September 12, 2018
We are so excited to share a recent opportunity brought to MPA students to engage with and assist the local arts community. MPA alum Kelly Turpin ’04, founder of the Arbeit Opera Theatre, was awarded the Artists Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to produce her own production of “The Consul,” an opera that premieres on November 29 and November 30, 2018. She reached out to MPA to assist in building the set, wanting to directly involve students, since MPA is the place where her passion for art, music, theatre, and singing all began.
“The overall goal of Arbeit Opera Theatre is to fuse multiple forms of art to create a diverse artistic community in order to share the excitement of Opera Theatre with as many communities as possible. Having the MPA community and students involved (will be) be a thrilling addition to this venture,” she said. Read More
MPA Talks is an annual, meaningful, and fascinating event that is completely unique to MPA. Featuring presentations by some of our community’s most intriguing members on inspiring and relevant topics, everyone is invited to come, listen, ask questions, and leave with new lengths of knowledge. Held in the fall and in the evening this year, dinner will be provided.
Two MPA Class of 2015 alumni recently made NCAA headlines! Sisley Ng ’15 and Evan Ferlic ’15 were both named team captains for their 2018 athletic seasons. We are so proud to call them Panthers and to celebrate their leadership!
Do beautiful colors and fabrics grab your attention? Are you interested in learning how to knit, crochet, quilt, or sew? Is there a project that you have neglected, but want to get back on track and finish? Do you simply want to make some friends and learn something new along the way? We have the perfect group for you! Join the MPA Fiber Friends in the AnnMarie Thomas Makerspace every Friday starting September 7 from 11 AM-12:30 PM! 
We all belong here! All families PreK-12 should save the date to come and celebrate MPA Homecoming 2018 on Saturday, September 29!
Upper School social studies teacher Ms. Murr recently traveled to Washington, DC to meet with the coordinators of the “History Unfolded” project at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This is the project to which MPA alums Maija Olson ’17, Eloise Berdahl-Baldwin ’17, Bennett Winga ’17, and Ben George ’17 made significant research contributions. In fact, one of the articles they discovered is being used in a new exhibition, titled “Americans and the Holocaust.” It is an incredible honor to have their work displayed in one of the most renowned museums in the country. Additionally, historians moving forward will have access to their articles and thousands of others found by citizen historians. This will allow more people to ask difficult questions about what Americans knew, when they knew it, and what they did with that knowledge when it came to the Holocaust.
What are you currently doing, professionally and/or personally? Currently, I am a Cognitive Process Re-engineering Consultant at IBM. I work in the Financial Services sector and work to implement IBM technology services like Blockchain, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence to large commercial businesses around the world.
Mike Velin ’06 is making good on his class challenge and running the Historic Riverfront 5k in the Panther Suit on October 13! We are inviting the whole community to join him to make this a truly MPA event. 
There are so many alumni and community events during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend starting on Friday afternoon with a Pep Rally at 2:20 PM in the Lansing Center and then the All Alumni Happy Hour at 6 PM at Tin Whiskers in Lowertown, Saint Paul. Catch up with teachers and fellow alums while being treated to appetizers and a drink on us!