August 20, 2012
Dear Lower School Families,
Welcome to the 2012-2013
school year! June and July have been
exciting months for us in the Lower School.
In that time, our Character Happens At Mounds Park (CHAMP) committee
worked hard to create a literacy focus for our program during the 2012-2013
school year. At the same time, another
group of teachers researched reading assessments and tools for the classroom. Not only do we know from advances in brain
research that reading with a child has intellectual, emotional, and physical
benefits that can enhance the child’s development but that the amount of
reading and writing students do both in and out of school is positively related
to their overall academic achievement.
Thanks to the Office of
Admission, we continue to welcome new families to Lower School. These new
students and a projected retention number near 95% and well above the
independent school norm, have filled both PreK and grade 4 to capacity. A sincere thank you to all of you who have
reached out to new students and their families.
These gestures make a tremendous difference in the comfort level of both
the students and parents as they start the year at MPA. The MPA Lower School has also hired Ms. Liz
Wanzek to teach Lower School French, Ms. Debbie LaChapelle to teach a section
of Kindergarten, and added Lower School Spanish to Kathleen Sheridan’s current
teaching assignment. We welcome them to
Lower School and look forward to all they bring to our community of learners.
Our first day of school is
Monday, August 27th. School begins at
8:30am. It is important throughout the
year that the students arrive on time so they feel a part of the class from the
beginning of the day and are aware of everything that is happening on that
particular day. It can be distracting to
students already in the classroom when students arrive late or after a lesson
has already started.
If you would like a reminder about the Lower School uniform
requirements, you can access this information here. If you would like to purchase the MPA fleece,
our Spirit Shop will be open for your convenience at Back-to-School night.
Panther Club will be available on the first day of school.
It is imperative that you make use of this extended day opportunity if you
arrive early or pick up your student after 3:30 p.m. Your child’s safety is
our biggest concern. We do not want your student to be without adult
supervision at any time. If your child is not picked up by 3:30 p.m., they
are asked to join Panther Club so you will always know where to find
them. Please do not ask your child to avoid Panther Club. It puts
them in an awkward position. On occasion, we find a student hiding in the
building and they tell us their parents do not want them to go to Panther
Club. If the cost of Panther Club is a burden to you, please discuss it
with us. We can typically work something out rather than have your
student unsupervised. The fee in the morning remains at $6.00 per
day. Children arriving before 8:15 a.m. must go to Panther Club. They
may come as early as 7:00 a.m. If they are in Panther Club they will be
dismissed at 8:25 a.m. walked to their classroom. If they arrive after
8:15 a.m. they may go directly to their locker to get ready for the day and on to
their classroom. The fee for the
afternoon remains at $10.00 per day. It begins right after dismissal and
runs until 6:00pm. There is a $1.00 per minute/per child late fee if you arrive
to pick up your child after 6:00 p.m. The late fee is due at the time of pick
up. The Panther Club fee includes a snack, supervised play, and an
activity every day.
Kindergarten Round-Up will be held in the kindergarten classrooms on Tuesday,
August 21st, at 5:30 p.m. Children
and parents can come at 5:30 p.m. with their supplies so the students have a
chance to see the room and meet their teachers.
At 6:00 p.m. the children will be escorted outside to play at the
playground while the adults have a meeting with the homeroom teachers to hear
about the year. We feel this is the best
way for the students to see the school for the first time and for the parents
to hear important information from the teachers. KG families are welcome back on Thursday
evening if they would like to meet the specialists and have the children see
the other rooms they will be using throughout the year.
Back-To-School night is
Thursday, August 23. Even if your child has been at the school for a number
of years, this is an important event for them.
Our first day of school goes smoothly because of the time spent at
school on this evening. Students have a
chance to meet their teachers, specialists, and see where they will be sitting
and storing their materials. They feel
ready to learn on that first day of school because Back-To-School night
alleviates a lot of anxiety for them. The
evening begins for you any time between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. All
of the classrooms will be open from 5:30 p.m.-6:45 p.m. to give you enough
time to see all of them. When you enter
through the South Entrance, please stop to fill out a nametag. We will have colored dots for you to add to
your nametags. These will designate the
grade level of your child/children and will make it easier for grade levels to
find each other as you wander throughout the building.
Hopefully you will be laden
with all of your child’s school supplies, as part of the evening is
devoted to helping your child organize their supplies in both their desk and
their locker. It is also a time to visit
with the classroom teachers and receive materials from them. We are certain your student will also want to
revisit all of their specialists who will be in their own classrooms. If you are new to the school, it will be
beneficial to your student to see where their other classes are held. Feel free to visit these places in any order
you wish. This open format provides a
comfortable setting for both parents and students, and allows the families to
stay together as a unit throughout the evening.
When you have completed your
visits to the classrooms, please join other families outside on the playground
for socialization and ice cream.
Please fill out and return
the following forms.
Field Trip Permission Slip
Registration for Pick Up
(If someone other than a parent will be picking up)
Emergency Card (K-4) (Remember to keep the emergency card updated
throughout the year as this is the only way we can contact you in the case of
an emergency.)
Volunteer Sheet(s) –We really do need and appreciate your help.
-Weekly Lunch
Table Supervision Volunteer (K-4)
-Duty
Free Lunch Volunteer (K-4)
Directory Order Form
Twins Game Ticket(s) Order Form
The online Community Directory Password is:
ls1panthers
On the Lower School section of the MPA website at,
you will find the supply list, uniform policy, and the request to allow the nurse to administer medication. The
medication form needs to be filled out and returned in order to be valid.
We are looking forward to
meeting all of you! We will be near
the South Entrance on Back-To-School Night and hope you stop by and say hello.
Sincerely,
Tony Reimers Marina
Dale
PreK-8 Director Assistant
Lower School Director
