November 14, 2024
from Paul Errickson, Middle School director
Mark Your Calendars
- Saturday, November 16: MS Tech Day, 9 AM-1 PM, Black Box
- Sunday, November 17-Saturday, November 23: Fall Campaign
- Thursday, November 21: Give to the Max Day
- Thursday, November 21: Spirit Wear Day
- Thursday, November 21: Give to the Max Day Assembly, 2:20-3 PM, Lansing Sports Center
- Friday, November 22: MS Play “Little Women,” 7-8:30 PM, Black Box
- Saturday, November 23: MS Play “Little Women,” 2-3:30 PM, Black Box
- Sunday, November 24: MS Play “Little Women,” 2-3:30 PM, Black Box
- Wednesday, November 27: No Classes, Thanksgiving Break
- Thursday, November 28: No Classes, Thanksgiving Break, MPA Campus Closed, Panther Club Closed, PreK Closed
- Friday, November 29: No Classes, Thanksgiving Break, MPA Campus Closed, Panther Club Closed, PreK Closed
- Monday, December 2: Class of 2029 Feed Your Mind Dinner, 6-8 PM, Family Commons
- Wednesday, December 4: Founders’ Day Breakfast, 7-8 AM, Family Commons
- Wednesday, December 4: MS/US Parents: Students and Screens, 1:45-3 PM, Recital Hall
Recently, I attended a talk by Dr. Lisa Damour, a renowned adolescent psychologist and prolific author of books and a podcast that all parents should dig into if they hope to raise resilient, balanced, and joyful kids. Her biggest piece of advice to parents: be a steady presence for your child, especially when they are dealing with stress.
Remember that moment when your child was little and experienced unexpected pain? Think of a skinned knee or bop on the head. They would look at you to see how to react: How bad is it? If you ran over, swooping in to clear the scene, check all of their parts, apply first aid immediately, and discipline anyone within earshot, they would match that with tears and fears of what just happened. But, if you responded with a look of, “It’s okay, you’ve got this!” your child would be able to take a deep breath, assess the situation, and self-regulate their response to the injury. This—self-regulation—builds their resiliency and independence.
As our kids go through adolescence, the skinned knees take on different forms, from social conflicts with friends to stressful nights of homework. How you react to your adolescent in these times will have a direct effect on how they learn and grow through these situations. I get it; we hate to see our kids in pain. What they need most, Dr. Damour shared, is for their parent(s) to be a steady presence. They need you to say, “It’s okay, you’ve got this!”
As a parent of 16 and 18-year-old daughters, I know all too well that our kids have the capacity to unload their stress on their parent(s) at the most inopportune times. Often, I would get a “stress text” about homework load, friends being unfriendly, or their frustration with a teacher or coach. My first instinct was always (and still is) to “fix it,” to make it better for them, to lessen the pain from their “skinned knee” by offering suggestions on things they could do, or worse, to reach out to the other folks involved and regurgitate my child’s stress in their direction. Dr. Damour reminded me, as my daughters have also become skilled in doing, that my job here is just to listen, to respond with my “It’s okay, you’ve got this!” stance, to be a steady presence.
The more our children are able to navigate their struggles, especially through conflicts and stress, the better off they will be. Save your “Swooping in; I’ll save you” move for when they’re really in danger. Our students are picking up on a lot of stress these days, and the more that we can provide a steady presence at home, the more resilience and grace they will develop through their adolescent years.
If you want to hear more about Dr. Damour (I’m a bit obsessed now) or learn more about our students and their screen habits, please join Mr. Moran, Mr. Dean, some upper and middle school students and I next month for our next installment of Students and Screens – see below for more information.
Upcoming Events
i-Term 2025: Our 2025 i-Term sign-ups and course catalog are ready, and your child’s sign-up is due by next Wednesday, November 20. Our MPA Middle School i-Term provides students in fifth through eighth grade with a unique opportunity to embody MPA’s mission of thinking independently and learning joyfully by participating in a one-week enrichment experience. i-Term courses are designed to provide inquiry-based, experiential learning beyond the classroom. The project-based, focused nature of i-Term offerings enables students to learn more in an area of passion and experiences beyond a normal school setting and be exposed to new ways of being in the world.
Join Us In Igniting Dreams, One Gift At A Time: From November 17-23, we’re celebrating our community’s generosity and the power of dreams with our annual MPA Fall Campaign: Igniting Dreams, One Gift At A Time! This event allows us all to come together in support of MPA’s mission, culminating in Give to the Max Day on Thursday, November 21. We look forward to seeing our performers at our annual Lip Sync Assembly, an all-community event, at 2:20 PM. In celebration, Thursday will also be MPA spirit wear day! This year, we join together to ignite our students’ dreams of today and tomorrow. For more information or to make a gift, visit the Fall Campaign Webpage. For any questions about the Fall Campaign, please contact Ashley Goetzke, director of development and community engagement, at agoetzke@moundsparkacademy.org.
Wednesday, December 4, 1:45-3 PM: Students & Screens Parent-School Community Discussion, “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt: To follow up on our discussion from the inaugural Students & Screens event in October, we will delve into another section of Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation,” this time focusing on what he calls the Four Harms: social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, and addiction. Parents, please join us on Wednesday, December 4, from 1:45-3 PM in the Recital Hall to engage on these topics and more. The discussion will be led by Jay Dean, Upper School assistant director; Paul Errickson, Middle School director; and Michael Moran, director of academic technology, along with some Middle and Upper School students. If you are interested in joining this community discussion, please RSVP using this form.
