September 7, 2023
from Jennifer Le Varge, Lower School director
Mark Your Calendars
- Friday, September 8: Picture Make-Up Day, Non-Uniform Day
- MPA Ice Cream Social, 3 PM, South Lawn
- Thursday, September 14: Curriculum Night, 6-8 PM
- Monday, September 25: No Classes, Yom Kippur. Register for K-8 Panther Care here.
- Tuesday, September 26-Saturday, September 30: MPA Homecoming Week
- Friday, September 29: Homecoming Assembly, 2:20-3 PM, Lansing Sports Center
- Saturday, September 30: Homecoming Events
- Friday, October 6: Picture Retake Day
- Monday, October 9: No Classes, Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Thursday, October 12: All School Conferences, 3:30-8 PM, MPA
- Friday, October 13: No Classes, All School Conferences, 8-5 PM, MPA
- Wednesday, October 18: Lower and Middle School Grandparents and Special Friends Day (details coming soon!) (note: Dismissal is at 3 PM.)
- Thursday, October 19-Friday, October 20: No Classes, Fall Break
Welcome (back) to MPA Lower School! It has been wonderful to welcome the children back to school for a fun year of learning. Since the first day, the children have embarked on their exciting learning journey for the 2023-24 academic year. Every other week, an issue of Division News will come to your inbox, chock full of helpful information, reminders and news. Please read on for some insights for the next few weeks:
FastBridge Screening: September 4-15
The MPA Lower School offers FastBridge Learning screening tests up to three times each academic year. These screeners help our teachers to identify the current phase of development in literacy and math skills for each child so that we can offer more personalized learning opportunities for students. The teachers review the screening scores as one piece of data in context with other information gathered about each child’s learning journey. As a result of the screeners and other educational data collected by teachers, some students are identified as potentially benefiting from additional support to help them meet their learning goals. In this case, our learning specialists will be in touch with families to set up a plan for additional support. Your child’s FastBridge screening results will be shared with you by our learning specialists, Ms. Alyssa Andretta (aandretta@moundsparkacademy.org) and Ms. Robyn Kramer (rkramer@moundsparkacademy.org). Please feel free to reach out to them with any questions you may have. The fall screening tests have started and will be offered during the following assessment windows:
- September 4-8: Grades 2-4
- September 7-15: Kindergarten-Grade 1
At home, the best preparation for any assessment is nothing out of the ordinary: proper sleep and good nutrition. We look forward to sharing the FastBridge results with families by the week of September 18 and look forward to supporting all our learners this year!
CHAMP Assembly
We had fun this Wednesday hosting our first CHAMP assembly of the school year. We kicked off our Character Happens at Mounds Park (CHAMP) program with social-emotional regulation engagements, songs, news, and events. Be sure to ask your child about what they learned during the assembly!
Friday, September 8: Picture Make-Up Day, Non-Uniform Day
Make-Up Picture day will be held on Friday, September 8. Friday will be a non-uniform day for all students.
Thursday, September 14: Curriculum Night
Hosted on Thursday, September 14, from 6-8 PM, Curriculum Night is a night for new and returning families to meet their child(ren)’s teachers and learn more about our program in Lower School. Teachers will share curriculum highlights, our learning scope and sequence, community expectations, and what to expect this year. We look forward to seeing you there!
