August 13, 2019
Welcome home, Panthers! We are looking forward to seeing new families at New Family Orientation and returning families at Back To School Night to begin a fantastic school year! Grab your school supplies and head to campus on Monday, August 26, for an all-school assembly, time with your teachers, and a special ribbon-cutting ceremony for our new commons, cafeteria, and kitchen!
New Family Orientation: 3-6 PM
LOWER SCHOOL FAMILIES • GRADES PREK-4
3-3:30 PM – Students and parents stay together to meet homeroom teachers, put away school supplies, and locate and/or practice lockers.
3:30-4:45 PM – Students separate for an activity with Mr. Purdy, extended day coordinator, while parents meet with Ms. Wright, Lower School director, in the library.
4:45-5:30 PM – Enjoy dinner in the cafeteria.
5:30-5:45 PM – Meet Dr. Hudson, head of school, and the leadership team.
6:15-6:30 PM – All-School Welcome Back Assembly in the Lansing Center.
6:30-7:30 PM – Additional time to visit homeroom and specialist teachers and classrooms, organize school supplies, and practice student lockers.
7:15-7:30 PM – Ribbon cutting ceremony and refreshments in the cafeteria. Read More
Making The Transition Back To School 
Building Character and Academic Success
Meet Kyra Longfellow, who will be joining MPA as the Middle School assistant!
August is bittersweet. It serves as a pause between a memorable summer and the excitement of a new academic year. For many families it’s also a time to reconsider the best fit for their child’s education, and to consider a change.
At the most recent Spring Auction, the Schwartz family purchased the ability to name one of the sewing machines in the Makerspace. They chose to name the sewing machine in the memory of Linda Handler-Lack, who was a great aunt of MPA seventh grader Henry S.
Meet Cherie Honan, who will be our executive assistant to the head of school. Ms. Honan comes to MPA with more than 20 years of high level executive administrative experience in the legal and banking fields. She has excellent skills in project management, is organized and detailed, and communicates warmly and articulately. In her role at MPA, she will help best serve MPA families, faculty, and staff in a way that is responsive and helpful. She also has an extremely caring and joyful disposition.
Meet Gia Gifford, who will be our new K-4 art teacher. Gia comes to us from Clara Barton Open School, which is a K-8 magnet school in Minneapolis Public Schools. She holds two degrees from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, including a Bachelor of Arts in studio art and art history and a Master of Education in visual arts K-12. Gia has a deep passion for teaching art to elementary and middle school learners. And along with a variety of teaching experiences in diverse environments, Gia is a silversmith who is active in the Minneapolis arts community.
Meet John Milam, who is joining MPA as the Middle School science and design teacher. Mr. Milam has been a teacher and leader in STEM education for more than 20 years, spanning public and private school teaching, university administration, and program development. Most recently, he served as the Middle School STEM teacher at Hmong College Prep Academy. Mr. Milam is excited to challenge MPA students to bring their science knowledge to real-world problems through design thinking in order to make a difference in our community, both locally and globally.
Meet Summer McCall, who is joining MPA as a social studies teacher. Ms. McCall has a Bachelor of Arts in history and Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota, and has been teaching high school for the past fifteen years across the country and internationally in Louisiana, Arizona, and Korea. After moving back to Minnesota, she worked at Bloomington Kennedy High School until joining the faculty at MPA!