Upper School Archives

October 12, 2017

The first grade and Upper School Student Council have teamed up to host the MPA Blood Drive as their service project for the year. Not only is it exciting for the students to work with each other across divisions, but they are enthusiastic about supporting an important cause.

The students are having the drive to spread a simple message: giving blood is easy, and it will save lives. Much of today’s medical care depends on having a steady supply of blood provided by donors. The philanthropy of it is that donating blood saves lives on a local and global level. Patients in need of red blood cells, transfusions for emergency surgeries, and treatment of illnesses such as Leukemia and other cancers all benefit from your irreplaceable donation.

To support them, please consider offering an hour of your time to donate blood on Thursday, October 26. You may sign-up by going online to redcrossblood.org. Our sponsor code/keyword is Mounds Park Academy. If you know that you are unable to give blood, please be sure to ask friends or relatives! If you have questions about your eligibility to donate please call the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS (733-2767). The first grade students and Upper School Student Council sincerely appreciate it!

National Merit Recognition

October 5, 2017

Each year, 1.6 million students take the PSAT in October of their junior year. Those with the highest PSAT Selection Index scores are recognized for their outstanding performance, including MPA seniors Alissa Krohn and Sarah Ley. Both were honored with recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. MPA is proud to have two students recognized for their “exceptional academic promise.”

Alissa is among 16,000 Semifinalists nationally who are selected from the 50,000 highest scorers. She will now proceed in the competition to be named a Finalist, which makes her eligible for National Merit Scholarship opportunities across the country. “It’s been really exciting!” Alissa said. “This helps when applying to colleges because it sets me apart as one of the top students in the nation.”

Suicide Awareness And Prevention

September 21, 2017

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this event on Thursday, October 5, 6:30-8 PM in the Recital Hall. Dr. Todd A. Savage, MPA parent and professor of school psychology at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and Dr. Scott Woitaszewski, also a professor of school psychology at UWRF, will be sharing a research- and evidence-based presentation that will further inform and equip our community regarding youth suicide awareness. They will help us all to be proactive and to understand the issue better, provide tips on what to look for in students, and give tools and resources to utilize if concerns arise. The final 15 minutes of the time together will be open for questions and answers and will allow MPA to share the resources that exist on our campus. The presentation is geared toward Middle and Upper School families; however, Lower School families are more than welcome to attend, as well. Note: This presentation will be similar to the one given in May. No RSVP needed.

Prep Athlete Of The Week!

September 21, 2017

MPA Senior and lifer Declan Dahlberg was named as one of the Star Tribune’s Prep Athletes Of The Week!

“He won the Private School Championship at St. Catherine University with a time of 16 minutes, 25 seconds over the 5,000-meter course on a steamy 88-degree day. Earlier this season, the top-ranked runner in Class 1A won the Ron Kretsch Invitational,” the Tribune mentioned.

Last fall, Declan finished as the Boys Cross Country Class A State Champion, running a personal record time of 15:57.1, with the closest finish in meet history.

He is also currently writing posts for “MileSplit,” a popular athletics blog covering high school track and field and cross country news across the United States.

Articles Published In “Freethinker!”

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.