Blog Archives

October 10, 2019

How School Sports Lift The Mind, Build Skills And Improve Mental Health

Health trends in the U.S. have turned particularly grim in recent years. According to the America’s Health Rankings 2018 Annual Report, obesity continues to rise and is a direct link to heart disease and cancer, which are contributing to the growth in premature death rates. Suicide has increased 16 percent since 2012, and more Americans are reporting poor mental health for 14 or more days in a month. The connection between physical and mental health is more evident than ever—and, supports a compelling case for encouraging students to incorporate athletics with academics throughout their school career.

Sports as a Catalyst For Mental, Physical Development

Research published in the “International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health” outlines how school sports improve overall health and well being, highlighting that “sport provides an equilibrium between group demands and individual demands, between aggressive behaviors and self-control. It fosters a sense of belonging to a group, and teaches coping with both victory and defeat.” Read More

Raising Kind Children

October 3, 2019

by Renee Wright, Lower School director

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, you will find a guest Head’s Message here from one of MPA’s division directors. We hope you enjoy reading their thoughts and reflections about life at MPA.

I have many fond memories from childhood and a deep respect for my parents for teaching me important lifelong values and lessons. Kindness was a cherished virtue for my family, and many conversations in our home centered on being a kind, caring, and compassionate person. While my parents and grandparents modeled kindness and compassion, I can recall a time as a youngster when I struggled to apply their teachings in a real-life situation. Neighborhood children were teasing and making fun of a young boy. Being a shy and somewhat introverted child, I watched and chose not to say anything or otherwise intervene. Later, that bothered me. When I finally spoke to my parents about what was happening, they coached me to stand up for this boy and show him the kindness he deserved. I took their advice and the next time I witnessed unkindness toward him I told the neighborhood children to stop their behavior and bravely told the boy I wanted to be his friend. I can still see the smile that spread across his face when he heard my words. I believe I made a difference for that little boy. I am sure you can recall similar situations growing up. My parents’ teachings and my reflections on childhood have led to my strong commitment as an educator to teach students to be kind, caring, and compassionate. In my opinion, learning kindness is as important as mastering timetables. Read More

A Very Special Bring A Friend Day Experience

October 3, 2019

Has a friend ever asked, “What makes MPA so special?” Or perhaps you know a family who is “SO MPA?” Bring A Friend To MPA Day is a wonderful way to have their children experience firsthand what it is like to be student at Mounds Park Academy. Read on for fifth graders Nathan M. and Marcell S-C’s Bring A Friend To MPA Day experience! Marcell enrolled after having attended last year’s Bring A Friend To MPA Day.

Nathan, what made you want to bring Marcell for Bring A Friend To MPA Day?
I wanted to hang out with Marcell and show him my school. We’ve been friends since second grade. Before this year when Marcell wasn’t at MPA, I wished he could have been going here.

Marcell, how did going to Bring A Friend To MPA Day help you make your decision to come to MPA?
Because Nathan went there, I knew about MPA and knew it was a good school, but then Bring A Friend Day was when I saw that MPA was really different than the other schools I used to go to. Probably the combination of meeting the teachers and meeting the other kids on Bring A Friend Day made me want to come to school at MPA with Nathan. Read More

An MPA Student’s Passion To Change The World

October 2, 2019

This past summer, MPA senior Misk Khalif was selected to serve as a 2019-2020 Girl Up Teen Advisor. Girl Up is a national advisory board made of young advocates working to promote gender equity for girls globally. As a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, Girl Up works to provide the tools and platform for girls globally to lead on a number of issues that affect them from education to health.

Misk had the honor of attending the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high level week, where world leaders met in New York City to discuss the world’s most pressing issues, from climate change to access to healthcare. UNGA brings together a variety of stakeholders from government officials, civil society, and business leaders.

“The most complex global issues requires all facets of society to collaborate and help us realize the sustainable development goals by the year 2030,” Misk said. She had the opportunity to participate in a variety of key discussions, ranging from increasing universal access to education for millions of children globally who remain out of school, to providing better access to healthcare for women and girls who continue to lose their lives from preventable illnesses.

Tips for Effective Parent-Teacher Conferences

September 30, 2019

Parent-teacher conferences are one of those unique interactions that can still cause butterflies, no matter your age, grade level, or how many you’ve attended. These face-to-face forums to discuss performance and progress can trigger a mix of emotions, going to the heart of parent concerns about whether their child is “on track” academically, emotionally, and interpersonally.

While parents often hold their breath during conference season, it’s important to let that anxiety go and embrace the open dialogue of school conferences. The National Education Association (NEA) explains that “To get the most out of parent-teacher conferences, parents need to take an active role in their child’s education year-round and come prepared to discuss how their child can reach their full potential.” The NEA recommends that parents take time to prep before conferences, including taking notes about any questions you have related to your school’s programs or policies, insights you’d like to share about your child at home and significant events in your child’s life, and your own reflections on your child’s progress. Read More

Come Home To MPA

September 26, 2019

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

I am a sap when it comes to commercials around the holidays. I may be showing my age but some of you probably remember the Folgers Coffee commercial when the son surprises his mother by coming home from college unexpectedly, making a fresh pot of Folgers that awakens his mother. Tears, every time. There is something about coming home—feelings of love, safety, and acceptance—that stirs our emotions.

Our identities emerge in the midst of community, molded and shaped by our experiences. Our family, religious beliefs, neighborhoods, and schools are all important in introducing and reinforcing a shared set of values that nurture our identities. Schools in particular have a lasting impact not only on our academic development, but our social and emotional development in our most formative years. Read More

Let’s Be Friends

September 20, 2019

Gaining the Skills to Build Healthy Relationships
One of our most basic human needs is forming community by making friends. We’re social creatures, drawn to seek connections throughout our lives. While rewarding and fulfilling, building healthy friendships takes practice. It’s an important life skill for children to learn early—increasing their capacity to create friendships, be a good friend, and progressively cultivate and sustain strong relationships at all ages.

Open Discussions on Friendship
“The foundation of friendship is open communication, both in terms of among friends and about friendship itself,” explains Tara Keegan, Mounds Park Academy Lower School counselor. A licensed professional clinical counselor and parent, Keegan recommends beginning conversations about friends starting in PreK. “Ask your child who they sat with at lunch, who they played with at recess, what the group did that day,” she says. “Talk about the feelings around those interactions, and share how important it is to listen and learn within a friendship. That’s the beginning of empathy, being able to understand where another person is coming from, and is so important in building connections and friendships.” Read More

An MPA Education In A Rapidly Changing World

September 19, 2019

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

This summer, I attended a meeting of independent school heads at Stanford University and spent a few days in the San Francisco Bay Area. My custom has been to visit with alumni when I travel and I had the opportunity to connect with David Siegel ’04. David is a techie, philosopher, and creative thinker. Blending his love of technology with a sensitivity to human flourishing, he is driven to understand how technology affects people. He recently launched his own start-up, Glide, which enables users to create an app that turns Google spreadsheets into beautiful, easy-to-use apps, without code.

During his years at MPA, David gravitated mostly toward Spanish, film, writing, and critical thinking. When I asked him what class or experience at MPA he attributes to his success, without hesitation he said, “photography class.” Through photography he learned perspective, empathy, problem-solving, and iteration, all necessary for innovation. When asked for his advice to MPA students he said, “Develop your own theories about problems that interest you, seek out people working on those problems, and explain your ideas to them. View professional challenges as opportunities for creative thinking and devise your own solutions to these problems, rather than succumbing to pressure to behave uniformly.” Read More

The Impact Of Microexpressions

September 11, 2019

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

I know I am not the only parent who can say that the ride to school with my daughter can make or break my day. A quarrel over the most insignificant matter, a scowl, or a roll of the eyes can send my mood in a downward spiral. Although others warned me, I never realized the degree to which my outlook on life is influenced by my children. On the flip side, the joy, smiles, high fives, and hugs from incoming students at the south entrance in the morning easily lift my spirits.

This phenomenon made sense when I happened upon an NPR story this summer about emotional contagion and how microexpressions influence moods. Microexpressions are fleeting, involuntary expressions of feelings that last a fraction of a second. For some time, science has observed how animals tend to mimic the physical movements of one another. We now know that such automimicry extends to emotions as well. After years of research, Elaine Hatfield and Dick Rapson, researchers at the University of Hawaii, have demonstrated that microexpressions can actually produce the corresponding emotion inside of us. Read More

Science Shows You Can’t Go Wrong With A Song

September 11, 2019

Music And The Brain
Music isn’t just something that’s good for your brain—it practically is your brain. Studying music is intrinsically tied to better hearing, speech, memory, reasoning, and emotional development. It lifts mood, builds community, and strengthens confidence. Music matters for long-term physical and psychological wellbeing, and to preserve brain health as we age. In terms of academic success, music education is directly connected to overall student achievement and personal growth, and it plays an essential role in Mounds Park Academy’s whole child, progressive, college preparatory curriculum, PreK through grade 12.

Building Social, Intellectual Capacity
According to recent research conducted by neuroscientists at the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute, early education in music was shown to accelerate brain development in young children, especially in the parts of the brain that manage sound, language, speech perception, and reading skills. As described by neuropsychologist Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster, “music reaches parts of the brain that other things can’t … it’s a strong cognitive stimulus that grows the brain in a way that nothing else does, and the evidence that musical training enhances things like working memory and language is very robust.” Read More