All School

August 22, 2012

Dear Lower and Middle School
Families,

Welcome to the 2012-2013
school year!  We are excited to see your
children bringing the hallways of Mounds Park Academy back to life next week.
As you return to MPA, you will notice some changes in the Lower and Middle
Schools. I’ve detailed those changes below, but please let us know if you have
any questions that I haven’t answered. I look forward to seeing you soon!

South Entrance

The South Entrance will be
locked for security reasons, with the exception of these timeframes when there
will be someone monitoring visitors: 7:45-9 a.m., 12-1 p.m., and 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Visitors who come to the South Entrance at other times may press the buzzer at
the entry and will be buzzed in by either the PreK-8 Office or the Business
Office. The PreK-8 Office assistant will check in visitors and distribute
visitor badges. You may also enter through the North Entrance, which will be
unlocked and monitored during the day and during evening and weekend events. The former South Reception Office has
been redecorated with donated furniture to serve as a Visitor Lounge for
Admission Office guests.

PreK-8 Office

The office space that was
formerly the Lower School Office (first door on the right inside the South
Entrance) is now the PreK-8 Office. Lower and Middle School families with
questions should visit this office first. Marina
Dale is now the PreK-8 Assistant Director. She will support PreK-8 Director
Tony Reimers. Her office is located in the PreK-8 Office area. Ann Caspar is now the PreK-8 Assistant
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7:45 a.m.-4 p.m. and Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 7:45-11:45 a.m. She is located in the PreK-8 Office (formerly
the Lower School Office). Ann will also have responsibility for the South
Entrance buzzer when the doors are locked. 
Kathy Young has PreK-8
Assistant duties on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and as a back up
for Ann Caspar. She will also have responsibility at those times for the South
Entrance buzzer when the doors are locked. Please
note: If LS and MS students need to make a phone call, they should come to the
PreK-8 Office to do so.

Middle School Office Area

PreK-8 Director Tony Reimers is now located in the
Middle School Office area across from the Cafeteria doors. Renee Wright is now part time Director of Professional
Development. Her office is located in the Middle School Office area.  She will continue as a 50% third grade
teacher as well, sharing the classroom with Dan Haase. Upper School Assistant
Director Randy Comfort has added
responsibilities as 7/8 Dean. His office is located in the Upper School Office
area.

New Faces

We have two new teachers in
the Lower School this year. Debbie
LaChapelle joins MPA as a Kindergarten teacher this year. Debbie has more
than 20 years of teaching experience and was most recently a long-term sub in
first grade at MPA last spring.  Liz Wanzek is the new Lower School French
teacher, bringing 8 years of French teaching experience to MPA.

Again, welcome to the new
school year at MPA!

Best regards,

Mike Downs

Head of School

June 21, 2012

Thirteen years ago, 13 students Class of 2012 students started kindergarten at MPA the fall before the turn of the century. As the graduated this year, they were inducted into the Joanna Olson 13-Year Club. See how far they’ve come and where they’re headed to college. Here’s what they had to say about being “lifers” (photo and quotes courtesy of the MPA 2012-2013 Yearbook Staff):

June 14, 2012

On June 9, 2012, Mounds Park Academy celebrated the end of the school’s 30th year at the commencement of the 60 members of the Class of 2012. The ceremony included the traditional presentation of MPA’s Commencement Awards: The Paul B. Chmelik Men’s Leadership Award, the Sandy Kreischer Smith Senior Woman’s Leadership Award, the Kreischer Bowl Award, the Valedictorian Award, and the Salutatorian Award.

June 13, 2012

Mounds Park Academy program recognized for dynamic and engaging
yearbook.

Mounds Park Academy’s
yearbook program was recently named a 2012 Jostens’ National Yearbook Program of
Excellence. The National Yearbook Program of Excellence designation recognizes dynamic
school yearbook programs. The program recognizes yearbook staffs and advisers
who create engaging yearbooks for their school communities.

The Mounds Park Academy award winning yearbook program is
led under the direction of KaTrina Wentzel, Mounds Park Academy yearbook
adviser. 

The award was announced to Ms. Wentzel and the 2011-2012 yearbook
staff in a surprise presentation by Josten’s representatives at MPA’s annual
yearbook assembly, held on June 8, 2012 – the last day of school.

“While it was a surprise to me that day to receive the honor, it was not at all a surprise that the students’ work was recognized with the award,” Wentzel said. “The yearbook staff worked very hard all year and showed dedication to the book and to the community.”

Magistad said her experience as co-editor-in-chief taught her many skills she will use for the rest of my life. “One of those things was the power of determination,” she said. “This year, we decided to take on a completely new designing system to create our yearbook. It took a lot of patience and organization to learn the program, and then demanded even more commitment to develop the book. In the beginning of the process there were definitely times of frustration, but all of the yearbook staff would agree the hard work paid off in the end.”

“When the national yearbook award was given to our staff it was the culmination of a year full of hard work and dedication,” Magistad added. “It took the passion, and creativity of each yearbook member to make this book beautiful.”

Jostens’ National Yearbook Program of Excellence Awards are presented
twice a year, in May for yearbooks delivered in the spring and in September for
yearbooks delivered in the fall. The Award was presented to the Mounds Park
Academy yearbook program for achieving the defined criteria in each of three
following categories; creating an inclusive yearbook, generating school
engagement, and successfully managing the yearbook creation process.

“Jostens believes passionately in the importance of the
yearbook tradition connecting every student to the school story and the school
year and we are honored to recognize these yearbook programs,” said Mike Wolf,
director, Yearbook Marketing, Jostens. “We understand that a great yearbook
program does not just happen, and we are dedicated to helping schools
strengthen their programs by providing the tools and personal guidance for
success. The National Yearbook Program of Excellence recognizes schools that
embrace the yearbook tradition and have built a yearbook program that serves
the entire school community.”

The Mounds Park Academy yearbook program received a plaque
to display in the yearbook area and a banner to display in school, so the
entire school community will be aware of the outstanding achievement.

Each year, the yearbook staff presents a video/photo show for the entire school to enjoy at the Yearbook Assembly. View this year’s video here.

June 4, 2012

The 2012 Upper School Awards Ceremony was held on Friday, June 1. Listed below are the awards and awardees for the 2011-2012 school year. Congratulations to these students for their outstanding achievements!

View photos from the Awards Ceremony here.

May 24, 2012

MPA senior Louise Edwards has
been involved in the Future Problem Solvers Program International  (FPSPI) since the 6th grade. Founded by
creativity pioneer, Dr. E. Paul Torrance, FSPSI stimulates critical and
creative thinking skills, encourages students to develop a vision for the
future, and prepares students for leadership roles. Her involvement in the
program has paid off in more ways than one. This week, Edwards was awarded
FPSPI’s “Creating the Future” Scholarship.

“This experience has had a profound
impact on me and the way I view the world,” said Edwards, who started a
Future Problem Solving Program at MPA three years ago when she was a 10th
grader. The MPA team members are Annette Eneanya, Kate Nicholson, Betsy
Krenkel, Chrissy Saul, and Eliza Edwards. MPA alumnus Wade Peterson coaches the
team. “As a team, we have advanced to state every year,” Edwards
said.

Below is the announcement posted on the FPSPI website:

May 17, 2012

Mounds Park Academy has been awarded a $2 million grant from the Malone Family Foundation. The grant will fund scholarships for gifted students whose families are not able to afford the full cost of a Mounds Park Academy education. This is the first year a Minnesota school has been chosen as a Malone Scholar school.

Mounds Park Academy was one of 11 schools across the country chosen from among many applicants this year for their commitment to providing an outstanding learning environment for gifted and talented students. Following a three-stage selection process, the Foundation concluded that Mounds Park Academy fit its rigorous selection criteria.

“We are thrilled to be chosen as a Malone Family Foundation partner,” said Head of School Mike Downs. “The Foundation’s commitment to providing access for gifted students to the schools best able to meet their academic needs and develop their talents aligns perfectly with Mounds Park Academy’s mission.”

Founded by John Malone of Colorado, the Malone Family Foundation has one principal objective:  to improve access to quality education – particularly at the secondary school level – for gifted students who lack the financial resources to best develop their talents.  The Foundation supports schools that provide engaging and stimulating academic environments, broad and inclusive extracurricular activities and warm and open communities where talented students can feel safe and secure as they prepare for their university studies. Malone schools feature small and intimate class sizes that, through positive teacher-to-student relationships, generate successful academic outcomes and nourish students with diverse talents and interests. 

The Foundation began funding schools in 2000, and this year’s grant recipients bring the total number of Malone Scholar schools to 49. Mounds Park Academy, along with Saint Paul Academy and Summit School, became the first schools in Minnesota to be awarded the grants this year.

Mounds Park Academy will choose one Malone Scholar for the 2012-2013 academic year, and will add more Malone Scholars in subsequent years. 
When the program is fully phased in, MPA will offer two scholarships annually–one at grade 7 and another at grade 9–to newly admitted students. A Malone scholarship follows the Malone Scholar through his or her graduation from Mounds Park Academy.

May 9, 2012

Did you know there are real-life superheroes roaming (or, more often, skipping down) the hallways of Mounds Park Academy? There are twenty-four of them to be exact.

MPA’s 24 kindergarteners were honored recently by Minnesota FoodShare at an awards ceremony for their participation in the organizations 2012 March Campaign: Be the hero. Fight Hunger. Mrs. Selb’s and Mrs. Petersen’s classes joined forces to raise money to buy food for the Little Kitchen Food Shelf in March. They integrated math, spelling, budgeting, counting money, history, drawing, and writing into the project as well. Watch the KARE11 News story for more on their service learning project.

“We decided to highlight the kindergarteners along with high school seniors to show that students at all ages can be involved in the fight to end hunger,” said Minnesota FoodShare Director Sara Nelson-Pallmeyer. “We liked that the kindergarteners used their project to help others and to further their own math skills!”

Congratulations to all of our kindergartners for their heroic efforts to end hunger!

May 2, 2012

MPA’s yearbook, Gnomon, has been recognized for excellence and featured in the 2012 Gotcha Covered Look Book, Volume 10, celebrating the best-of-the-best in yearbook design and creation. Jostens’ Look Book is a collection of spreads and photos from outstanding yearbooks and their creative themes, covers, dazzling design, relevant coverage, storytelling copy and action-packed photos. It is a tribute to the important role well-crafted yearbooks play in helping schools chronical the experiences, stories and acheivements most relevant to students and that academic year.

Gnomon was created by students under the direction of KaTrina Wentzel, MPA’s yearbook adviser.

“The hard work and journalistic talent of yearbook students Is under-recognized,” Wentzel said. “Last year’s staff did a tremendous job fully developing a theme, creating fabulous design, taking solid photos and writing journalistic captions. Project management and team work pulled together an amazing book, and I’m so glad that they have been recognized for it!”

The Gnomon was one of only 30 yearbooks selected from approximately 3,000 to be featured in the “book looks” sections, which showcases top books from around the country. Also featured was a spread designed by Susie Krikava (12), who received honorable mention in the Yeartech Design Contest. The 2012 panel of judges, comprised of nationally recognized scholastic journalism professionals and award-winning yearbook advisers, selected the best examples of yearbook spreads and photos to make up the 288-page 2012 Look Book.

“Yearbooks are unique, limited edition books created by students to capture the stories and events for all of the school’s students and Jostens is proud to celebrate the yearbook tradition and the 400 yearbooks selected for the 2012 Gotcha Covered Look Book, Volume 10,” said Gary Lundgren, Jostens senior program manager/education.  “We are passionate about helping schools create yearbooks that include the entire school community. The yearbooks selected for the Jostens 2012 Look Book reflect the sophistication and relevance of yearbook programs.”

KaTrina Wentzel and her yearbook staff received a copy of Jostens’ 2012 Gotcha Covered Look Book and plaque from Jostens to recognize their outstanding achievement.

Jostens’ Gotcha Covered Look Book is a must-have resource for yearbook advisers and staffs seeking creative design and coverage ideas, trends and inspiration.

Congratulations to all of the MPA 2010-2011 Yearbook Staff members! They are:

Lauren Arsenault*
Nathan Burnstein
Matthew Champers
Lindsay Coleman
Matthew DeGregorio
Greta Gangestad
Alex Hagen
Sam Harper
Kip Hathaway
Dalia Istephanous
Andrew Kluge
Susie Krikava
Ellie Lawin
Amanda Magistad
Mackenzie Melton
Cameron Meyer-Mueller
Malone Mischke
Lucas Murphy
Eric Polacek
Kimberley Rolfs
Azura Rudd
Kara Schoenherr
Laurel Schwartz*
Jordan Sinkfield
Justin Sinkfield
Austin Smith
Rebecca Weiss
Laurel Winsor

*Co-Editors-In-Chief

May 2, 2012

MPA Community, here’s your chance to cheer on MPA spring sports teams, enjoy great food, and help our students support an important cause!

For their Senior Service Project, Class of 2013 students Sarah Anderson, Cameron Meyer-Mueller, and Charlotte Colantti will be hosting a fundraiser to benefit Habitat for Humanity in Birmingham, AL. Proceeds will be used to help restore tornado damage in Upper School chemistry teacher Ms. Anderson’s hometown neighborhood.

On Wednesday, May 9, from 3-7:00 p.m., the students will be selling hotdogs, brats, hamburgers, veggie burgers, chips, and drinks. Combo plates will be sold for $8.

On the same night, support the Panthers in tennis, baseball, and softball at home games. We hope to see you there!