Upper School Archives

September 21, 2017

MPA’s new student-run school newspaper, Freethinker features stories this week ranging from fostering friendships to nostalgic goodbyes.

“Mr. Meacock – A Final Farewell” is one of the most recent stories published in MPA’s independent student newspaper, “Freethinker.” The article is a heartfelt letter saying goodbye to former MPA Upper School English teacher Mr. Meacock, reminiscing about “the unplanned” days in his classroom and thanking him for encouraging students to “not only to be good academics, not only to constantly question and discuss, but also how to be good people.”

“A Story of Fried Food and Friendships: The Freshman State Fair Retreat” illustrates the famous, massive, and historic Minnesota State Fair and the MPA Freshman school field trip to it. The story captures the importance of independence and building relationships, all while surrounded by meals on a stick.

MPA Student Appointed To Cabinet

September 21, 2017

On September 9, MPA junior Ling DeBellis was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith to the Young Women’s Initiative Cabinet! The Young Women’s Initiative of MN aims to improve the lives of young women between the ages of 12 and 24 statewide.

The Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota specifically prioritizes participation and inclusiveness. They seek to “make the invisibility of disparities visible” and does so through three committees: community-specific working groups, the Young Women’s Cabinet, and the Young Women’s Initiative Council.

“It is a privilege and an honor to be a member of the Young Women’s Initiative Cabinet. We need to raise our voices together so we can ensure that all young women in MN have opportunities to thrive,” Ling said.

What Are You Afraid Of?

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.