Upper School Archives

December 19, 2019

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

Saturday marks the official beginning of winter and is also the shortest day of the year. It marks an important moment in the cycle of life, the end of darkness and the re-emergence of light. Throughout human history, in many cultures and religious traditions, light holds significant meaning, often symbolizing the goodness in each one of us. For many, it represents the warmth of home and family.

These last few weeks before winter break at MPA have been filled with celebrations of light, warmth, and family:

The Founders’ Breakfast is a wonderful tradition and it was such a joy last week to see so many students and families celebrating the history and values that bring us together.
Maybe it’s the lack of sleep or the holiday spirit, but I had tears in my eyes during the Middle School Band, Orchestra, and Vocal Concert last week. The students did a magnificent job, creating such beauty and joy through their music. As I scanned the faces of our students, I reflected on how much they have grown and come into their own, regardless of whether they were new this year or returning.
As I entered school on Tuesday, I was greeted by the comforting smell of waffles and syrup marking the annual Upper School tradition of our Peer Leaders serving homemade waffles to students.
This afternoon, we celebrated the completion of our new library, with all students, teachers, and staff passing the final 100 books, one by one, along line bridging the distance between the old and the new.

Join Us For MPA Community Caroling

December 18, 2019

Mr. Habermann, Madrigal Singers, alumni, and MPA faculty and staff invite you to campus to enjoy some holiday spirit at MPA! The annual holiday caroling will take place in the North Entrance, hallways, and Family Commons on Friday, December 20, 2019 from 7:15-8 AM!

Self-Portraits Open Doors For Students

December 17, 2019

Art is an essential element in the growth and development of every student at MPA. Visual art provides learning experiences for students to create and produce solutions to visual problems. Through a variety of methods and their own authentic experiences, students develop skills in self-expression and realize an appreciation of art in the world around them.

The Upper School Applied Drawing class is a visual opportunity for students to truly see and record life and ideas as they are interpreted. The current Applied Drawing students produced time-lapse videos to showcase each stage of their self-portrait processes. Equipped with drawing fundamentals, students are challenged to develop technical skills while also developing their own style. In class, they are guided to finished drawings, facing visual challenges using a design process, as the finished self-portraits represent. Watch them as they navigate the process below!

Amelia Dickson’s Self-Portrait

Satori Lewen’s Self-Portrait

Vicky Taylor’s Self-Portrait

Ceci Driano’s Self Portrait

Meet The Dimopoulos Family

December 17, 2019

What do you love about MPA?
The teachers and staff. Everyone has been warm and friendly since we arrived in 2018 and thanks to the small classroom sizes, our children receive the attention they need to learn in the best way suited for them.

How is your child encouraged to dream big and do right at MPA?
Our children are pushed lovingly but firmly to bring their best to every class, whether it’s drama or algebra. This shows them they are capable of achieving more than they might have otherwise thought possible. The teachers set standards appropriate to each child and support each child to be their best self, academically, and emotionally. MPA also shows that school is more than just math, science, or reading; it helps each student build those soft skills, such as oral communication and presentation, that will ultimately serve our children very well in their future, even if they don’t necessarily always love being out of their comfort zone.

If your child has attended another school, how has your experience at MPA been different?
Our children have attended to other schools—in France and the Pacific Northwest—and MPA offers much smaller class sizes, more caring and attentive teachers, and a student cohort that permits each child to be themselves. This permits our children to feel safe bringing to the MPA community the best of themselves knowing that they will be supported. Read More

Reading Our Way To Success

December 12, 2019

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

“Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” Who doesn’t love a good Dr. Seuss book? Last week I read to both the PreK and kindergarten classes, choosing from among my childhood favorites. The PreK class loved Mr. Brown as much as I loved sharing it with them like I did with my own children. There is something about coming together and forging a relationship by sharing a good book.

Excitement is building as our new library inches towards opening. Nearly 30,000 books will find a new home. For this to happen, we’ve needed to temporarily close the library in order to make the move. In the meantime, Lower School library time is being filled by administrators reading to our students. In addition to reading to the PreK students, I also read another of my favorite books, “Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel,” to the kindergartners. Read More

Thank You For Showing Your Appreciation!

December 11, 2019

A huge thank you from the Parents Association to everyone who participated in the Faculty and Staff Gift Wrapping event on Monday!

It was so much fun to gather together and wrap presents for the staff. There were 23 staff members who brought in gifts for parent volunteers to wrap–which is up from 19 last year–and the total number of gifts wrapped or bagged was…drum roll, please…346, which is 96 more than last year! This was such a great way to come together as a community!

RSVP To Experience MPA

December 9, 2019

You and your entire family are warmly invited to attend the MPA Preview on Sunday, January 26 at 2 PM. See what’s possible when students are inspired to dream big and do right. This event will allow families to truly experience the joy of learning that our students do each day. Rotate among hands-on, experiential lessons taught by expert faculty. Between lessons, join student and parent ambassadors for an opportunity to see our state-of-the-art facilities.

As you consider MPA and your options, please make plans to attend this event. This PreK-12 offering is one not to miss!

RSVP Today

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MPA Places Highest Ever In State Debate

December 8, 2019

MPA Debate had a very successful weekend at the State Tournament. Forty three students represented the school, and Mounds Park Academy received the second place team sweepstakes award. That’s an award based on the top two performances across each of the three divisions of competition—novice, junior varsity, and varsity. That’s MPA’s highest team finish in the 20 years of the tournament.

The tournament is called the Classic Debate Championships in novice and junior varsity. Three MPA teams advanced to the quarterfinals (top eight) among the 47 teams in the junior varsity division. Meera Dear and Beldaja Jama advanced to the quarterfinal round, as did the team of Charlotte Bergh and Ruby Schweiger. Emma Cohen and Salmah Elmasry won the junior varsity division with a perfect 8-0 record, defeating a team from Eastview in the final round.

The varsity division is called the Minnesota State High School League Classic Debate State Festival, as the MSHSL sponsors the awards for this event. Charlie Galicich and Garrett Hollihan advanced to the semifinals, and Charlie received all-state honors for his outstanding performance over the course of the season. Ryan Ghose and Elli Carlson reached the finals of the tournament, where they were defeated by the state champions from Mankato.

A special thank you to all the alumni who helped the team. Meg Wilkening ’18 is a brilliant coach, and numerous alumni judged for the team over the course of the season.

Go Panthers!

Discovering Confidence On And Off The Court

December 5, 2019

The following essay is adapted from MPA Class of 2020 member Catherine Moore’s Senior Speech.

I have been at MPA since kindergarten and during my time here, I have done and been many different things. In the early years, my aspirations ranged from being a veterinarian—a job that many regular people would think is a good life goal—to astronaut—again, a good job, though harder to get there, but still fairly normal … to finally … a mermaid. Clearly, my interests would wander, changing with whatever creative thought passed through my head. Luckily, MPA gave me a place to explore my less realistic, yet aspirational side. I don’t know about doing right, but I definitely dreamed big.

My afterschool interests varied, too. I tried soccer and swimming, joined basketball and played volleyball. I loved everything about sports … especially the competitiveness. I enjoyed being physical and loved my will to win. I engaged in as many sports as possible. Eventually, however, it was volleyball that caught my attention and gave me an anchor and a steady focus. In many ways, some of the most important lessons I have learned have come from being on a volleyball team, whether that was here at MPA or on a club team. Read More

MPA Named Top STEM School In The US

December 5, 2019

by Mark Segal, Upper School director

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, you will find a guest Head’s Message here from one of MPA’s division directors. We hope you enjoy reading their thoughts and reflections about life at MPA.

November 8, 2019 was a big day for the MPA community. Many of you remember the community energy and excitement as we celebrated the Volleyball Team as they competed in their first State Volleyball Tournament. This, however, was not the only thing we celebrated that day. November 8 was also the day that Mounds Park Academy was named one of the top 500 STEM high schools in the United States by Newsweek. Given there are more than 37,000 high schools, this is a very significant honor. Many of our fellow awardees are STEM schools or have STEM programs, while MPA believes that integrating science, technology, engineering, art, and math into all aspects of an MPA education aligns best with our whole-child approach. Here, we add an “A” intentionally, referring to the disciplines together as STEAM.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2016 there were nearly nine million STEM/STEAM jobs representing 6.5% of the US workforce. Looking ahead, those numbers are expected to grow 70 percent faster than other occupations and many educators are encouraging students to take an interest in the subjects and courses that will provide a solid foundation in these areas. This is fabulous advice and fits well with MPA’s educational approach that allows PreK through 12th grade students to explore topics and ideas through multiple disciplines, examining problems and situations with insight from science, math, art, and humanities. Read More