August 20, 2020
All MPA families should have received an email from Safetyapp@auxs.org with information about how to install the Safety App Powered by AUXS. Completing twice-daily screenings through this app will enable MPA to effectively monitor and track screening as a preventative measure and will have the ease families need for this step to be quick and easy.
Here are some important notes about the arrival and dismissal process this year:
Arrival
- If your family didn’t select an arrival time, one will be assigned to you.
- Students will not be allowed in the building prior to 7:15 AM in order for staff members to arrive on campus and be prepared to begin the screening process.
- Please have the green badge that is emailed to you by The Safety App Powered By Aux out and ready to show upon arrival. While the information you submitted is being sent to the school, the most efficient way for MPA to run the arrival process for now is for families to have their green badge out and ready.
- If your child is driving themselves to school, please forward the Safety App email to them or take a screenshot and text it to them. The same applies for carpools and bus riders who already have cell phones. Please do not purchase a cell phone for your child just for this purpose. For any student riding the bus who does not have a cell phone, MPA will have the information you transmitted via the app available to reference. If you have forgotten to do the screening, staff will ask your child the screening questions. All students must be screened prior to entering the building.
- Each student will enter at their pre-assigned door, including bus riders. The doors will be marked with flags and balloons for easy locating. Note that parents will need to drive through the lot and stop at each applicable door and bus riders will need to walk from the bus to their door.
Arrival & Dismissal Doors
Door 1: PreK, K, 1
Door 2: Grades 2, 3, 4
Note: Doors 1 & 2 will drop off in a single Lower School drive thru lane
Door 4: Grades 5, 7, 6, 8
Note: Doors 4 will drop off in a single Middle School drive thru lane
Door 7 West: Grades 9, 10
Door 7 East: Grades 11, 12
Note: Door 7 will drop off in a single Upper School drive thru lane
- When lining up to enter the building, students should be wearing masks and staying physically distant.
- Parents are encouraged to allow their student to make the last part of the journey into school independently unless delivering a reluctant student. All new families with Lower School students will be welcomed to accompany their child through screening and to their locker or classroom door for the first week of school.
- A staff member will be available to walk Lower School students to Panther Club, if applicable, or to their classroom if arriving after 7:30 AM.
Sign up for Panther Club, Panther Den, and Middle School study hall here!
Even in an upside-down world, the show must go on! Join the MPA Theatre Department for a virtual info meeting on Thursday, September 3 at 4 PM. Learn how to get involved, more about show information, audition dates, and what this year will hold for MPA actors and technicians!
This year, Picture Day will look a little different due to our hybrid schedule. Instead, we will have Picture Days at MPA! We are using a new picture vendor this year, Jostens, and you should have received a flyer at home and via email with information about how to order your pictures online. Please note that due to the shift to an entirely online ordering process from Jostens, your email address will be shared with Jostens in order to facilitate the ordering process.
How many years have you been at MPA?
All MPA families should have received an email from 
We hope you’ve been able to read and digest all of the information coming your way about the student experience this fall—we are working closely to ensure not only our exceptional academic program remains strong, but that we maintain the utmost attention to our students’ health and wellbeing, both at school and at home. We offer here a few more details for your planning and preparation for the start of school in just a little more than a week.
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
The MPA COVID-19 planning and implementation process is focused on risk-reduction with a multi-layered approach to reducing the risk of transmission when students and staff return to campus. Our planning process is grounded in a variety of quantitative and qualitative considerations as we consider moving our return to school dial. The quantitative metrics have been vetted by our MPA Community Advisory Group and outside professionals that have developed COVID-19 transmission and testing data in order to understand the local conditions and community spread.
MPA recognizes every community member holds a dual wish of continuing the high-quality educational opportunities families have come to know and expect, while also maintaining health, safety, and wellness for themselves and others. Our symptom and case response protocols are designed with these shared values and goals at the center of our approach. Some families have asked specific questions about what will happen if someone develops symptoms, tests positive, or is potentially exposed on campus. Like so many parts of this pandemic, there is not a one-size-fits all solution for each case. Through our team of medical advisors and the MPA Community Advisory Group, we have developed a detailed and multi-pronged approach to symptom response, contact tracing, and confirmed cases. We will deploy a swift, personal, and private response that is taken through our 49-point COVID-19 response flow chart, which helps our contact tracing and response team to effectively manage each step along the way. Our team will also partner and work hand-in-hand with the Minnesota Department of Health and other local officials should the need arise.