Join Us For Halloween At MPA!

halloween parade 2017All parents are welcome to attend the MPA Halloween Parade on Wednesday, October 31! The festivities will begin with warm drinks and treats in the Lower School Atrium, courtesy of the Parents Association, at 2:20 PM. At 2:30 PM, Lower School students, dressed in their costumes, will parade through the student-lined hallways. This is one of MPA’s signature PreK-12 events that has become an honored tradition. Are the younger students or the older students more joyful? It is always hard to tell! Please join us!

And as part of MPA’s efforts to be a more allergy aware school, we are also happy to share the Snack Safely list and a peanut and treenut-free board of ideas on Pinterest to assist you in what to bring to our Halloween festivities!


Flu Season Information From The Nurse

lower school classroomfrom MPA’s school nurse, Julie Koster, and School District 622 

Many students and parents/guardians are frequently concerned about when students should stay home or attend school. The following information is intended to help with this decision.

General Guidelines: 

If the student:
  • Has a temperature of 100 degrees or higher, the student should stay home for 24 hours after their temperature returns to normal (less than 100 degrees) without fever reducing medication.
  • Has vomited or has had diarrhea two or more times, the student should stay home until 24 hours after the last episode.
  • Has a rash that may be disease-related or the cause is unknown, check with their healthcare provider before returning to school.

If the student is ill, please keep them home and notify (your division office) daily to report the illness. Please notify the School Nurse, Julie Koster, at jkoster@moundsparkacademy.org or 651-748-5509 if your child has a contagious condition such as chicken pox, strep throat, whooping cough, or influenza.
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MPA Alumni In The News

Amber Washington '12Four MPA alumni were featured in the news this week for a variety of accomplishments! From athletics to community engagement, and arts to cooking, we are so proud of these individuals for representing MPA!

This past Saturday, MPA alum Amber Washington ’12 won the International Tennis Federation’s Sharm El Sheikh Pro Circuit Doubles Championship alongside her partner Chelsea Vanhoutte of Belgium. At MPA, Amber set a state record for most tennis championships in a career with four in doubles and two in singles. She competed collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh.

Liberty SchoolChristian Holmen ’90, Teaching Head of School at Liberty School, speaks on how Liberty is shaping the way students who are dyslexic, gifted, or both, are taught. “The first goal for the teachers and administrators at Liberty is to break down the social and emotional barriers that many of the kids have because of similar experiences,” he said. Read the full article here!

Andrea Goldberg '09Andrea Goldberg ’09 was one of the artists that contributed to the 5,000 carved Halloween pumpkins light up the Minnesota Zoo! Andrea was heavily involved in the arts at MPA, having work selected for the Best 100 Art Exhibition and the Tri-Metro Conference Art Exhibition while in high school. She graduated from MCAD and is now a professional artist. Read the full article here!

matt bander '11Matt Bander ‘11 was in the Mississippi Market’s magazine, “The Medley.” Matt is the Market’s Meat and Seafood manager and is featured on page 5 of the Fall 2018 edition in an interview called “Get To Know Your Co-Op family!” Matt is also currently back at MPA as an assistant boys’ basketball coach! Read the full article here!

From top to bottom; photo courtesy of Amber Washington; photo by Stephen Eginoire, “The Durango Telegraph”; photo by Jeff Wheeler, “The Star Tribune”; photo by “The Medley” magazine.


Your Gifts Make Elective Opportunities Possible

Upper School classThis article is the second in a series called “The Fall Campaign Stories of Impact: Five Weeks, Five Stories, Five Reasons to Give.”

MPA’s Upper School curriculum features a breadth and depth of challenging topics, from Modern United States History and Computer Science, to Literary Analysis and Advanced Argumentation. Can you find the electives in this list? It’s probably not obvious, and that’s by design. At MPA, all courses, both core and elective, are developed around specific academic requirements and developmental goals. Electives play a special role in the mix, reinforcing an interdisciplinary approach to learning that supports the whole student.

“Core and elective classes at MPA have distinct roles, and also have equal billing,” explains Mark Segal, Upper School director. “What’s learned in electives carries over to other courses. For example, the critical thinking and persuasion skills acquired through our elective course in debate translate into the public speaking component of our English courses, and the analytical approach needed in our science program.” Read More


Meet MPA Talks Speaker Kelly Turpin ’04

kelly turpin '04Kelly Turpin is an art producer in Minneapolis. She is an advocate of opera and art as a social movement and strives to produce work that is accessible, inclusive, and challenging, in ways that engage and educate communities. She received opera performance degrees from Ithaca College (BM) and Arizona State University (MM) and continues to perform locally. At MPA Talks, Kelly will be discussing her journey as an opera singer to artistic activist, which is how Arbeit Opera Theatre came to be. She has always wanted to make a difference, be at the forefront of change and societal progress, but only recently discovered how she could do that with her background in opera.

We asked Kelly several questions so that you could get to know her better prior to MPA Talks!

We ask our students to dream big and do right. Do you feel that call to action is important to the future of our society and if so, why?

Yes! And it’s something I don’t think should or will ever change. However, I think it should begin with doing right. Acting with integrity sometimes comes with more of a risk than it should. It’s a guarantee of difficult situations and decisions along the way but in striving to live with integrity through every action and choice it’s also a guarantee of progress and positive change. With determination to do right and uphold truth through passion there’s nothing that can hold you back on achieving those big dreams. Read More


Meet MPA Talks Speakers Gabby Law and Julia Portis

gabby law teaching at breakthroughGabby Law and Julia Portis are both seniors at Mounds Park Academy who worked as teaching fellows with Breakthrough Twin Cities this past summer. At MPA, Gabby captains the tennis, Nordic skiing, and track teams, and has earned several awards in speech and debate. She is a student ambassador, peer leader, and co-leads Social Consciousness Club. When not being a concertmaster to the school’s orchestras, All-State Choir member, and licensed beekeeper, Gabby is busy applying to colleges. Julia is is heavily involved in speech, music, theater, student council (co-president), peer leaders, ambassadors, and debate—interacting with different people and mentors. She also enjoys attending events that allow her to advocate for her beliefs. She also loves traveling and spending time with friends and family.

We asked Gabby and Julia several questions so that you could get to know them better prior to MPA Talks!

Who inspires you to be better and how?

GL: My students inspired me to take full advantage of my educational opportunities. Their lack of access to small class sizes and hands-on learning during the school year reminds me of just how lucky I am to go to a private school. Because of them, I give 100% at school. Read More


Your Gifts Make Transformational Learning Possible

student on ropes courseThis article is the first in a series called “The Fall Campaign Stories of Impact: Five Weeks, Five Stories, Five Reasons to Give.”

At MPA, we know that educational aha moments aren’t limited to the school day or the four walls of a classroom. That’s why experiential learning off campus is built into the curriculum, allowing students to grow and explore in a variety of settings that cultivate a genuine joy of learning.

For Bridgette Shannon’s eighth grade son DJ, attending this fall’s Eagle Bluff overnight was truly transformational. “He came back a different person, with a different perspective on life,” she says. The Eagle Bluff experiments around ecology and conservation continued to make an impact at home, long after the trip ended. “Coming out of Eagle Bluff, he doesn’t want to be wasteful or careless,” says Bridgette, “from not stepping on a bug to cleaning his room!”

Relationships were another powerful part of the Eagle Bluff experience for DJ, which was especially important as a student new to MPA. “They hiked in the woods and had to navigate their way back, work together as a group, and really bond,” Bridgette explains. “There was a student who was uneasy about being away from home, and DJ was able to support his friend, and help him build confidence.”

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IMAC Championship

Despite brutal weather conditions, with temperatures in the mid-30s and windchills below freezing, you earned four all conference awards and three honorable mention awards, and the boys team finished a close runner-up to 7th ranked Minnehaha Academy!

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Meet JD Ogden ’20

MPA Upper School student with younger brotherWhat do you love about MPA?
I love that I get individual feedback from my teachers on assignments.

How are you encouraged to dream big and do right?
When I see classmates working hard and challenging themselves around me, it makes me aspire to be my best self.

If you have attended another school, how has your experience at MPA been different?
I came to MPA in kindergarten, so I don’t recall exactly!

What would you tell a family considering MPA?
It’s a great community and I know everyone so well. For example, on the Deep Portage overnight trip last year, our grade got to know each other even better. There was a moment when we were in groups and I had new students that I didn’t know as well in mine, plus some teachers that our grade was just getting to know, yet everyone was themselves with each other.

In what ways has MPA prepared you for life?
It has taught me so many life lessons around how to be an ethical person. Read More


MPA Sailing Qualifies For National Competition

Two students sailingDespite frigid, soaking conditions, MPA Sailing is excelling on the water this fall. With a team of three seniors, one sophomore, one freshmen, and one 8th grader, the team has constantly performed at or near the top in every regatta they have competed in, including the Great Oaks Qualifier at Hoover Sailing Center in Ohio. Because of their first place finish there, four members of the team are headed to the Great Oaks Invitational at Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans in early November.

High school sailing in Minnesota is considered a club sport and any student in grade seven through 12 may participate, regardless of experience. Together with students from White Bear Public Schools, Mahtomedi Public Schools, and Mounds View Public Schools, Mounds Park Academy practices out of the White Bear Sailing School at the White Bear Yacht Club.

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