Middle School

The Magic Of A Noisy Classroom

September 2, 2021

upper school students giving classroom presentationAfter several months of quiet and sometimes eerie peacefulness, the hallways and classrooms are abuzz with energy and joy this week. And so, it should be as the MPA family comes together again for a new school year. With 139 new students and an overall enrollment of 577, much of our time over the last week has been dedicated to building community and developing relationships with one another.

There are volumes of research demonstrating that when students feel like they belong, self-esteem, positive peer relationships, classroom engagement, academic achievement, positive attitudes toward school and learning, resilience, and many other positive attributes increase. One of those volumes collecting dust in the stacks of the University of St. Thomas Library is my own dissertation on the importance of creating a school culture that is grounded in relationships.

Late last week, I was drawn to a classroom by the laughter emanating from it. Rather than be concerned, I simply smiled, for I learned early in my career as a teacher and administrator that there is magic in a noisy classroom. What on the surface may seem a bit chaotic or messy can in reality be a very intentional experience with students engaged in their own education, building relationships, and learning collaboratively, in a robust and captivating place. Read More

Be A Part Of The Middle School Play

September 2, 2021

students in the black boxAuditions are open for the Middle School Play! This year, the play is a series of Middle School One Acts, titled, “The Internet is Distract–OH LOOK A KITTEN!” and “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Middle School (but were too busy being stuffed in a locker to ask)!” Sign up audition to here!

All Middle School students in grades 5-8 are invited to audition. Auditions are held Monday, September 13 to Tuesday, September 14 at 3:15-4:15 PM or 4:15-5:15 PM. Thursday, September 16 will be callbacks from 3:15-4:30 PM.

Upper School students are involved in the Middle School play too! Upper Schoolers take on more of the advanced technical aspects, along with taking on leadership and mentoring roles.

Auditions will take place in the Black Box (Room #30, by door #4). You MUST sign up for one audition spot via Schoology. For specific information on rehearsals and time commitment, please visit the “MPA Theatre Info” Schoology page (access code KNJ7K-BF6D9).

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact Ms. Mastel at hmastel@moundsparkacademy.org or by stopping by her room (#21). Be sure to check out the crew opportunities, if you are interested on working backstage!

Guidelines For Bus And Traffic Safety

September 2, 2021

bus pulling up to MPAIt is MPA’s number one priority to provide the safest campus environment possible for you and your children. Please share this information with all of the drivers in your home, in addition to others who may provide transportation for you. Thank you very much in advance for your cooperation and understanding.

COVID-19 Bus Precautions
We have implemented these strategies to prioritize health and safety on MPA buses:

  1. Masks worn by all on board.
  2. One student per seat whenever possible (siblings may sit together).
  3. A seating chart for any bus with more than 22 students (there are 22 seats on a bus.)
  4. Four windows open one inch: the two in the last row on each side of the aisle and two in the front row on each side of the aisle.

Distracted Driving
Parents and students are asked to refrain from using cell phones (hands free or otherwise) while driving on campus, especially when children are present. This helps us all to be aware of the children moving around us and keep the traffic flow steady and uncongested. Read More

Connect With The MPA Parents Association This School Year

August 26, 2021

Parents Connect: Wednesday Morning WalksPA Photo
The Parents Association invites parents and guardians to get together Wednesday mornings after drop off. Mark your calendars, it will be fun! Wednesday, September 1 we’ll have a 30 minute walk with Michelle Mick. We’ll meet at the flagpole near the Lower School entrance. Lower School, Middle School and Upper School families are welcome. This week’s walk will include strolling through some of the grounds on MPA, including the prairie area. Chat with new parents and connect with friends. Younger children are welcome to walk with us.
After that walk if parents are interested, we can head over to the Farmer’s Market at Aldrich Arena, a short walk from MPA. They have a large variety of great produce and you’ll be supporting local farmers.
Remember to bring a mask to all events! Hope to see you there!
Monday and Thursday Mornings in the Garden
Get your hands dirty Monday and Thursday mornings after drop off, helping in MPA’s gardens. No experience necessary. Come and help weed, plant, dig, or sow, all are welcome. How long you stay is up to you. If Michelle Mick is not at the flagpole, go around the corner, in the Library gardens, next to Door #2.
Remember to bring a mask! Hope to see you there!

Picture Day Information For Families

August 26, 2021

Hello, families!picture day

Picture day is approaching! Our vendor is Jostens and you will receive flyers soon with information on how to order your pictures online.

Picture day is on:

Monday September 13

Retake day is on:

Monday, October 11

 All students should be in school uniform or dress code. Jostens asks that your child avoids wearing the color green!

Jostens, knows customers care deeply about privacy and data security. Customer trust is their top priority and maintaining this trust is an ongoing commitment. They strive to protect the privacy of customer data by the security policies, practices and technologies put in place. Jostens does not sell or rent directory information to third parties for any reason. Jostens does not use email addresses to market any other products or services.

Providing parent email addresses for each student is the best form of security. Student photos are automatically linked to their parent’s email address, and parents with multiple students will be able to see all of their students. If a parent’s email address is not provided, they must enter the school name, event code, exact spelling of the student’s name and another unique identifier (Student ID/Lunch ID/etc).

Parents will receive the following communications from Jostens:

  • Picture Day Is Coming–This will be a reminder email that is sent a few days before the scheduled Picture Day
  • Pictures Are Ready–This will notify parents that the photos have been uploaded and can be viewed on the website
  • Reminder Emails–If an order is not placed, we do send out one email per month letting them know the pictures are available

Jostens Condensed Privacy Policy >

Jostens Full Privacy Policy >

From your yearbook advisors,

Lauren Drake (ldrake@moundsparkacademy.org) and Sara Mohn (smohn@moundsparkacademy.org)

Accessing MPA’s Family Directory

August 26, 2021

DirectoryAs you make new connections at MPA, we warmly encourage families to connect with one another outside of school (safely, of course!). Here are instructions about how to access MPA’s community directory in Schoology.

On Desktop

  1. Visit https://app.schoology.com/login.
  2. Login to Schoology using your parent login.
  3. In the upper right-hand corner, using the drop down button, navigate to your parent profile. You are now viewing Schoology as yourself, not as your child.
  4. Along the top navigation bar, click on Resources (top) > Apps (left).
  5. Click Approve then refresh the page. This is only needed the first time you open MPA Resources.
  6. The MPA community directory should fill the screen and be usable.

On Mobile

  1. Download the Schoology app (if you haven’t already) in the Apple or Android App Store.
  2. Login to the app using your parent login.
  3. In the upper left-hand corner menu, select Resources > Resource Apps > MPA Resources.
  4. Click Approve then use the back button to get back to Resources. Click MPA Resources again.
  5. This is only needed the first time you open the MPA Resources app.
  6. The MPA community directory should fill the screen and be usable.

If you have any questions, please email Jay Springer, MPA webmaster, at webmaster@moundsparkacademy.org. If you have any changes to your directory listing, contact your division assistant:

Lower School: Denise Johnson, djohnson@moundsparkacademy.org

Middle School: Jolynn Lassonde, jlassonde@moundsparkacademy.org

Upper School: Jolynn Lassonde, jlassonde@moundsparkacademy.org (temporary)

Middle School Division News

August 26, 2021

WELCOME to the 2021-2022 School Year! MS news story

Every other week my newsletter will come to you with highlights of upcoming events, information about what’s happening in our neck of the woods, the all-important list of dates for your family calendar, and usually a little about what I’m thinking about or what may be helpful to you as we do this parenting-of-middle-schoolers journey together. I hope you’ll look forward to the Middle School News & Notes and find them helpful.

Remember that this newsletter will always be in the Panther Post, along with archived issues, for you to review. ?

STUDY HALL and PANTHER DEN!
A few years ago, now we began offering a one-hour study hall immediately after school (3:15-4 PM). It was a huge success as it offers students a quiet, structured, and monitored place to get some work done before heading home for the evening. I have seen happy parents with less homework to manage at night and have heard students gleefully share the list of assignments or tasks they were able to finish in just the short 45 minutes with real focus and attention.

For study hall to be productive and helpful, we share the following expectations with students:

  1. No cell phones are allowed. The same rules that apply during the regular school day apply in study hall. Cell phones should be “off-and-away”.
  2. No earbuds/listening to music while working. I have explained to students that research and science on the brain and learning teaches us that when we focus on fewer things, even one at a time, we work more efficiently and more successfully. Music is a distraction to manage and 45 minutes with no music or distraction can make for a much more productive time.
  3. Games or videos on school computers are also not allowed – this is a quiet time to get homework finished or to read a book. The teachers supervising study hall can direct computers be put away completely if needed.
  4. Collaborative/group work is not ideal for this setting and students should be encouraged to work on independent tasks as much as is possible.
  5. Students may bring a quiet and not-messy snack to study hall, if they’d like.

I want to thank you, in advance, for reinforcing these positive strategies at home. As a faculty in the Middle School, we want to support positive study and self-management practices as they will well serve the students for the many years of education ahead of them.

Finally, you may pick-up your student at any door to the school. Please make arrangements and plans with your student where they will meet you at 4pm. If they are going to be picked up before 4pm, please have them let the study hall teacher know so they can meet you at the agreed upon place.

Study Hall will begin next week, Monday, August 30! Please remember that any student not picked up by 4 PM, will be sent to Panther Den and charged for after-school care. Read More

Providing A Joyful Light

August 26, 2021

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of Schoolhead's message

Welcome home! I hope that you had a wonderful summer, filled with plenty of time with family and loved ones. Although I enjoyed the slower pace, I am thrilled to start a new school year. We begin the school year with 575 students, the highest enrollment in more than 10 years with 138 new students, several grade levels full, and others close to capacity. Our growing enrollment is surely an indication that “Dream Big. Do Right.” speaks resoundingly to the hearts and minds of a growing number of families in the Twin Cities. With confident humility, we acknowledge our place among the very best independent schools in the nation.

I love to read but find very little time during the school year to tackle a good novel while also staying abreast of journals, the most current educational research, and professional reading. During the summer, however, you can find me reading on the deck, the dock, the boat, or on long car trips (in the passenger seat, of course). Of all the books I read this summer, one stands out, the Pulitzer Prize winning “All the Light We Cannot See.” It is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read and is deeply, deeply moving.

As I was thinking about many reasons why MPA is a unique and special place and the tremendous growth of the school over the last several years, I was inspired by a line in the book:

“So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?”

The mission of MPA over the last 40 years, as captured by our school motto, “Dream Big. Do Right.” is dedicated to bringing light to a world that all too often seems darkened. Each child holds within them immense possibility and potential. By igniting and nurturing the light within each student, our students are better able to bring that light to the world. Through cultivating critical thinking, creative inquiry, and social responsibility, we inspire and empower our children to improve an ever-changing and sometimes, challenging world. We do that by truly knowing each student and though a rigorous, yet joyful, education delivered by an exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to fostering caring relationships with their students.

Thank you choosing MPA and entrusting your children to us. It is going to be a fantastic year!

Interested in Theatre at MPA?

August 10, 2021

ChicagoInStory

Have you ever wanted to audition, but had a case of stage fright? You want to try working backstage, but have no knowledge of tools? That is okay–that is what this Theatre Info Meeting is for! We will cover the following in a brief zoom session with the MPA theatre teachers, Ann Frances Gregg, Emily Jaques, and Heather Mastel:
  • Can I play a sport and be in a play?
  • How much does it cost to participate?
  • What is the time commitment?
  • How do auditions work?
  • What jobs can I do backstage?
  • How do I get involved?

Join us next Wednesday, August 18 at 6 PM. We will cover all in this meeting for Middle School and Upper School families.

In addition, students are invited to join us Tuesday, August 31 for a Theatre Info Meeting just for students. Grab your lunch and meet us in the Black Box at 11:20 am (pending safety precautions, Middle School—grab your lunch at recess time and join us).

See you there—break a leg this year!

A Night Of Panther Pride

August 2, 2021

Mason's Parents at the Watch PartyMason Ferlic ’11 Competes in Olympic Games 

MPA community members from alumni, faculty, and current families gathered to celebrate and support Mason’s olympic accomplishments. We launched the event with pizza and ‘Go Mason’ poster making, then concluded with a personal FaceTime from Mason after he crossed the finish line. The Ferlic family and the rest of the MPA community expressed their immense pride and happiness for Mason as we wished him a restful remainder of his evening. Enjoy this reflection piece written by Nate Bander ’09, one of Mason’s teammates and click through our photos from that night.

by Nate Bander, Class of 2009

Mason Ferlic ran a near personal best in the 3000m Steeplechase at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on July 30, placing 21st in 8:20.23, an exciting and historic day for MPA! Mason came to MPA in ninth grade and joined the track and field team in his first year. He found success right away, and his coaches and teammates encouraged him to sign up for cross country running. The problem was that he was already registered for soccer! But, with a little arm twisting, he decided to give cross country a try. The rest is pretty much history, he went on to win four MSHSL state championships, break three school records, and appear on MPA’s track and field top 10 list 11 times (though fun fact, Nolan, his younger brother, appears 13).

After graduating from MPA in 2011, Mason competed for the University of Michigan as the first of what have now become four MPA track and field athletes to compete at the Division I level in the last 10 years, all in the Big Ten Conference. He won the 2016 NCAA steeplechase championship and after graduating from Michigan with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering, he is now pursuing a PHD in Applied Statistics, which he does while training with Very Nice Track Club in Ann Arbor. Read More