Lower School Archives

Innovation & Student-led Learning Enhance Online Science At MPA

May 7, 2020

A spirit of innovation flows through all that we do at Mounds Park Academy; now it’s just through high-speed Internet instead of hallways and classrooms. Innovation fuels creative thinking and allows students to experience the joy of learning—and thanks to John Milam’s seventh- and eighth-grade science courses—the joy of teaching.

At the start of distance learning, Milam and his students brainstormed ideas on how best to approach the coming weeks. The students told him that they wanted to become an expert on a science topic—and then teach it. MPA encourages this level of student engagement in their learning, as demonstrated in the blog article “Letting the Students Lead.”

Still, Milam, who joined the faculty in 2019, was apprehensive. While students often present in class given MPA’s commitment to public speaking, they had never before taught a class.

“At MPA, there is a lot of emphasis on student voice,” says Milam. “But I was initially leery of turning over the class to the students.”

Now, Milam is learning new ideas from his students regarding how to make his own teaching better.

“Students at this age know how to talk to Middle School students – their peers – in a different way than I do as a teacher—they know what they don’t know,” says Milam. “As a teacher, watching them teach, I am learning new ways to use innovative technologies that I might not have considered before, including everything from Quizlet Live, Kahoot, and Mapfling to Brain Pop and Survey Monkey.” Read More

Accessing MPA Community Care Funds

May 7, 2020

Thanks to the generosity of our community, MPA would like to support you and your family if you are facing a financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The MPA Community Care Fund has flexible dollars available to help you if you need it, including financial assistance, technology needs, emergency resources, helping your graduating senior with expenses for college in the fall, among others.

Please fill out this confidential Request for Assistance form or contact Jennifer Rogers-Petitt, director of development and community engagement at jrogers@moundsparkacademy.org.

Buddy Program Volunteers Needed For 2020-2021

May 7, 2020

As a school community, it’s always exciting to welcome new families in all grades and divisions each year. Helping these families have a smooth transition is a top priority and one way we make that happen is through the MPA Buddy Program.

We hope you’ll consider being a Buddy Family next year! Some key expectations of Buddy Families:

Connecting with your assigned family or families over the summer.
Helping the parents and students navigate the back to school process such as Back to School night and the first days.
Connecting with the new family throughout the year to answer their questions, support them at events, and helping to make sure their year of “firsts” at MPA is as smooth as possible.

The Development Office will support you with your Buddy Family, when and if you need! Please share your interest, or let us know if you have questions, by sending an email to agerstner@moundsparkacademy.org.

Give From Home Week

May 6, 2020

As we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re facing the most unprecedented economic challenge of our time. In response, May 1-8 was announced as #GiveFromHome week in Minnesota. This effort will help nonprofit and educational organizations like Mounds Park Academy in very important ways.

Your gift will support the MPA Community Care Fund to ensure every student and staff member has what they need to dream big and do right. Hundreds of MPA community members have already given and we are so thankful for the ways our community has risen to this challenge and supported one another. On behalf of our students and staff, if you’ve already given, we thank you. Let’s meet unprecedented times with unprecedented action to provide our students, families, and faculty and staff with the resources they need.

Senior Service Makes Global Connections

May 6, 2020

The Senior Service Project is an opportunity for MPA students to use their voices and skills, propose, and carry out a service project with an organization or for a cause they are passionate about. All students submit a proposal, complete a minimum of 30 hours of service work, keep a record or journal of experiences, and prepare an exhibit or presentation based on their experience.

For his senior service project, MPA senior Charles Grimes created portraits for The Memory Project. The Memory Project is a nonprofit organization that connects artists with children throughout the world, who then get sent their portraits after completion. His portraits specifically will be sent to children in Venezuela.

“Our participants create these portraits to help children feel valued and important, to know that many people care about their well-being, and to provide a special childhood memory in the future,” states The Memory Project as part of its mission statement. Visit www.memoryproject.org/venezuela to learn more and see a touching video about the project!

Give From Home For MPA

May 2, 2020

COVID-19 is our world’s most unprecedented challenge of our time. In response, May 5 was announced as #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving and May 1-8 as #GiveFromHome week in Minnesota. This worldwide effort will help nonprofit and educational organizations like Mounds Park Academy in very important ways.

Your gift will support the MPA Community Care Fund to ensure every student and staff member has what they need to dream big and do right. 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;
supporting the MPA Class of 2020 as they prepare for their college expenses in the fall and face the inability to host graduation parties to mark this milestone and gather the necessary supplies for their journey to college; 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.

MPA Senior Donates 1,200 Medical Masks

April 30, 2020

In the true spirit of dreaming big and doing right, MPA senior Anna Zeng has donated 1,200 medical face masks to healthcare workers at HealthPartners.

Anna was enthusiastic, “To show my gratitude for what you and the rest of MPA staff have done in taking good care of us, and to contribute what I could to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said. After contacting a reputable mask supplier in Guangzhou, she used her own savings to order the masks and make the donation to MPA, which Dr. Hudson then safely delivered to a clinic.

“Our health care team needs masks,” HealthPartners writes on their website. “This unprecedented time of need, has turned into an unprecedented time of kindness. We’re grateful for the overwhelming support you’ve shown our health care heroes. Right now, they’re saving lives, but you can make a difference too.”

On behalf of our school and local community, thank you for your generosity, Anna!

Tips To Help Lower School Families Thrive During Distance Learning

April 30, 2020

With virtual school now in place for the remainder of the school year, Mounds Park Academy wants to share some tips to help Lower School families thrive. These times are not easy for parents of younger students especially and MPA is committed to helping them navigate life through the end of the school year and perhaps even emerge stronger.

Build independence whenever you can
Our children have important work to do with virtual school and dealing with the current reality. We need them to persevere and be independent, much more than ever. Our Lower School students are incredibly tech savvy and in grades second through fourth, are likely able to navigate Schoology to access their lessons. Encouraging independence helps your child feel more empowered to complete tasks on their own, which means you can better attend to your own work, projects, or other children.

Give children of all ages input into their daily schedule
When children have some control of their day, they are invested in the activities and more inclined to cooperate. Ask for their input and implement what you can of their desired schedule for the day. Debbie LaChapelle, MPA PreK teacher, recommends using a whiteboard and having your child write the date, weather, and activities they would like to do during the day. This mirrors what students typically do in Lower School classrooms and keeps learning student-centered.

Institute a brief “morning meeting” to review daily tasks
Each morning, sit down with your child (or children) to review all of the assignments they need to complete that day and the activities they would like to do. Renee Wright, MPA Lower School director, shares, “A morning meeting will help your child prepare for the day, as it creates some structure for your child and you. Use this time to check their resources and determine if there is a Zoom meeting the day. If a ‘morning meeting’ does not fit within your family’s style, just be sure to start your child’s day with a moment of your undivided attention to set their focus and your expectations for the day.” Read More

Virtual School Survey Results

April 30, 2020

Modeling the resiliency we inspire in our students, MPA has been engaged in a collaborative, ongoing process of designing, implementing, assessing, and adapting teaching and learning to meet the needs of our students. Adjustments along the way have been guided by feedback from parents, students, and faculty as well as research on distance learning and best practices. The candid feedback from parents in the two surveys conducted over the past six weeks has been extremely important and useful.

Parent Satisfaction
The almost all parents are satisfied with MPA’s virtual school. The levels of satisfaction and appreciation measured last week are very similar to the results from our first survey given on March 26. While there are areas for improvement and growth, parents continue to see the value of an MPA education and notice a contrast with other schools.

Ninety percent of parents are satisfied, with more than 60% saying they are very satisfied. One parent expressed their gratitude in the following way: “I really appreciate how the teachers are teaching normally. I hear my child engaged in classes, doing homework, and having extra, ‘found’ time to work on the college search, test prep and independent reading. We feel blessed to have MPA leading our children, now more than ever.”

Teaching and Learning
Maintaining a continuity of learning means we continue to challenge students and know that rigor provides comfort and consistency. Holding high standards and expressing care and compassion are not mutually exclusive. Parents appreciate the level of teacher engagement and responsiveness as well as the individualized attention being provided. Ninety-four percent are pleased with the level of teacher engagement and 90% are happy with the individualized personal attention given to students. Read More

Now, Next, And Beyond At MPA

April 30, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

My thinking these days on navigating this crisis has been informed by one of my favorite bloggers, Pascal Finette. In his recent post, he wrote about a global consulting firm that looks at the world in three time dimensions: Now, Next and Beyond. The world, observes Finette, has changed dramatically. “In the world BC (Before COVID-19) Next was one to two years out, and the Beyond was somewhere past the five-year mark. Today, Now and Next are happening in parallel and at the same time, while Beyond is AC (After COVID-19).” AC, wrote Pascal, “requires a very different view of the world and leaders to show up in very different ways.” I would like to use this framework to share with you how MPA is successfully navigating this crisis and planning for the future.

Now
During the last six weeks, we’ve made an incredible shift to online learning, ensuring the continuity of learning for our children. We have done so while holding fast to our whole child philosophy and our commitment to rigor with purpose. As I said in the beginning, “first different, then better.” Modeling the resiliency we inspire in our students, we have been engaged in an ongoing process of designing, implementing, assessing, and adapting teaching and learning to meet the needs of our students in our new reality, even as the crisis itself evolves.

Plans are in place and unfolding to ensure success in the continuity of operations, admission and enrollment, and the fiscal health of the school. I am confident that we will weather the storm.

Continuity of Operations: In order to sustain the quality of the education you’ve come to expect, we must continue to support our teachers, cover all of our non-teaching expenses, and invest in innovative ways to deliver our curriculum for our students. In fact, the school has invested in additional operating expenses associated with adopting and implementing online learning tools. In addition, we have a number fixed costs. For instance, even though we are not at school, we still have costs to maintain the building, pay utilities, mow the grass, etc.
Enrollment: BC (Before COVID-19) recruitment and admissions were strong and exceeding expectations. I am very happy to share that both new enrollments and re-enrollments continue to be strong today. New enrollments are trending significantly higher than at the same time last year, and re-enrollment is on pace. Even in the face of uncertainty, families are seeing clearly the value of MPA—perhaps in contrast to how other schools are managing remote learning. Please continue to share MPA in your networks.
Financial Health: Through managing expenses and carefully monitoring cash flow, we are positioned well to end the fiscal year. Philanthropic giving has been very strong BC and our reimagined Spring Auction was a phenomenal success. To assist families and employees who are experiencing financial difficulties, a Community Care Fund has been created.
Employees: We will continue to compensate all of our dedicated and hard-working faculty and staff through the end of the school year. Wherever possible, staff have been reassigned to support the overall operations of the school. We are making every effort to honor the everyday commitment they make and to ensure their continued employment during these uncertain economic times. We must retain our highly qualified and dedicated teachers and staff as we look forward to next year.
Lunch and Busing: One of the things we keep hearing from MPA families is their gratitude and appreciation for how MPA teachers and staff have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have asked how they can give back and support the school during this difficult time. We will have more ideas for you soon, but one easy way for your family to consider is donating back your hot lunch and transportation costs. Click here to express your desire to this or to receive a refund.