Lower School Archives

Your Gifts Make Foreign Language Instruction Possible

October 29, 2018

This article is the third in a series called “The Fall Campaign Stories of Impact: Five Weeks, Five Stories, Five Reasons to Give.”

Bilingualism is one of the best things you can do for your brain. Research shows that young children who learn a second language have improved cognitive abilities, attention control, and problem solving skills. As they progress though school, continued language study correlates with academic achievement, higher ACT and SAT scores, and better performance at the college level. And as we age, fluency in more than one language has been connected to faster stroke recovery and delayed onset of dementia. Read More

Bring A Friend To MPA Day

October 25, 2018

Has a friend or co-worker ever asked, “What is MPA really like?” Do you know a family who would be “SO MPA?” Have the parents of your child’s neighborhood friends ever asked, “What makes MPA so special?”

Bring A Friend Day is a fantastic way for those outside our immediate community to experience firsthand who we are and what it is like to be student at Mounds Park Academy! On Friday, November 30, we are inviting students in grades one through nine to bring a friend to MPA for a special day of learning and fun!

The invited friend should be near the same grade as your child and each child may only bring one friend. Space is very limited by grade level. Please have the family of the visiting friend register online at moundsparkacademy.org/bringafriend by Friday, November 23.

On the day of the visit, if possible, please help the visiting family with transportation to/from school. Visiting students are welcome to ride MPA buses, but not District 622 buses. Bus passes may be obtained from the Office of Admission. Visitors and their hosts should check-in together at the South Entrance at 7:45 AM.

Visitors will follow a typical school schedule, attending all of the regular classes with their friend. Teachers will take the time to introduce visitors in each class and help them feel welcome. Lunch will be provided, or the friend may bring a bag lunch. The day ends at 3 PM in cafeteria and does not include after school care or activities.

If you have any questions, Contact Nate Bander, Admission Outreach Coordinator via email at nbander@moundsparkacademy.org or 651-748-5518. Thank you for sharing your love for MPA with friends! We can’t wait to meet them!

Our MPA Moments

October 25, 2018

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

Every fall, I invite seniors to have lunch with me in small groups of eight to 10. It is a fantastic time to check in with them about how their senior year is going, learn what their plans are for next year, solicit their feedback on my leadership, and thank them for serving as leaders and role models. I also ask them to share their “MPA moment”–the moment, memory, or experience that captures or illustrates the MPA mission to them. I enjoy hearing their stories and it only deepens my love and appreciation for this amazing community.

A common MPA moment I hear often has to do with their experience of a PreK-12 school under one roof. Seniors will talk about what it was like for them to have an Upper School buddy when they were in Lower School or how much they enjoy now the “pairing assemblies,” when as seniors, they are matched with younger students. Their eyes light up with joy as they share the special relationship they have developed.

Join Us For Halloween At MPA!

October 24, 2018

All parents are welcome to attend the MPA Halloween Parade on Wednesday, October 31! The festivities will begin with warm drinks and treats in the Lower School Atrium, courtesy of the Parents Association, at 2:20 PM. At 2:30 PM, Lower School students, dressed in their costumes, will parade through the student-lined hallways. This is one of MPA’s signature PreK-12 events that has become an honored tradition. Are the younger students or the older students more joyful? It is always hard to tell! Please join us!

And as part of MPA’s efforts to be a more allergy aware school, we are also happy to share the Snack Safely list and a peanut and treenut-free board of ideas on Pinterest to assist you in what to bring to our Halloween festivities!

Flu Season Information From The Nurse

October 24, 2018

from MPA’s school nurse, Julie Koster, and School District 622

Many students and parents/guardians are frequently concerned about when students should stay home or attend school. The following information is intended to help with this decision.

General Guidelines:

If the student:

Has a temperature of 100 degrees or higher, the student should stay home for 24 hours after their temperature returns to normal (less than 100 degrees) without fever reducing medication.
Has vomited or has had diarrhea two or more times, the student should stay home until 24 hours after the last episode.
Has a rash that may be disease-related or the cause is unknown, check with their healthcare provider before returning to school.

If the student is ill, please keep them home and notify (your division office) daily to report the illness. Please notify the School Nurse, Julie Koster, at jkoster@moundsparkacademy.org or 651-748-5509 if your child has a contagious condition such as chicken pox, strep throat, whooping cough, or influenza.
Read More

Your Gifts Make Elective Opportunities Possible

October 23, 2018

This article is the second in a series called “The Fall Campaign Stories of Impact: Five Weeks, Five Stories, Five Reasons to Give.”

MPA’s Upper School curriculum features a breadth and depth of challenging topics, from Modern United States History and Computer Science, to Literary Analysis and Advanced Argumentation. Can you find the electives in this list? It’s probably not obvious, and that’s by design. At MPA, all courses, both core and elective, are developed around specific academic requirements and developmental goals. Electives play a special role in the mix, reinforcing an interdisciplinary approach to learning that supports the whole student.

“Core and elective classes at MPA have distinct roles, and also have equal billing,” explains Mark Segal, Upper School director. “What’s learned in electives carries over to other courses. For example, the critical thinking and persuasion skills acquired through our elective course in debate translate into the public speaking component of our English courses, and the analytical approach needed in our science program.” Read More

The Purpose of Mounds Park Academy

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.

October 11, 2018

Upper School Student council and the first graders teamed up this week to plan the Blood Drive! Together they created posters, stickers, signs, and thank-you cards preparing for another successful year. Take a look at the adorable photos!

You can make a difference and save lives by donating blood at the annual MPA Blood Drive. The blood drive, hosted by the dynamic duo of our Upper School and first grade, is a tradition that brings the community together for a cause. The drive is Thursday, October 25, from 12-6 PM in the Gallery. Register to donate here!

Plus, as a “thank you” for giving blood at the drive, all donors will be automatically entered to win a $500 gift card! Click here for more details and thank you for your support!

Thank You From The Parents Association!

October 11, 2018

On behalf of the Parents Association, thank you to all of the parents and volunteers who generously donated their time, gift cards, and goodies during Faculty and Staff Appreciation Week. A special thanks to chef Doug Pittman and his staff at Sage for providing a delicious dinner and snacks throughout the week, and to Vern Kissner and the maintenance staff for all of the set-up and extra work they did. The faculty and staff were very appreciative of our efforts to thank them for all they do.

And congratulations to our gift card winners Sarah McFarland, Dan Haase, Craig Dodson, Marc Shapiro, Mark Segal, Jason Schwalen, Angie Gerstner, Nate Bander, Rose Wick, Ashley Goetzke, Susan Roberston, Jake Eibon, Leah Abbe Bloem, Martha Castellanos, Rachel Amundsen, Becky Tesdahl, Michael Vergin, Randy Comfort, Josh Rohricht, Ariel Kitsch, and Pat Reinhardt!

Meet MPA Talks Speaker Laurel Schwartz ’11

October 10, 2018

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.

After graduating from Mounds Park Academy, Laurel attended Scripps College, where she studied American studies and media studies. She has spent the last several years work at advertising agencies and PR firms creating media both for fortune 500 brands and for social advocacy causes. Additionally, her self-produced documentary about chronic illness appeared in several film festivals last spring.

We asked Laurel several questions so that you could get to know her better prior to MPA Talks!

What do you believe will be the greatest challenge our current students will face in their lifetimes and how do you see MPA equipping them to face that challenge?

When I graduated from high school, I knew two things: first, that I was passionate about history and social change, and, second, that creativity made me tick. What I didn’t know was that one day, there would be a job that would allow me to use my creativity to make a difference in the world. MPA is so remarkable because it is an institution that truly allows each student to find what uniquely gets them fired up in the morning and helps students imagine opportunities, solutions, and even jobs that don’t exist yet. MPA equips students to follow their curiosity for the world. Read More