Upper School Archives

September 14, 2017

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

I am deathly afraid of heights. The higher floors of office buildings or hotels terrify me. Scary movies, too. My mother still teases me about making my father stay up with me to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street when I was home from college one summer.

What are you afraid of? Lower School students gave voice to their fears yesterday morning in the first CHAMP Assembly of the year and made plans to overcome them throughout this school year. Some responses included speaking in front of a crowd with confidence, scary movies, swimming, starting at a new school, competing at a karate tournament, and doing their best in kindergarten.

CHAMP stands for Character Happens At Mounds Park, and is the Lower School character development program. This year’s character trait is courage, defined as “facing your fears with confidence and being brave.” Nelson Mandela was used as a role model as students learned about the courage he demonstrated when he peacefully fought apartheid in South Africa.

Connect On LinkedIn!

September 14, 2017

Join our conversations! The purpose of all of MPA’s social media accounts is to connect the entire community including alumni, faculty and staff, parents, students, and friends of MPA. LinkedIn, specifically, is the social media tool that benefits everyone in the Mounds Park Academy network, from faculty to parents to young alums.

The MPA LinkedIn page and MPA Connections group are resources for professional development and career opportunities, a place to participate in discussion topics, and find information on MPA and local events. The MPA page is primarily used for social sharing. This is where we can share public updates with our followers and where they can find MPA updates and information. Only followers will get updates in their newsfeed! The MPA Connections group, in contrast, allows members to share content, start conversations, post and view jobs, grow your network and stay in touch.

We hope you will join in and enjoy connecting! Your participation and presence will make this presence beneficial to all.

Faculty & Staff Appreciation

September 7, 2017

Welcome back to another school year at MPA! Believe it or not, Conference week is fast approaching, September 25-28, 2017. One longstanding tradition at MPA is to provide nourishment for the 100+ faculty and staff during this week. Our faculty and staff spend extra hours at school during this week and one way to help support them is to provide food all day long. (Dinners on Tuesday and Thursday nights that week are provided by the Parents Association directly).

Contributions from families are essential! Please consider signing up for any item(s) you would like to contribute. We will be using Sign Up Genius this year. Please click here to sign up >

Items may be dropped off in the Parents Association Room in the Cafeteria on the designated day between 7:30 AM and 8 AM, or at your convenience. There is a refrigerator for perishable items. Please leave a note on any items left in the Parents Association room.

Contact Tara Matthews-Lafferty or Mary Messner with any questions. Thank you in advance for your support of MPA faculty and staff.

The Book Cellar Offers Rest And Rejuvenation

August 31, 2017

Librarian Nancy Lage has been watching a corner of the Library evolve into The Book Cellar since last year. While students voted on the name, Ms. Lage and Ms. Petrich developed the idea, collaborating with students and former Middle School faculty member Mr. Schwieger to create a space for reading and research for Upper School students, but even more importantly, rest, and rejuvenation. “Kids need a change of scenery sometimes,” Ms. Lage said.

Junior Ethan Berning made the sign for the entrance while Juniors, Lily Madore and Mats Dahlberg painted the entryway with a medieval design, giving it a distinct look and feel. Beyond the entrance, the space transforms into a cozy nook with leather furniture, a wall dedicated to inspiring and kind notes, a Keurig for tea and hot chocolate and soft, glowing lights dangling from the ceiling. Through The Book Cellar’s wide windows are unique animal sightings and greenery, including a nearby tree with the reflected illusion of being lit by the twinkling lights.

Ideas for a Learning-Rich Summer

June 8, 2017

By Dr. Bill Hudson, Mounds Park Academy Head of School

Summer was made for students. That might sound counterintuitive for the head of an independent PreK–12 school to say, but please hear me out.

Consider the words that best describe the students who call MPA home: freethinkers, free spirits, risk takers, right makers. Dreamers and doers. Throughout the school year, we promote these qualities across our academic and extracurricular activities. We create days that are filled with wonder so that students emerge from each year even more joyful, confident, and creative than they were in the fall.

Then summer comes. Extra time, a slower pace, and beautiful weather, all set the perfect stage for MPA students, and all children, to continue developing those qualities on their own and with their families.

Full Circle

June 1, 2017

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

My grandmother used to say that everything comes full circle, that in one way or another, we end up where we began. As we mark the end of the school year, we celebrate the ways in which the academic careers of our graduating seniors have come full circle.

This past week was the seniors’ last at MPA. They celebrated in a number of ways, including a fun senior “prank.” (I must share with you that MPA is the only school I know of where the seniors work with the administration in advance to plan their prank.) Upper School teachers served them waffles for breakfast and I treated them to Chipotle for lunch. For me, the lunch comes full circle from last fall when I met with them in groups of 10 over lunch and asked them to share with me their college dreams. Having come full circle, they received offers of admission from 113 different colleges and universities in 31 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada. Next fall they plan to matriculate to 33 different schools in 14 states.

Advice For Their Kindergarten Friends

May 26, 2017

We asked several members of the Class of 2017 what advice they have for the members of the Class of 2029, current kindergartners. Here are a few of their thoughts …

“Being fair and passionate never goes out of style. Don’t lose sight of what you want to do. Sometimes your kindergarten passion is your lifelong passion. Don’t abandon it too soon.”
–Jack Gangestad

“I would advise the Class of 2029 to be grateful for the opportunities at MPA and to be appreciative of the time they have here, since it goes fast!”
–Eloise Berdahl-Baldwin

Rigor with Purpose in Engineering & Design

May 26, 2017

Upper School students in Engineering & Design were recently set free to ask two very important questions that get at the heart of science and the core of engineering: What is your need and how can I help? Students were then able to produce real solutions in 3-D.

Marc Shapiro, a Mounds Park Academy science faculty member and MPA’s FIRST Robotics coach, developed this project, which had two goals: to introduce students to 3-D printing and provide a useful device to an MPA faculty or staff member.

To determine genuine needs, Shapiro surveyed faculty and staff via email about what problems they had with their respective workspaces or how they wanted to enhance their classrooms. He compiled a list that he gave his students to review. For some teachers, those old-school rubber door stops just weren’t working; others wanted chairs that didn’t wobble. Each student ranked the projects according to interest, then Shapiro made the matches and let the students take it from there.

The Importance of Creativity in the Technological Age

February 7, 2017

Middle School student playing violin On January 11 at MPA Talks, MPA parent and Director and Professor of the University of Minnesota School of Music, Dr. Michael Kim, presented “Creativity and the Fine and Liberal Arts in the 21st Century” to the Mounds Park Academy community. See below for a thoughtful Q&A with him, based on the same topic.

In schools today, there is a strong emphasis on STEM education. Why is it important to focus on STEAM instead, as Mounds Park Academy does?

Today in our schools and in our public discourse, we are increasingly focused on the importance of students developing skills in and experience with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM. Indeed, technology is now a major part of our society, and technological advancements have progressed rapidly.

Given the pace and pervasiveness of technology-driven changes, however, some of the most important skills for students to acquire are flexibility and adaptability. Our children will need to adjust to ever-changing times and possess qualities and skills that are the focus of a strong liberal arts education. So we really need to focus on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics), not just STEM, as is the case at MPA.

My family and I love the focus on creativity at MPA and that the school engages students in the visual and performing arts at every academic level. As an educator myself, I believe it’s not enough to just foster an appreciation for the arts. But rather to guide students in developing their own artistic skills and to provide opportunities for them to explore, create, and express their ideas through art, performance, and music.

Why is a liberal arts education so important in our technology-driven world?

We live in an age where computers and technology can complete critical functions better, faster, and cheaper in all areas of life. We even have robotic nurses that can help diagnose and treat patients. So how do we stay relevant in a world where even business magnate, engineer, and inventor Elon Musk calls artificial intelligence our biggest existential threat? I believe that is by focusing on creativity, empathy, and the qualities that define our humanity; qualities, skills, and insights developed through the liberal arts and integrating the arts wherever possible in a cross-disciplinary way, as they do at MPA.

Head’s Message: Dream Big. Do Right. The Value and Essence of an MPA Education

January 26, 2017

By Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

The days prior to Winter Break are marked by recent graduates returning to MPA to reconnect with teachers and friends. While I certainly enjoy their stories, I also have an ulterior motive—I want to know how well they believe MPA has prepared them. Over the years, I frequently hear that they feel well prepared to take on the challenges of higher education. In particular, their writing skills far exceed their peers. Another very common observation is that they feel comfortable approaching their professors after class. An alum attending Harvard University reported that his classmates were in awe of his courage to show up during office hours. I’ve also heard from alums that they notice the advantage they have over their peers in their ability to think critically and present their ideas effectively and thoughtfully.

These anecdotal stories are now supported by research. Every year, the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA conducts a national longitudinal study of all college freshmen in the United States that covers a wide range of student characteristics. The National Association of Independent Schools asked HERI to create a special report.

Compared with all college freshmen, independent school graduates reported entering postsecondary studies with more skills and experiences that help them succeed in their new educational setting. For instance, when all students were asked about activities they performed frequently in their last year of high school, a higher percentage of independent school graduates noted:

Being asked to support their opinions with logical arguments;
Asking questions in class;
Integrating skills and knowledge from different sources and experiences;
Seeking solutions to problems and explaining them to others; and
Seeking alternative solutions to a problem.