful.

And because of that, it grew.
It grew and grew until the winter came.
Afterwards, it pushed and pushed,
and soaked and soaked,
and became beautiful again. Read More

D-Day: A Single Story Of Valor

April 16, 2020

Upper School student Salmah Elmasry and history teacher Katie Murr would like to invite the MPA parent community to a presentation of their work with the Albert H. Small Normandy Institute. Last year, Salmah and Ms. Murr intensively studied D-Day and researched the story of one Minnesota soldier buried in the American National Cemetery in Normandy. The academic culmination of this process was to write a lengthy biography of that soldier that could be archived at the cemetery. Additionally, Salmah and Ms. Murr had the privilege of traveling first to Washington, DC to take classes at George Washington University and research at the National Archives and then to France where they were able to see the D-Day beaches and eulogize their solder at his gravesite. Salmah and Ms. Murr would love for you to hear this story of commitment, perseverance, and valor. Please join them on April 28 at 7 PM.

Join Zoom Meeting >
Meeting ID: 573 855 168
Password: 043853

A Sense Of Community And Commitment To MPA

April 16, 2020

by MPA Spring Auction co-chairs Jennifer and Scott Holloway

When we began this school year with our daughter Grace embarking on her senior year at MPA, we could have never imagined how different school and life would be just a few short months later. We’ve been a part of many milestones at MPA, both as a family, and in the history of the school. One of the great joys we’ve had as parents and volunteers at MPA has been to serve as co-chairs of the Spring Auction for the past four years. Despite this history, this year has shaped up to feel like the first time all over again now that we’re offering our first ever virtual spring auction as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We can’t overstate the importance of our sense of community and commitment to MPA as it has given so much to our daughter and our family. We’ve often been asked why we continue to volunteer and urge others to do the same for the school we love. For us, it’s all about the sense of gratitude and appreciation that you can only understand when you’ve experienced the MPA way. Each year, we’ve witnessed the way that truly amazing things can happen when people join together in a common purpose. That might happen in a big banquet hall with fabulous decorations and amazing food, or it could happen on the basketball court, in the classroom, on stage, or now, in a virtual zoom room.

As co-chairs of this year’s auction, we urge you to join us for this special night. You can be a part of this event in whatever way is right for you: bid on our more than 130 auction packages, join our live Zoom program on Friday night at 6:30 featuring amazing students and guest speakers, share within your networks of family and friends to invite even more people to join in on this important fundraiser, or give at a level that is right for your family toward this year’s Fund-A-Need. Countless people have planned, donated, organized, and contributed in some way to what we’re sure is going to be another successful year. Please join us in building community and funding important needs for our students, faculty and staff, and incredible school. We can’t do it without you.

Invite A friend To Lunch With MPA

April 15, 2020

Invite a friend to Lunch With MPA on Tuesday, May 12 from 11:30 AM-1 PM!

Joining us via Zoom will be current students, parents, and school leaders to share their perspectives on MPA’s mission and values, academic rigor with purpose, and vast array of opportunities. We’ll start as a large group and then use breakout rooms by division for virtual tours and questions and answers.

Please have friends RSVP here!

MPA Parent Schoology Groups

April 9, 2020

Since we transitioned to virtual learning, parents and guardians are no longer able to connect with one another on campus, at events, or at activities. We know that your relationships are just as important to our school community as your children’s relationships, so we have created a virtual way for you to continue fostering them.

We recognize that some grade levels have private Facebook groups and those are wonderful—as a school community, however, we know that not every family is on Facebook. We do know that every family is on Schoology, so we’ve decided to use that as a tool to further facilitate grade-level parent and guardian communication and collaboration. These groups will be for you and by you; they will not be used for the school to communicate information. We will continue to use Panther Post, institutional emails and division emails to fulfill that need.

These groups are an opportunity for you to share resources, ask questions, post events or photos, and to support one another as MPA parents. Students are not a part of these groups. Your Parent’s Association grade representative(s) can provide additional guidance and ideas on ways to utilize these groups for additional parental support and connections. Read More