December 15, 2022
from Mark Segal, Upper School director
Last Wednesday afternoon, there was a mad rush in the Upper School Commons. An unaware onlooker may have thought that free pizza or ice cream was being distributed. Instead, it was upper school students getting their nametags and locations for the first MPA Pairing Assembly in more than two years. A Pairing Assembly is where students, often from different divisions, are paired with one another to participate in an activity. The first Pairing Assembly this year aligned with the school-wide Book Festival and was a reading assembly. The goal of the assembly was to have students get to know someone they may not usually spend time with and to read an age/developmentally-appropriate book together. There are many benefits to establishing mentor/mentee relationships like this. According to Youth.gov, “the supportive, healthy relationships formed between mentors and mentees are both immediate and long-term and contribute to a host of benefits for both the mentor and mentee.”
During the Assembly, I witnessed the genuine enthusiasm and connection of students spending time together throughout the building. In one Lower School classroom, a typically reserved senior was sitting on the floor with a Kindergarten student perched in their lap reading a Dr. Suess book. The younger student was pointing out words they recognized and added additional narration to the colorful pictures of the book. The look of pure joy and ease between the two students confirmed the goal of the activity. Edutopia states that “older students develop social and emotional skills like patience and empathy as they work with younger students.” This was certainly the case with these two students. In the time since the Pairing Assembly, I have seen the two students give each other hugs and high-fives in the hallway, building on the relationship first created last week.
Being part of a PreK-12 community has many benefits. In my opinion, none is more valuable than creating authentic opportunities for older students to serve as role models and positive influences for the younger students. I am already looking forward to our next Pairing Assembly in January, where these relationships can be deepened and built upon.
As we prepare for Winter Break, I hope your family finds time to slow down to enjoy and appreciate one another. I know how busy an upper school student’s life is, and Winter Break is a perfect time to reconnect and spend time together. I will miss the hustle and bustle of our school community over the next two weeks. I look forward to seeing you in 2023.
Important Information
If your student will be absent, late, or needs to be excused early from school, please reach out to upper school administrative assistant Chanda Williams at cwilliams@moundsparkacademy.org.
Looking Ahead
- December 16: Holiday Caroling, 7:30-8 AM, MPA Campus
- December 16: Winter Break Begins at 2:50 PM
- January 2: No Classes, Winter Break
- January 3: Classes Resume at 8 AM (it is a B day)
- January 13 End of Quarter 2/Semester 1
- January 16: No Classes, MLK Jr. Day
- January 17: No Classes, Professional Development
- January 18: Start of Semester 2/Quarter 3
- January 26: Winter Show, 7-8:30 PM, Black Box Theatre
- January 27: Winter Show, 7-8:30 PM, Black Box Theatre
- January 28: Winter Show, 2-3:30 PM, Black Box Theatre
