{"id":30188,"date":"2026-05-14T11:44:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/?p=30188"},"modified":"2026-05-14T11:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:44:24","slug":"the-countdown-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/2026\/05\/14\/the-countdown-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"The Countdown Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Afrom Dr. Lori-Anne Brogdon, head of school<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kindergarten students celebrate the 100th day of school. Now, tomorrow marks the final day for the Class of 2026.<\/p>\n

Even though the school year follows a familiar rhythm and calendar, these final weeks always seem to arrive more quickly than expected.<\/p>\n

Countdowns help us organize time and build anticipation for what lies ahead. At MPA, this season of transition also invites reflection. In conversations across campus, I continue to hear students, families, and colleagues sharing pride in accomplishments, gratitude for meaningful experiences, excitement, and sometimes nervousness about what comes next.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, I stood in the courtyard with our seniors as they laughed, talked, and enjoyed the sunshine and each other\u2019s company. Some eagerly shared how ready they feel to begin their next chapter, while others spoke honestly about the uncertainty that can come with change. Both emotions are real, important, and deeply human. The countdown to their time at MPA is nearly complete, and with it comes a mixture of celebration, reflection, and transition.<\/p>\n

In one of my first head\u2019s messages last fall, I reflected on how transitions often bring both excitement and anxiety. The same is true as we approach the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. While many of us look forward to warmer days, travel, camps, vacations, and a change of pace, this shift in routine can also bring a wide range of emotions for children and adults alike.<\/p>\n

As a community grounded in relationships and partnership, we can help students navigate this transition with care and intention. I encourage families to take time to reflect together on the many accomplishments, moments of growth, and joyful experiences from this school year. Whether discussing summer plans, creating new routines, preparing for a summer job, or simply making space for rest and connection, these conversations help children feel supported and confident as they move into a new season.<\/p>\n

For the past nine months, our community has shared in the routines, structure, relationships, and learning experiences that make MPA such a special place. Together, we have challenged ourselves to think independently, communicate effectively, and act with respect and integrity while building a community rooted in intellectual ambition, global responsibility, and the joy of learning. Our mission\u00a0is lived in our daily actions.<\/p>\n

The growth our students have experienced this year\u2014academically, socially, emotionally, creatively, and personally\u2014is significant, and there is much to celebrate in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n

As always, thank you for your continued partnership, trust, and commitment to the MPA community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

from Dr. Lori-Anne Brogdon, head of school Kindergarten students celebrate the 100th day of school. Now, tomorrow marks the final day for the Class of 2026. Even though the school year follows a familiar rhythm and calendar, these final weeks always seem to arrive more quickly than expected. Countdowns help us organize time and build […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":30192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,8,28,24,14,29,9,12,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-admission","category-all-school","category-current-families","category-featured-posts","category-heads-message","category-homepage","category-lower-school","category-middle-school","category-upper-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30188","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=30188"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30193,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30188\/revisions\/30193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}