January 16, 2025
from Paul Errickson, Middle School director
Mark Your Calendars
- Friday, January 17: End of Quarter 2
- Monday, January 20: No Classes, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Tuesday, January 21: No Classes, Grading & Professional Development
- Wednesday, January 22: MS G7/8 Affinity Group Meeting, 2:30-3PM, Panther Center
- Thursday, January 23: HeadSpace: Meeting Our Educational Promise Through A Competency-Based Approach To Education, 7-8 PM, Thursday, January 23: HeadSpace: Meeting Our Educational Promise Through A Competency-Based Approach To Education, 7-8 PM, Virtual Meeting, Check Email For Link
- Friday, January 24: PA Family Trivia Night, 6-8 PM, Family Commons
- Saturday, January 25: MS Quiz Bowl Tournament, 8:30 AM-3 PM, Edgewood Middle School, Mounds View
- Thursday, January 30: MS G5 Music Share, 2:20-3 PM, Recital Hall
- Friday, January 31: Returning Family Re-Enrollment Agreements Sent
- Friday, January 31: MS G5-8 Talent Show, 12:30-3 PM, Nicholson Center
- Wednesday, February 5: MS G7/8 Affinity Group Meeting, 2:30-3 PM, Panther Center
- Thursday, February 6: LS/MS Evening Conferences, 3:30-8 PM
- Friday, February 7: LS/MS Conferences, 8 AM-3 PM
With the transition into a new year and our academic quarters changing—the end of quarter 2 is Friday, January 17—it’s only natural for us to take time to reflect on the first half of the year and look ahead to what is to come in 2025. As our students returned from the winter break, they looked taller, more confident and comfortable, and newer…the newer may have just been because many were wearing the hoodies or shoes they got over break. At the start of the year, our fifth graders looked (and acted) more like fourth graders. Now, they are quickly on their way into the heart of their Middle School years. And, our eighth graders are acting and looking more and more like Upper Schoolers as well. What impressed me most, though, was how quickly and easily all our folks got right back to learning.
Last Friday, we had one of our best Middle School Meetings yet, with student announcements about raising awareness about pollution and plastics to a seventh-grade novel reading with a couple of our students. A couple of our eighth-grade Future Cities teams described their projects and the upcoming competition. And, as part of our Dream Big, Do Right Advisory Challenge, Mrs. Kramer’s advisory announced that they were collecting supplies to restock everyone’s school supplies. Each Middle School student will get a couple of pencils with extra erasers and a few other things from her advisory this week.
Coming up, you have a four-day weekend; Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Tuesday is a professional development/grading day for our faculty. The following week, we have the Grade 5 Music Share from 2:20-3:00 PM on January 30 and the Middle School Talent Show the next day, January 31, with close to 20 acts from all our grades and faculty. And on February 6 and 7, we will host another round of family conferences.
PreK-12 MPA Preview: Sunday, January 26, 2025, 12:30-2 PM
Invite a friend to experience MPA! The MPA Preview is the perfect way to share MPA with a friend, neighbor, or family member. If you know someone who is exploring schools or interested in MPA, please share the following information and link to RSVP.
MPA Previews are signature PreK-12 events designed to introduce families to the faculty, students, and families who make MPA the exceptional learning community that it is. Visitors will hear from a variety of perspectives, be engaged in conversation with academic leaders, and experience learning the MPA way. These events are for family members of all ages to attend together and will include division-specific time. Families can RSVP here!
Lower and Middle School Winter Conferences: February 6 and 7
Lower and Middle School Winter Conferences are coming up on the evening of February 6 and the day of February 7. The conference sign-up window will open next week. Please look out for more information coming soon to families via email, including directions on how to sign up for conferences with our teachers.
