December 19, 2024
from Paul Errickson, Middle School director
Mark Your Calendars
- Friday, December 20: Caroling with the Madrigal Singers, Faculty, Staff, and Alumni, 7:30-8 AM, Family Commons
- Friday, December 20: MS G5/6 Feed My Starving Children Field Trip, 8-11:30 AM
- Friday, December 20: MS G5/6 Bowling Field Trip, 12-3 PM
- Friday, December 20: MS G7/8 Winter Carnival, 12-3 PM, MPA Campus
- Monday, December 23-Friday, January 3: No Classes, Winter Break
- Wednesday, December 25: MPA Campus Closed
- Wednesday, January 1: MPA Campus Closed
- Monday, January 6: Classes Resume
- Wednesday, January 8: MS G7/8 Affinity Group Meeting, 2:30-3 PM, Panther Center
- Wednesday, January 8: HeadSpace: Meeting Our Educational Promise Through A Competency-Based Approach To Education, 7-8 PM, Virtual Meeting Via Zoom
Our Middle School counselor, Ms. Ashley Cooper, and I have started to do some restorative circle work with our sixth graders. In schools, these circles can be used to create a more positive culture among the students, value student voice, improve listening skills, and give students an opportunity to share and learn about each other. We have started with the foundational components of a circle discussion including common agreements, using a talking piece, and answering questions through the process of rounds, where each person has the opportunity to answer or “pass.”
One of today’s questions was, “What are you looking forward to in the new year?” I was amazed at all our students are excited about here at MPA. Throughout our rounds, students mentioned some upcoming milestones and family vacations over our winter breaks, but many talked about upcoming experiences here at school. From i-Term courses and field trips to new sports teams and MPA spring traditions, our sixth graders are really excited about all that is ahead for them next year.
Ms. Cooper and I will continue our circles in 2025 (which is one of the things I’m looking forward to) as we work to create spaces for our students to share and hear more about themselves. It is the setup of these conversations, where we create a comfortable place for students to share, with clear guidelines centered on care and kindness, that encourages our students to be reflective and honest. Asking big questions like, “If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?” and “What brings you joy?” to a circle full of 10 to 12-year-olds can lead to some unexpected places.
Over the upcoming winter break, I hope you can find some calm moments with your Middle Schooler and maybe sneak in a question or two to get a sense of how they are doing. I’m always amazed at what an adolescent might share while baking cookies, stacking wood, or just riding in the car. And, more often than not, their responses are both unexpected and so much richer and more insightful than I ever expected.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, Friday, December 20, please join us on campus from 7:30-8 AM to witness a beautiful and heart-warming MPA tradition. Members of the Madrigals (an Upper School choir), faculty and staff, and MPA alumni will gather in the Family Commons to sing holiday carols and festive songs. And, our fifth and sixth graders will spend the morning off-campus packing meals at Feed My Starving Children with bowling in the afternoon, while the 7/8 grade Student Council will host a Winter Carnival for our seventh and eighth graders tomorrow afternoon.
