All School Archives

May 5, 2022

Meem Fahlstrom

What position will you be holding at MPA?
K-5 Spanish Sub

From what school/organization are you coming?
Wayzata Public Schools

Tell us a little bit about your education and past experience.
My favorite job was being a 2 week program facilitator for El lago del bosque – Concordia Language Villages. I got my masters in World Language Intruction through Concordia College. I’ve taught at Armstrong High School, Totino-Grace high school, The Churchill School and Center (For Students With Language Based Learning Disabilities) and Wayzata public schools. Fun fact, I’m also licensed to teach Biology/Natural Sciences 5-12.

What did you find appealing about MPA during the interview process?
I met one teacher who said they went to school there and they wanted to teach there – that’s the kind of story that proves the school has major impact on people. Honestly….I saw the tree in the library and the mini door and knew it was the place for me. Also, the Spanish classroom had non-binary pronouns up on the wall as options, which made me feel included. (I’m leaving a district that was less inclusive). Also, all 3 directors are very genuine and easy to connect with.

What’s your big dream?
My big dream is to grow old and still be close with my two nieces.

What are you (and your family, if you so choose) passionate about?
I bike each day after work and read each night. My girlfriend and I enjoy knitting. I own a lot of plants and even name them….I’ve had a pathos named Viney for 14 years. My family revolves around local social justice/activist/art causes…mainly housing/renter rights and environmental stuff.

What’s a fun fact about you that our community would love to know?
I grew up surrounded by Croatian elders. I only have one great aunt left and we are very close.

Belonging At MPA

April 28, 2022

from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

It has been a hectic several weeks for members of the MPA community! We had a wildly successful Spring Auction with more than 250 parents, alumni parents, alumni, grandparents, faculty, and staff gathered at A’Bulae in St. Paul to celebrate MPA and raise much-needed funds for our students. It was a full house, and everyone seemed to have fun and were undoubtedly happy to be together again.

Yesterday, we hosted Grandparents and Special Friends Day with several hundred attending for Lower, Middle, and Upper School students. For some, it was their first time in the school and the first time experiencing a little bit of the magic that happens each day at MPA. In my opening remarks to the grandparents and special friends, I shared research highlighting the importance of grandparents and mentors/role models to young people’s academic, social, and emotional health and well-being.

The importance of a strong sense of community to the growth and well-being of young people cannot be understated even more so as we emerge from the pandemic. Belonging is an essential human need, and we all require and long for caring, genuine, and ongoing connections with others. In a school environment, students deeply desire to be accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school social environment.

A recent article in the New York Times caught my attention and presented evidence that all educators and parents feel instinctively. While I have been concerned about student mental health for some time now, and MPA has made it a priority to address, the article powerfully but sadly presented the current reality of our young people in a post-pandemic society.

There is some good news. In many instances, young people are avoiding high risk behaviors. “Young people are more educated; less likely to get pregnant; use drugs; less likely to die of accident or injury,” said Candice Odgers, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine. “By many markers, kids are doing fantastic and thriving. But there are these significant trends in anxiety, depression, and suicide that stop us in our tracks.” For example, emergency room visits for suicide attempts rose 51 percent for adolescent girls in early 2021 compared to the same period in 2019. The figure rose four percent for boys.

Parents Association News & Events

April 28, 2022

Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day
Tuesday, May 3
Do you like to bake? Smell freshly baked cookies? Make people happy? Thank a teacher or MPA staff member on National Teacher Appreciation Day, May 3. Sign up to come to the Teaching Kitchen and bake some sweet treats for our staff. The Parents Association will provide everything necessary. Sign up here.

Please adhere to MPA Peanut/Tree Nut Awareness for Beverages and Snacks. No peanuts or tree nuts please. Refer to the MPA Food Allergy Guidelines for more information.

Questions? Please contact Tara Matthews Lafferty, TMattRN@aol.com.

Gardening at MPA is Back!
Thursdays at 8 AM
Calling all those who want to spend some time outside, at MPA, in the gardens! You’re invited to spend time in the gardens tidying up, building, sowing, and spuddling around in the dirt. Come for a few minutes or stay for an hour or two. All are most welcome. We’ll meet outside under the flagpole at the Lower School entrance, with gardening tools in hand!

Birdhouse Gourds Return
If you followed our gardening posts from last year, you’ll know that our accidental planting of birdhouse gourds was a huge success. We’ll be planting them again this year. For the full story, click here.

MPA Moments That Matter

April 21, 2022

from Natalie Waters Seum, director of admission and communication

One Thursday per month you will see a guest Head’s Message from a member of the Institutional Advancement Team. We hope these additional perspectives will help you catch a glimpse inside the inner-workings of your school.

In honor of the conclusion of MPA’s treasured Book Festival, I want to share with you a book I’ve been listening to on my commute. I believe this book should be required reading for everyone in the business of people: “The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact,” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, the bestselling authors of “Switch” and “Made to Stick.” Like all great books, it was recommended to me by a trusted friend and colleague as one that directly applies to our work in admission and communication.

The premise is that moments matter—our lives are defined by moments—and through intentionality, some moments can matter much more than others. The opportunity lies in our ability to engineer moments that will have a lasting impact on those we serve. They describe in detail the four elements impactful moments often contain and how to build in these elements: Read More

Lower School Division News April 21, 2022

April 21, 2022

from Renee Wright, Lower School Director

Grandparents & Special Friends Day

We are excited to welcome Grandparents and Special Friends to our campus on Wednesday, April 27 from 9-11:30 AM. Research shows that Grandparents have a huge impact on a child’s life. This can also be said about relationships between a child and a senior adult outside of the immediate family who may serve as a surrogate grandparent. As a child grows up, Grandparents serve as a link between the past, present and future. They introduce kids to past traditions, get involved with them in the present and encourage them to shape the future. Grandparents are the best teachers; teaching children how to cook, sew, fish, play games, or do other favorite activities. They share stories that provide life lessons for their grandchildren. Grandparents love attending their grandchildren’s sports, activities, dance recitals, and school concerts and provide much needed praise and encouragement. They listen intently and give wise advice. This day is a huge tribute to grandparents and special friends and a way for us to say thank you for supporting your grandchildren or special friends.

During this special event grandparents and special friends will have the opportunity to visit their child’s homeroom classroom plus two specialist classrooms. Grandparents will get a glimpse of what happens on campus, meet their student’s teachers, view schoolwork their students have created, and participate in fun activities.

Grandparents and special friends should arrive at 8:30 AM and will enjoy coffee and treats in our Family Commons between 8:30 AM and 9 AM. They will start the day by hearing from our Head of School, Dr. Hudson, and learn more about our amazing school. Make sure to register in advance for this special day! Read More

Middle School Division News April 21, 2022

April 21, 2022

From Dr. Jenn Milam, Middle School Director

A Sprint to the Finish!
The next thirty-two days of school (yes, we’re counting) are some of the busiest, most fun, and most full days in our school calendar. I encourage you to keep up to date with what’s happening in our community and try to be a part of as much as you can. The MPA experience holds community and joy as cornerstones of our mission—you won’t want to miss out!

Grade 6 and 7 Overnights
We are excited to share that we have been able to (re)schedule the overnight class excursions for sixth and seventh grades at Eagle Bluff. The seventh-grade class will travel to Eagle Bluff (Lanesboro, MN) on Monday, May 23 and return Wednesday, May 25. Similarly, the sixth-grade class will leave on Wednesday, June 1 and return on Friday, June 3. We will send more information as the dates get closer!

Spring Concerts and Performances
There are several upcoming spring concerts and performances, and you’ll want to be sure you’ve marked these on your calendar as they are part of the MPA curriculum and serve as a major assessment milestone in the fine and performing arts. All students are required to attend and perform who are in music, choir, band and orchestra.

Thursday, May 5 Middle School Vocal Concert (grades 5-8), 7-9PM
Thursday, May 12 Orchestra Concert (grades 5-12), 7-9PM
Thursday, May 19 Band Concert (grades 5-12), 7-9PM

Let’s Dream: See You There!
We’re excited for the 2022 MPA Spring Auction: Let’s Dream, which will be held tomorrow Friday, April 22 at A’bulae in Lowertown. This is an opportunity for our entire community to gather safely together and celebrate the year. The event will feature an amazing meal, fun games and prizes, and the chance to bid on and win wonderful auction items, all in support of the MPA community. The event raises more than $200,000 in support MPA students, staff, and teachers.

If you have any last minutes questions or wonderings, please contact Jennifer Rogers-Petitt, director of development and community engagement, via email at jrogers@moundsparkacademy.org or at 651-748-5532 with any questions.

Quarter 3 Grades and Placements for 2022-2023
Grades for Quarter 3 are officially posted and can be accessed through Schoology and placement letters have been mailed and you should be receiving your student’s placement for mathematics and world language. Please note that these decisions are collaborative and consider a student’s work habits, assessment average, and potential for success. It is important that we work correctly to place students in the appropriate classes where they are adequately challenged and have the most opportunity to be successful.

If you have specific questions, concerns, or want to discuss the next school year, please reach out to your student’s current advisor or me or send an email with your thoughts and wonderings.

Spring Sports are in Full Swing!
Spring is a great time for Middle Schools sports and between practices, games, matches, and meets, all of us are running in a hundred different directions. You can always access the weekly athletic schedule here by clicking on “Weekly Schedule.” Checking in regularly throughout the week, especially if the weather is questionable, will help you stay informed of delays, reschedules, cancellations, locations, and times of events.

As an added notice, please pay particular attention to the end times of events and practices. Students are not allowed to “hang out” unsupervised until you arrive. This is a safety issue and to which I hold very firm. If you are not able to be at school when a practice or game is over, your student must go to Panther Den or you must make other arrangements for them to be picked-up/driven home. If you have questions or concerns about this, please reach out to the Middle School office.

Save The Date: Middle School Family Dinner and Transition Meetings
Please mark your calendars for Thursday, May 5, for the Middle School family dinner and Transition Meetings immediately preceding the Middle School Vocal Concert. We will share dinner, hosted by the Parents Association, and then when the students move to prepare for the concert, parents and families are invited to meet with teachers of their students next grade level to learn about events, what to expect, and next year’s challenges and possibilities! More details to follow with a request to RSVP! We hope to see you there!

Why American Teens Are So Sad:
Four Forces are Propelling the Rising Rates of Depression Among Young People
I recently happened upon this article in The Atlantic that shares a perspective of what is driving American teens to higher incidences of depression and anxiety. The author, Derek Thompson, offers four primary forces acting upon and through our young people and shares some insights and wisdoms about how we might counter these forces to build stronger, more resilient, and more well-balanced young people.

He also identifies fallacies that often plague our understanding of teenage mental health and depression, in the current moment. By scapegoating things COVID, offering overly simplified explanations of poor behavior, or attributing depression to typical “moodiness” among this age group, we miss the opportunity to help our young people.

Thompson suggests the following four forces have the most significant impact on teenage depression:

Social Media Use
There is significant evidence to suggest that when personal device ownership increased, so too did rates of social media usage by teens. This also correlates with a dramatic increase in anxiety, depression, feelings of social isolation, and sadness.
Sociality is Down
Thomspon explains that the increase of social media, in and of itself, may not be to blame, but that because young people are less social, in person/face-to-face, that the retreat to devices, digital gaming, and social media are also a culprit in teenage depression. Add in the lack of socialization over the last two years due to Covid, and we have missed opportunities to engage in the most important part of teenage development – being with other teens!
The World is Stressful – and there is more news about the world’s stressors
No doubt our young people are impacted, and so is their emotional state, as they seek to regulate to the adults and the world around them, which at any given moment seems to be in a constant state of distress. Financial fears, climate change, pandemics, war, violence, and increased racial tension in a complex political climate, all serve to stoke the flames of worry, sadness, anxiety, and depression.
Modern Parenting Strategies
Parents have nearly doubled the amount of time we spend with our children – chauffeuring, coaching, tutoring, supporting, driving, and managing. More, Thompson notes, our increase in “accommodative” parenting is becoming unhealthy and hurting our young people. As we seek to remove all heartache, anxiety, struggle, worry, failure, consequence, or negative outcomes from our children’s lives, even with the best intent, it teaches them that they are not capable, that we do not trust them, that we do not believe they can manage on their own, and they miss the opportunity to learn how to process negative emotions, individually and with others in their lives. And when young people don’t learn to process, they become overwhelmed and mired in sadness, unable to find the way out.

Thompson shares that of course it isn’t any one of the above factors that is to blame, and certainly there are others, but I believe the take-away is that perhaps by understanding the things that are making our kids sad, even if it’s our own doing, we can work to counter these forces and help our young people learn to navigate the hard stuff alongside the really, really, really good things. We can all do hard things.

I hope you’ll read and reflect upon the full article, available here. Be well and take care of each other!

Important Dates

April 22: 5th Grade Math Masters Competition
- MPA Spring Auction
April 27: Grandparents and Special Friends Day, 12:30-2:30PM
May 5: Middle School Family Dinner (with Rising Fifth Graders)
- Middle School Vocal Concert, 7 PM
May 12: Middle School/Upper School Orchestra Concert, 7 PM
May 19: Middle School/Upper School Art Show, Opens at 6 PM
- Middle School/Upper School Band Concert, 7 PM
May 23-25: Grade 7 Overnight, Eagle Bluff
June 1-3: Grade 6 Overnight, Eagle Bluff

Upper School Division News April 21, 2022

April 21, 2022

from Mark Segal, Upper School Director

Over the course of the past year, the other two division directors and I have committed to writing an article for the Panther Post every other week. Even though I enjoy writing as a way to express my thoughts and know there is so much to share with families of upper school students, I often find myself waiting until the last moment to write my bi-weekly article. It would be easy to come up with valid and justifiable excuses (spending time with students, responding to emails and voicemails, meetings, etc.), but in reality it is pure and simple procrastination – the act of delaying or postponing something. Now in my twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth year of working with adolescents, I understand that the art of procrastination is real and that it impacts most of us in some way. We may avoid something that is challenging, find alternative things to do, or fear not doing the task “well enough.”

Psychologist and author Alice Boyes published a study in The Harvard Business Review that shared some findings and assumptions of procrastination, and made suggestions to counteract them. The first assumption is that those who procrastinate are undisciplined and do not have the self-control to do what is necessary. Although there may be some truth to procrastinators being headstrong and set in their ways, Boyes suggests that habits and systems be established by setting up a consistent schedule for completing the assigned work or task. The author also found that, “We tend to avoid tasks that stir up negative emotions.” Additionally, the belief is that when experiencing feelings of uncertainty or anxiousness negative emotions are brought to the surface and we are more apt to procrastinate. In this case, the suggestion is to disentangle our emotions from the task, and find a way to make it fun and reward yourself when it’s done. Lastly, the HBR article shares that we often find ourselves stuck in a pattern of unhelpful thoughts that occupies all we think of. The researcher suggests to break this cycle that we, initially, limit ourselves to short work periods and slowly built upon them, like training for a marathon.

Parents Association News & Events

April 21, 2022

Book Festival Update
A huge thank you to all who contributed to this year’s Book Festival. Thank you to the vendors, Valley Bookseller in Stillwater and Usborne Books & More. Valley will donate $775 to our library; they sold 170 books ($3877 total). Usborne sold 79 books ($1046 total) and will provide MPA with a $523 credit to purchase new books. The gently used book sale raised approximately $400. The total raised this year for the library is $1698!

Thank you to all the students, faculty and staff who contributed their time and talents to the reading of stories and poems. Thank you to the many people who made and distributed bookmarks, decorated the library, and coordinated events. Thank you to the IT department, and a huge shout-out to Bakari in Communications, who was instrumental in bringing our ideas to life.

Finally, a whole-hearted and deep thank you to all those who contributed by purchasing books, for their families and for our teachers. It is by your generous contributions that the Book Festival was a great success, even in the virtual format. A sincere and heart-felt thank you from the entire Book Festival committee! Read More

The Importance Of Reading

April 14, 2022

from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

I delight in the number of students who come into school in the morning with a book in their hand and a finger holding their place. Clearly, they love reading as much as I do. Reflecting on the great books I’ve read, from Dr. Seuss to Chaucer, I see how reading has changed my life. Through reading, I have plumbed the depths of despair and witnessed the triumph of the human spirit. I’ve lived through momentous battles and traveled the world. Reading has transformed me and made me into the person I am today. While my parents actively encouraged reading, it was in lower school that I learned to love reading, and it was my teachers who introduced me to great books.

The 22nd Annual MPA Book Festival (April 5-17) is a true reflection of our mission as we choose to celebrate reading in such a joyful way. By coming together to celebrate reading, we send a powerful message to our children about its importance. I am very grateful to the MPA Parent Association for sponsoring such a fantastic event. Funds raised from book purchases support the MPA library and directly impact students. Read More

Parents Association Book Festival Details & More

April 14, 2022

Last Chance for Book Festival 2022
Tuesday, April 5-Sunday, April 17
Just a few more days of MPA’s beloved annual Book Festival! The goal is to promote the joy of reading and connect with the MPA community through our shared enjoyment of reading. Every purchase you make helps support our wonderful library, a great resource for both students and families.

Make a Teacher’s Wish Come True: Look at your teacher’s wish list and buy books to donate to the classroom.
Add to Your Library: To buy books from Valley Bookseller visit this link to place your order. Mention MPA in the order comments or when purchasing in person and 20% of the order will go back to the MPA Library. Visit this link to place an order with Usborne Books & More. Based on your purchases, the MPA Library will earn 50% of the sales back in FREE BOOKS!
Library Poem: Enjoy this short poem by MPA third graders, written to express gratitude for our amazing library. Please download or stream the video here.
Stories, Songs and Poems Read by the MPA Community: Our many fun book-centered activities include stories and songs to help unwind in the evening. MPA community members have recorded stories, songs and poems, including a new poem by the third grade! You can find the stories and poems here, and the bedtime stories and songs here. Download these stories and poems for easier viewing or to watch later on, or stream them.
More Fun Activities: Check out how to draw a superhero here and then draw your own on the back of your Book Festival bookmark. Liz from Usborne Books gives a sneak peak of a wide variety of books including fiction, non-fiction and activity books here.
Share your Favorite Books: We created a padlet board for sharing your favorite read. To add to the padlet board click here.