September 12, 2019
Lower and Middle School Grandparents and Special Friends Day will be held the morning of Wednesday, October 16, prior to an early dismissal at 11:30 AM for grades PreK-11 (there is no school that day for grade 12).
Information is being sent home with how to tell us the names of the grandparents and special friends whom we should invite or you may find a fillable PDF here.
Please ask your child’s grandparent or special friend to save the date prior to their invitation arriving in the mail! Contact Ashley Goetzke at agoetzke@moundsparkacademy.org if you have any questions.
As their first project of the school year, MPA sixth grade English students were asked to turn themes from their summer reading into visual and written representations of “The Power of We” and “Harboring Each Other.” Though this project contained three different components–written, visual, and oral–Ms. Meras and her students paved a way for them to come together as a whole.
Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of MPA families and supporters, Together, We Dream: The Campaign For MPA is making a big impact in our new commons, cafeteria, and kitchen and will very soon in our brand new library. Construction is progressing on schedule and we hope to unveil some sneak peeks soon of this beautiful new space.
The number of children with food allergies continues to rise. This fact and the desire to best serve and protect our students with food allergies, prompted MPA to make a commitment to becoming an Allergy Aware School. Please join us for the MPA Parent Food Allergy Aware Training on Monday, September 23, from 6:30-7:30 PM in the Recital Hall.
Together, We Dream is a unique philanthropic campaign supporting several key milestones with four distinct priorities. The first of these priorities was the completion of our school’s commons, cafeteria, and kitchen which students, faculty and staff, and community members are already enjoying. Thanks to your generosity, we are excited to share with you the impact of these new spaces. In the coming months, we will be sharing additional stories of impact and how Together, We Dream is helping to enhance social environments, create new learning spaces, secure our future, and advance athletics and Panther pride. On behalf of students, faculty, and staff, thank you.
The MPA Parents of Alumni (POA) organization has been active since 2011. A group of parents wanted to stay connected to the friends they had made through the years their children were at MPA. Eight years later, the POA has a few annual traditions established with opportunities to add more events throughout each school year. The events are varied and invitations are issued through the MPA Development Office. The POA follows a flexible strategy that focuses our social events between May and November when parents of alumni are likely more available. The MPA POA Executive Board consists of Mary Jo Thrane, Jeanne Danaher, Chris Levesque, Amanda Campbell, Carey Ide, and Karla Myers. Each are members of the POA with alum from the graduating classes 2009–2018.
Homecoming weekend 2019 is quickly coming up on September 27-28, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you! Join fellow MPA alums on Homecoming weekend to reconnect with friends, family, and faculty. Celebrate milestone reunions and participate in special, alumni-only activities. Welcome home, alumni, and we hope to see you soon! 
by Mike Velin ’06, MPA Alumni Association Board Chair
It is with great sadness that we share some very sad news from our MPA family. Mr. Richard Meacock, retired Upper School faculty and founding faculty member, has passed away after a long illness.
As the rest of us were squeezing the last bits of summer out of August, the new MPA international students were already hard at work. Ten days before the rest of us walked through the doors of MPA, our new students arrived from four different countries to get settled into their host families’ homes, to get acclimated to their new school, and to have some fun with their new classmates.