October 11, 2018
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
“Do you know the purpose of Mounds Park Academy?” asked Mr. Kevin Breen, chair of our ISACS accreditation visiting team, of several seniors.
“The purpose of the school is to develop the whole child so that we can be fully formed adults,” said the first.
“And when we are more fully formed, we have the self-confidence to respect each other and value inclusivity,” added a friend.
“Yes, so in a way, the most important word in the motto is ‘do,’ as in do things; do right,” said the third. And then, after a pause, he added this: “And our teachers facilitate that. They make it easy to do right. They make volunteerism easy. They make civic engagement easy. They bring opportunities to ‘do right’ right to us.”
The vibrant and powerful mission of Mounds Park Academy, delivered by talented and caring teachers, is having a tremendous impact on the lives of our students each day. You share in that impact by the value you place on learning, the investment you are making in the education of your children, and your commitment to and support of Mounds Park Academy.
Monday will mark the beginning of our fall campaign, “Joyful Learning, Joyful Giving.” For the next five weeks, the MPA community will band together to raise the funds necessary to extend the impact and joy of an MPA education. Culminating with Give To The Max Day and the Faculty and Staff Lip Sync Assembly on November 15, our goal is to raise $300,000 to ensure joyful learning continues at MPA.
One could say that the joy of learning at MPA is dependent upon the joyful giving of parents, alumni, grandparents, friends, and alumni families. Mounds Park Academy, like all independent schools, relies on three principle sources of revenue to support its day-to-day operations: tuition, endowment, and annual gifts made by members of our community. Tuition does not cover the total cost of educating a student at Mounds Park Academy and the gap is bridged by annual giving.
Gifts made to the MPA fund during the “Joyful Learning, Joyful Giving” campaign are used exclusively to fund joyful learning:
- Joy from throwing a pot in ceramics class.
- Joy from singing the national anthem so beautifully at Homecoming events.
- Joy from creating a squishy circuit that powers a light bulb in the Makerspace.
- Joy from hard work, training, and teamwork that results in a soccer victory.
- Joy from bringing to live a character on stage.
- Joy from grasping the nuance of a novel, an aha moment.
The spirit of philanthropy and of joyful giving at Mounds Park Academy is vibrant. I humbly ask you to join me in increasing the impact of the MPA mission. Please know that every gift is valued and participation at whatever level feels right to your family is appreciated. You may also be interested in knowing that 100 percent of faculty and staff gave to the MPA Fund last year and I expect it will be the same again this year. We have the most caring, knowledgeable, talented teachers and staff who make joyful learning and joyful giving possible.
Look for more information in the mail, visit the MPA website, or contact the Development Office to make a gift. With your contribution, you make an impact in the lives of all those who learn, play, create, dream, and do at our school. Your gift directly impacts of the mission of MPA and the lives of our students.
The MPA Madrigal Singers are honored to be collaborating with professional musicians and singing in the beautiful House of Hope! MPA students have been practicing with the Oratory’s professional singers and conductor to prepare for the performance on October 14. 
Laurel Schwartz ’11 is currently a multimedia producer and social advocacy student at Columbia University. “Or, [I’m] a social scientist with a track record for getting things done,” she says.
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.
Congratulations to all of the Upper School students who received honors and awards at the 2018 Upper School Awards Assembly! On Friday, June 1, the school gathered to commemorate all of these students’ achievements. Academic, National Merit, Scholarship, Yearbook, Choir, Band, Orchestra, Visual Art, Math, English, Science, Social Studies, Forensics, French, Spanish, Drama, Athletics, Service, Spirit of ’86, Junior Mission Statement, Certificate of Distinction, and Alumni Association awards were given. Please join us in congratulating the following students! 
On Friday, June 1, the Upper School Percussion and Woodwind Ensembles will be performing their annual end-of-the-year recital! You’ve never seen or heard anything like it! It will be a mix of classical and crazy, as the Woodwind Ensemble will be performing a multi-movement work by Beethoven, while the Percussion Ensemble is going completely non-traditional. Please join us at 6:30 PM in the Recital Hall for this incredible way to wrap up MPA’s concert season! In the meantime, 
Middle School students have been hard at work preparing for their upcoming show, “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse!” The show is a comedy by playwright Don Zolidis, whose one-acts and shows have been performed by students all over the country. 
This is an excerpt from Nicholas Guiang’s ’18 senior speech, delivered on Friday, May 18, to Middle and Upper School students, faculty and staff, in the Nicholson Center. As a school community, we are immensely grateful for his family’s 24-year commitment to Mounds Park Academy.
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
We have so much to celebrate in Upper School! Congratulations to the students who were selected for the 2018-19 All-State Choir and Band programs!