{"id":27802,"date":"2025-02-13T11:54:19","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T17:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/?p=27802"},"modified":"2025-02-13T16:28:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T22:28:07","slug":"middle-school-division-news-february-13-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/2025\/02\/13\/middle-school-division-news-february-13-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle School Division News February 13, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27805 alignright img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/nclhx5yj.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MSNews.png\" alt=\"Middle School students working together.\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/>from Paul Errickson, Middle School director<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mark Your Calendars\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Friday, February 14: No Classes, Professional Development<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, February 15: Returning Family Re-Enrollment Deadline<\/li>\n<li>Monday, February 17: No Classes, President\u2019s Day<\/li>\n<li>Wednesday, February 19: MS G7\/8 Affinity Group Meeting, 2:30-3 PM, Panther Center<\/li>\n<li>Monday, February 24-Friday, February 28: SnoDaze Week<\/li>\n<li>Thursday, February 27: Remember the Time: A Black History Month Showcase, 4:30-6:30 PM, Family Commons<\/li>\n<li>March 3-March 7: MS i-Term<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On Monday, we hosted our third edition of the Students and Screens program with a discussion centered on how to keep our children safe online by gaining an understanding of some of the controls available and the different ways that students can access different sites, social media, and discussion groups online. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Corey-Ganser-Bio.pdf\">MPA parent Corey Ganser<\/a><\/strong> led our group in a discussion about the different ways that parents can work alongside their children through conversations and providing some guardrails so our children are safe and exposed to different parts of the internet and social media at developmentally appropriate times.<\/p>\n<p>Our lively discussion included some questions about the appropriate time and ways to progress a child\u2019s use of technology, with some parents sharing stories and anecdotes of how their child may have found themselves on programs or in chats that they probably should not have been a part of. As I shared with the group, \u201cI have yet to meet a parent who said, \u2018I wish I gave my student a phone or access to social media <strong>sooner<\/strong> than I did.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->My top three takeaways:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>There\u2019s no one right way to do all of this with your kids; just look to avoid the obvious wrong ways of doing it.<\/li>\n<li>The more you talk with your kids about technology (or, as Corey shared, play the games with them!), the more you are able to help them navigate these uncharted waters.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s okay to say \u201cno\u201d or \u201cnot right now.\u201d Corey shared with us (feel free to write to me for his information) many different ways that parents can use parental controls and network settings to ensure that their kids are not going too far with their technology use.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Around the Middle School this week, we have been sharing your insights and information gained in our family conversations last week, enjoying the book festival, and putting some of our final plans in place for i-Term (coming up in just a couple of weeks!) I hope you all enjoy the long weekend, with Friday and Monday off, and that we return to some warmer days with outdoor recess next week!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Don\u2019t Miss the Event of the Year: The Gala of Gratitude!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Get ready for an unforgettable evening at the 2025 MPA Spring Auction: Gala of Gratitude! Join us as we honor Dr. Hudson and celebrate his incredible legacy while raising critical support for our students, teachers, and community. Sponsorships are available now! Secure yours today to be featured on the community invitation and enjoy exclusive perks like early access to auction bidding and the return of the beloved Sponsorship Pre-Party.<\/p>\n<p>Make this event unforgettable! We\u2019re seeking exciting contributions to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gifts of Gratitude (Previously known as \u201cMystery Boxes\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>MPA Exclusive Silent Auction<\/li>\n<li>Wine Toss<\/li>\n<li>Live Auction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your support ensures this night will be one to remember while making a lasting impact on MPA!<\/p>\n<p>This can\u2019t-miss event will be held on <strong>Friday, April 4, 2025<\/strong>, at the Omni Viking Lakes Hotel. Check out the website to get an exclusive deal on a hotel for the evening.<\/p>\n<p>Together, let\u2019s make this a celebration of gratitude, community, and support like no other. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/connect.moundsparkacademy.org\/auction\">Visit the event website<\/a><\/strong> or contact Ashley Goetzke, director of development and community engagement, at <strong><a href=\"mailto:agoetzke@moundsparkacademy.org\">agoetzke@moundsparkacademy.org<\/a><\/strong> for details and to get involved. Let\u2019s make this a night to remember!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>from Paul Errickson, Middle School director Mark Your Calendars\u00a0 Friday, February 14: No Classes, Professional Development Saturday, February 15: Returning Family Re-Enrollment Deadline Monday, February 17: No Classes, President\u2019s Day Wednesday, February 19: MS G7\/8 Affinity Group Meeting, 2:30-3 PM, Panther Center Monday, February 24-Friday, February 28: SnoDaze Week Thursday, February 27: Remember the Time: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":27808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,28,24,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-school","category-current-families","category-featured-posts","category-middle-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27802"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27835,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27802\/revisions\/27835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}