January 5, 2017
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
The MPA community is centered around learning—not just for our students but for all of us adults as well. To offer opportunities to expand your knowledge and thinking as parents, MPA partners with the Parents Association to offer a wide variety of meaningful sessions throughout the year like many schools do. However, MPA is proud to take that one step further by offering you opportunities to learn for the sake of learning, to be inspired, and to engage in the same critical thinking as your children do at MPA every day. Once such opportunity is the third annual MPA Talks, which will take place next Wednesday, January 11, starting at 5 PM in the Gallery.
Like TED Talks, MPA Talks draws together interesting people who are doing cutting-edge work across multiple disciplines. These people are the freethinkers. The free spirits. The risk takers. The right makers. The dreamers and doers our world needs now, more than ever. These exceptional members of the MPA community will share insights and perspectives gained from their experiences and from following their passions.
Maya and Soren Peterson, Middle School students at MPA, will share insights and lessons learned to help kids to get their money to work for them. They will explore why kids should think about stocks, how to get started, and how use Charlie Munger’s simple yet powerful investing rules to help kids learn and profit. This is the same presentation they recently gave to the Google Investing Club.
Alumnus Jeremy Drucker, Class of 1997, will share how MPA prepared him for his career and will offer his thoughts on governance in the era of post-truth. Before embarking on a career in politics and government Jeremy received his Master’s degree while studying to be an English Literature professor at the City University of New York where he also taught English Literature. His academic work focused on critical social theory, specifically the intersection of political, aesthetic and ethical issues.
Michael Kim is an MPA parent, professor of piano, and the Director of the School of Music at the University of Minnesota. Michael is a laureate of the Scottish, Leeds, and Ivo Pogorelich International Piano Competitions, he was also grand prizewinner of the Canadian Music and the CBC National Radio Competitions, and holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Juilliard School. Michael will discuss creativity and the role of fine and liberal arts in the 21st century.
Please bring along your Middle and Upper School students and while Lower School students are welcome, they could also be cared for by Panther Club staff. Dinner will be provided for them there, while we will enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres. No RSVP is required, except for childcare. Full details can be found at moundsparkacademy.org/MPATalks.
I hope to see you there! I’m confident that you will leave inspired and filled with hope. This is truly an event not to miss.
