Save The Date: Parents Association Gift Wrapping
November 14, 2019
Save the date! The MPA Parents Association Gift Wrapping event is on Monday, December 9 from 8 AM-3 PM. This is another Faculty and Staff Appreciation event where members of the Parents Association and parent volunteers come together to wrap presents for MPA staff. Look for the Sign Up Genius coming next week!
Thank You From Coach Kunze-Hoeg
November 14, 2019
by Jeff Kunze-Hoeg, MPA Varsity Volleyball Coach
I want to thank the entire MPA family for your overwhelming support of the MPA volleyball program this season–especially at the 4A Section Final where we beat New Life Academy to advance to the State Tournament for the first time in school history. The cheering was electric and there is no doubt that it helped push our team to victory. Winning that match will be a long-time memory for us. I was blown away, not only by the number of students in the stands, but the number of MPA faculty and families who took time out of their weekend to show their Panther Pride at Kennedy High School. Read More
Improve Mental Health By Releasing Unrealistic Expectations
November 14, 2019
Today’s popular culture is often highly packaged and thoroughly curated. Everything looks good on screen, and the social media tally of likes, loves, and shares literally quantifies a hierarchy of success. But this desire to effortlessly excel at all can quickly backfire, especially for teens—leading to paralyzing anxiety on the path to perfection.
“Perfectionists often set unrealistically high standards for themselves and tie all results to their intrinsic self-worth,” writes Sheila Achar Josephs, Ph.D., in her column for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. “In contrast, what I call ‘positive strivers’ set realistic goals, enjoy challenging themselves and see mistakes as task-specific rather than as a blow to their self-esteem. Practicing this new approach to success means making sure goals are doable, changing the level of effort depending upon the importance of the task and finding satisfaction in the process of doing a task, not just in perfect outcomes.” Read More
Invite A Friend To Lunch At MPA
November 14, 2019
Invite your friends and neighbors to join us on campus for lunch on Thursday, December 12 at 11:30 AM! This small-by-design event includes a casual lunch with students and administrators and opportunities to see inside classrooms, where students and teachers are in action during a regular school day.
Kindly have them RSVP in advance for this engaging program at moundsparkacademy.org/RSVP and contact the Office of Admission at 651-748-5577 or admission@moundsparkacademy.org with any questions.
November 13, 2019
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
Last week was extremely exciting as the community pulled together in support of our Girls Volleyball Team and their quest for a state championship. And although they were ultimately not successful, their incredible season will remain in the memories of MPA students and families. More than 250 students in grades eight through 12 filled five buses for the trip to the Xcel Energy Center last Thursday. Meanwhile, on campus, many Lower and Middle School students, faculty, and staff gathered in the new Family Commons to watch the game on the big screen. There was singing, cheering, and even a “wave” making itself across the fans in the commons.
The school spirit of last week is just one of many indications that our school year is off to a great start. We have wonderful new students and families who are enriching our community. Our newly built and renovated spaces have made it easier to come together as a family over a meal or an event. In the classroom, on the court, and on the stage, students are excelling and truly making an impact, locally, and globally. Read More
Join Us For Lunch This December
November 12, 2019
Please join us on the Mounds Park Academy campus for lunch on Thursday, December 12 at 11:30 AM.
This small-by-design event will include a casual lunch with students and administrators, as well as opportunities to see inside the classrooms where students and teachers are in action during a regular school day.
“Partnering with MPA to help us educate and raise our children gives us a great sense of comfort—the school we chose is as devoted to seeing our children develop to their fullest potentials as we are,” says MPA parent Patricia Aw-Yang. This event will allow you to see exactly how MPA does that for all students.
Kindly RSVP in advance for this engaging program at moundsparkacademy.org/RSVP. If you have any questions, contact the Office of Admission at 651-748-5577 or admission@moundsparkacademy.org. Students are welcome, but not required to attend.
We look forward to getting to know your family!
MPA’s Biggest Debate Team Succeeds At Two Tournaments
November 11, 2019
This weekend, MPA sent out the biggest debate team in school history to compete. Fifty-two students competed at the Minneapolis Southwest and Minnehaha Tournaments, and 28 students took home awards!
In the Novice B division, the teams of Amanda Xie and Graham Li, Prescott Hutton and Noah Marnach, and Nathan Harvanko and Tyler Schell received awards with 3-1 records, while Henry Feng and Steve Min placed third and Salma Ali and Lucia Simon were second in the division. Read More
Preparing Students For The New Marketplace
November 11, 2019
How we work, and learn to work, is changing for real and in real time. The technology, pace, and business models that define our local and national economies are shifting almost by the day, with old structures retiring and new approaches taking center stage. This fundamental change in career paths and professional expectations is shaping how progressive schools view the skills they teach students, and how they create opportunities for students to grow and prepare in and beyond the classroom.
Alison Kay, EY Global Accounts Committee Chair, writes that “we can help the next generation, who have not yet entered the workplace, by being alert to the scale of change taking place.” She emphasizes that “I think the best we can do as parents, mentors, and business leaders is to support qualities that will help them to deal with and work through uncertainty.” In her article, Kay outlines the key skills that will help students prepare for jobs that don’t yet exist, or that are evolving rapidly: Read More
Thank You To The Entire Panther Community!
November 7, 2019
Thank you for your incredible support of the MPA Girls Varsity Volleyball Team as they advanced to the State Tournament for the first time in school history! We are so proud of our athletes, our fans, and our entire Panther community. It was a day to remember as five buses full of students departed campus for the Xcel Energy Center and other students gathered in the Family Commons to watch the livestream. The Panther Pride across all grades was palpable and truly represented how our community comes together to support one another. It was a great day to be a Panther! See photos of the electric energy from today here!
The New Library Is Opening Soon: Help Us Move!
November 7, 2019
In order to efficiently pack and move nearly 30,000 titles from their current space into their new home, many volunteers are needed! Please click here to sign up for a shift or two. Your assistance is greatly appreciated!
To make space for this moving process, the library will be closed from 3 PM on Friday, November 22 through winter break. We know that MPA families regularly check out books and welcome that. Before the library closes, please see Ms. Lage or Ms. Petrich to check out any titles you may need during the closure. Students will continue to read, research, and connect with books with via their classrooms.
More information will be forthcoming about the grand opening of our new library!