Upper School

Upper School Division News February 8, 2024

February 8, 2024

Upper school students in French classfrom Mark Segal, Upper School director

Mark Your Calendars

  • Wednesday-Friday, February 7-9: Grade 10 Deep Portage Trip
  • Friday, February 9: US BIPOC Affinity Group Meeting, 11:20-12 PM, Room 150-151
  • Thursday, February 15: Re-enrollment Deadline
  • Friday, February 16: No Classes, Professional Development
  • Monday, February 19: No Classes, Presidents’ Day
  • Monday, February 19: US SAT Mini Prep Class, 5-8:30 PM, Room 181
  • Wednesday, February 21: Upper School Parent Quarterly Coffee, 8-9:30 AM, PCR
  • Thursday, February 22: Upper School Band Concert, 7:30-8:30 PM, Nicholson Center
  • Wednesday, February 28: Senior Performances, 8-9:15 AM, Recital Hall
  • Thursday, February 29: Upper School Vocal Concert, 7:30-8:30 PM, Nicholson Center
  • Friday, March 1: SnoDaze Assembly, 2:20-3 PM
  • Friday, March 1: Upper School SnoDaze Event (TBD), afterschool

Important Information
If your student will be absent, late, or needs to be excused early from school, please reach out to the Upper School office via cwilliams@moundsparkacademy.org.

REMINDER: even though there are no Lower or Middle School classes on February 9 due to their conferences, the Upper School will hold classes as usual.

Sharing your story is not just an act of self-expression, it is a powerful tool for personal connection and growth. When you “open up” about your personal, lived experiences, you invite others to participate in your stories and share your authentic self with them. One of the MPA graduation requirements is for all members of the senior class to give a Senior Performance. Most seniors speak to their peers in the Recital Hall, yet some choose to share their story with all members of the Upper School community in the Nicholson Center. The Senior Performances are often speeches that speak to individual growth and reflection, but at times are actual performances where original pieces of music or monologues are performed. Read More

Meet International Student Alum Wei Zhan ’22

February 6, 2024

Wei Zhan '22What are you currently doing, professionally and/or personally? What experiences or relationships have inspired you along the way?
I went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and am now attending Santa Monica College. Engaging with a diverse and talented group of individuals fueled my passion along the way.

How was your experience at MPA different than other schools?
MPA has an inclusive and open atmosphere, embracing individuals from all backgrounds and creating a welcoming environment for everyone. Read More

Being An MPA Student Is…

January 30, 2024

MPA students working together in a small groupThis message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the January 27, 2024 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

Being a student at MPA is a lot of things.

It’s being part of “A generally really diverse, inclusive environment. I fit in like on day one.”

It’s also a place where you will find “Words of encouragement, even when I didn’t really think I needed it,” and opportunities that make you think, “This experience has just made me a much more confident speaker and critical person.”

And even in addition to all of that, it’s “This safe, nurturing, supportive place where I could really explore and learn so many new things.” Read More

Upper School Division News January 25, 2024

January 25, 2024

from Mark Segal, Upper School director

Mark Your Calendars

  • Friday, January 26: US BIPOC Affinity Group Meeting, 11:20-12 PM, Room 150-151
  • Friday, January 26: PA Parent Trivia Night, 6-8 PM, Family Commons
  • Friday, January 26: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 7-8:30 PM, Black Box, tickets >
  • Saturday, January 27: MPA vs SPA Varsity Basketball at Target Center, 9 AM (girls), 11 AM (boys), tickets >
  • Saturday, January 27: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 7-8:30 PM, Black Box, tickets >
  • Tuesday, January 30: Senior Performances, 8-9:15 AM, Nicholson Center
  • Wednesday, January 31: US ACT Prep Class, 5:30-8:30 PM, Room 181
  • Thursday, February 1: US Cabaret Concert, 7:30-8:30 PM, Family Commons
  • Friday, February 2: Re-Enrollment Agreements Sent
  • Friday, February 2: US BIPOC Affinity Group Meeting, 11:20 AM-12 PM, Room 150-151
  • Friday, February 2: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 7-8:30 PM, Black Box, tickets >
  • Saturday, February 3: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 7-8:30 PM, Black Box, tickets >
  • Sunday, February 4: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 3-4:30 PM, Black Box, tickets >
  • Wednesday, February 7-Friday, February 9: Grade 10 Deep Portage Trip
  • Friday, February 16: No Classes, Professional Development
  • Monday, February 19: No Classes, Presidents’ Day
  • Monday, February 19: US SAT Mini Prep Class, 5-8:30 PM, Room 181

Important Information

  1. If your student will be absent, late, or needs to be excused early from school, please reach out to the Upper School office via cwilliams@moundsparkacademy.org.
  2. The members of the Winter Show class are proud to present “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” in the Black Box Theatre over the next two weekends. Dates and show times can be found above. Tickets are $8 for students and $12 for adults. Tickets can be purchased here. The show is recommended for ages 10 and up.
  3. Students’ quarter two and semester one grades will be available late in the day next Monday (January 29). Please reach out to the Upper School office if we can help you access this information.

Read More

Parents Association News January 11, 2024

January 11, 2024

New! Parents Association Trivia Night
Friday, January 26, 6-8 PM
Join us for a joyful evening of dinner and socializing at MPA hosted by Trivia Mafia! Compete to be trivia champions! For parents and guardians of students in PreK-12, $5 per person (adult or child), dinner from Cossetta, childcare available for grades K-6. For more details and to register, click here.

Dr. Hudson’s Book Club
Monday, February 12, 6 PM
One more announcement for our parent readers! Dr. Hudson’s Book Club will be back on February 12, 6:00 PM in the MPA Library. We will be reading “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride. Childcare will be provided. Sign up here to get your copy of the book.

Parent Volunteers Needed for Lower School Valentine’s Day Party
Please contact msotoPA@moundsparkacademy.org if you want to help organize the festivities!

Upper School Division News January 11, 2024

January 11, 2024

from Mark Segal, Upper School director

Mark Your Calendars

  • Friday, January 12: US Class of 2028 Parent Coffee, 8-9 AM, PCR
  • Monday, January 15: Indexed Tuition Re-Application Deadline
  • Monday, January 15: No Classes, Martin Luther King Day
  • Wednesday, January 17: US ACT Prep Class, 5:30-8:30 PM, Room 181
  • Thursday, January 18: MS Grade 7/8 BIPOC Affinity Group, 2:20-3 PM, Panther Center
  • Friday, January 19: MS/US End of Quarter 2
  • Friday, January 19: US BIPOC Affinity Group Meeting, 11:20 AM-12 PM, Room 150-151
  • Monday, January 22: No Classes, Professional Day
  • Wednesday, January 24: US ACT Prep Class, 5:30-8:30 PM, Room 181
  • Friday, January 26: US BIPOC Affinity Group Meeting, 11:20-12 PM, Room 150-151
  • Friday, January 26: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 7-8:30 PM, Black Box
  • Saturday, January 27: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 7-8:30 PM, Black Box
  • Tuesday, January 30: Senior Performances, 9-9:15 AM, Nicholson Center (in lieu of block 1 classes)
  • Wednesday, January 31: US ACT Prep Class, 5:30-8:30 PM, Room TBD
  • Friday, February 2: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 7-8:30 PM, Black Box
  • Saturday, February 3: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 7-8:30 PM, Black Box
  • Sunday, February 4: US Winter Show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 3-4:30 PM, Black Box
  • Wednesday, February 7-Friday, February 9: Grade 10 Deep Portage Trip

Important Information

  • If your student will be absent, late, or needs to be excused early from school, please reach out to the Upper School office via cwilliams@moundsparkacademy.org.
  • Class of 2028 parents are invited to attend a coffee for rising ninth-grade parents to learn more about the Upper School at MPA, ask questions, and share the excitement of this next important step in students’ educational journey. Please mark your calendar for Friday, January 12, 8-9 AM. No RSVP is required, and coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be provided at the gathering. We will meet in the Porter Conference Room (PCR) within the Head of School suite.
  • Student work for quarter two/semester one classes is due by the end of the day on Friday, January 19. On Tuesday, January 23, students will start attending their quarter three/semester two courses.

Read More

A Makerspace Twist On National Novel Writing Month

December 22, 2023

One of the most memorable seventh-grade traditions at MPA is completing NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is a national effort where participants write a novel throughout November. “It’s one of my favorite units to teach,” said Maddy Wolfe ‘12, seventh-grade English teacher at MPA. “They create well-rounded characters, complex story worlds, and a plot laced with tension, all while learning and incorporating language rules and mechanics.”

This year, in addition to their novels, the seventh graders created 3D frames depicting a scene from their stories. They chose a scene from their novel to highlight, and they needed to define the details that make up the scene in its entirety, translated onto a foreground, midground, and background.

“We used a multi-plane camera process—an old-fashioned way of creating 3D space by painting on glass frames as in the early King Kong movie—to create the illusion of space,” commented Keith Braafladt, MPA’s Makerspace coordinator. “It was a surprise how interested and passionate the students were, especially in terms of using color and painting techniques with paint markers, which is a painting tool we just started using last year with our Gunpla model-making activity. The students had so much more control than learning to use a brush in small spaces.”

When the models are held up to a projector, a 3D image is projected onto the wall behind.
“They turned out really incredible!” said Ms. Wolfe. “Their scenes included so many details from their novels, and it was cool to watch their visions come to life.”

“It was a wonderful collaboration using digital fabrication tools to make the frames and the transparencies using a historical perspective technique that came from filmmaking and animation and building this all around the notion of the creation of the narrative for the students’ novels,” commented Mr. Braafladt.

See photos from this exceptional project here.

A Day In The Life Of An MPA Student

December 19, 2023

Two students working togetherThis message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the December 20, 2023 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

What is a day in the life of an MPA student? What do they learn? Where do they study? How do they feel?

To answer all of the above and more, we invite you to join us for the opportunity for to experience life at MPA. Our PreK-12 Preview on January 25, from 8:30-10 AM, gives an inside look at MPA on a school day. This is the perfect opportunity for your family to see yourselves here at MPA. Experience the comfy, cozy library spaces, the Makerspace as bright as your ideas, and the wide-open, welcoming Lansing Center. Your family will be led on a tour by community members and experience delightful surprises that make MPA so special along the way. In addition to exploring our state-of-the-art spaces firsthand, you will also meet the people who make our community the family that it is.

At the Preview, you will discover something remarkable–the type of learning that MPA students do each day. If you have any questions, contact the Office of Admission at 651-748-5577 or admission@moundsparkacademy.org. We hope to see you there!

RSVP Today
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We’re Using Robots to Build Kids—With Your Help

December 15, 2023

It’s been 35 years since I graduated from Mounds Park Academy. Had you asked me then, I would never in a million years have predicted my eventual return as both a parent of a senior and, equally incredibly, as a mentor for the school’s FIRST® robotics competition (FRC) Team 3926, the MPArors.

How I came to mentor robotics is a long story. But it’s so much fun, full of energy, intensity, and camaraderie. I’ve watched in real-time as students grow in confidence and leadership. “We’re using robots to build kids” is how FIRST founder Dean Kamen once described it. While the team wisely keeps me away from actually building the robot, I mentor a lot of the other team’s activities: community outreach, public engagement through social media, preparing for regional competitions, fostering inclusivity in STEM, and raising funds to pay for it all.

It turns out that running an FRC team isn’t cheap! Last year’s expenses included $16,000 in robot supplies, $8,000 in registration fees for two competitions, and $14,000 in travel-related costs. The team also has to regularly update aging tools and equipment.

This is our busiest time of the year for fundraising, and I’m touched by all the generous alumni who have supported robotics at MPA. Did you know that roughly half of the team’s funds come from individual donors? We are so grateful that you have helped us start the season strong.

However, there is still a ways to go before we meet our financial goal. So, this giving season, I’m reaching out to my fellow alumni to ask for your help. Perhaps you yourself were part of the robotics team, or (like me) wished the team had existed when you were a student at MPA. Or maybe you simply appreciate the profound impact that FIRST® Robotics has on our kids.

We’d love to hear from anyone interested in supporting the team – or is able to introduce us to potential new business or corporate sponsors (who make up more than 40% of our funding). Learn more at www.team3926.org or the QR code below, or call (651) 777-2555 x462.

Thank you! Go MPArors!

Sirid Kellerman ’88

The Good Fight

December 14, 2023

Lower School student smiling at the camera from Jennifer Le Varge, Lower School director

Editor’s Note: Periodically, you will find a guest Head’s Message here from members of the administrative team. We hope you will enjoy reading their thoughts and reflections about life at MPA.

Many years ago, near the start of my career when I was teaching in Lebanon, I worked with a wonderful human who became my mentor. Sadly, they recently passed away. In June of this year after yet another move to another new place—this time from Luanda, Angola to Beirut, Lebanon to St. Paul, Minnesota—I opened the cover of the book “Making Thinking Visible” found in a battered cardboard moving box, where this mentor had scrawled in blue cursive letters:

Jennifer—
keep fighting the good fight.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I was fortunate to join colleagues and student diversity leaders from Mounds Park Academy, alongside 8,500 other participants at the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference (PoCC) in St. Louis. The theme of the conference was “Gateways to Freedom: A Confluence of Truth, Knowledge, Joy and Power.” As a first timer at PoCC, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I know that my experience was like no other professional learning opportunity I have encountered.

Firstly, this was not just any conference. Long-time attendees lovingly call PoCC the “family reunion,” and it truly felt like it even as a first timer. Since 1986, this annual gathering of like-minded yet diverse educators holds space for participants to fully see others and to feel seen in a real way. In a non-judgmental way. In a more genuine way than some of us might encounter in our daily lives and in our schools. I had the chance to attend various leadership sessions with a focus on people of color, hear from world-famous yet down-to-earth keynote presenters, laugh and learn with the Latinx affinity group, and lend my voice to the volunteer choir. As I reflect on my PoCC journey, certain themes come to the fore, which I share here in the spirit of collaboration. Read More