Lower School

Kindergarteners Send Joy To Senior Living Friends

April 1, 2020

a joke written and illustrated by an MPA kindergarten studentThe MPA kindergarten class kicked off virtual learning with a community-centered homework assignment! Kindergarten teacher Ms. Petersen contacted two local senior living facilities and asked if the students could partner with them in order to foster relationships while social distancing and help the kindergarten students continue their CHAMP journey away from campus.

To go along with their letter “J” activity, each student wrote and illustrated a joke for the senior living residents. The assignment also encouraged them to practice spelling and creative details in their drawings. The students then mailed their jokes to Ms. P, and also used this opportunity to explore their own address, discuss how mail is processed and delivered, and learn more about the history of stamps and stamp collecting.

Ms. P is delivering the jokes to the senior living facilities, and even has permission to hang them on the windows outside! The students are ecstatic to be providing joy throughout the community during this time, executing their CHAMP behavior by communicating with an isolated population. Have a good laugh and see all of their jokes here!

Opportunities To Connect And Volunteer Virtually

April 1, 2020

middle school students reading notes of thankfulnessWe’ve heard from many families in recent weeks as we’ve planned for and unveiled virtual learning. One theme that keeps coming up is that MPA families want to spread the joy and love they have for school, while supporting teachers who are working hard to continue meaningful education across divisions. Sign up today to become a volunteer. Here is a sample of some of the ways you can get involved!

  1. Guest lecture: Share your knowledge to students of all ages by becoming a guest speaker during one of our live class sessions.
  2. Support recruitment: Sign up to have a virtual conversation with a prospective family.
  3. Spread the MPA love: We are gathering families willing to help with care packages, family meals, write letters to families or others in need.
  4. Build a virtual community: Sign up to be a host a for a virtual family gathering with other MPA families. We know physical distancing is important, but let’s make sure our social connections remain.
  5. Stay social: Social media engagement is more important now than ever. Follow, share, and like on all MPA social media platforms.
  6. Support virtual learning: Help us ensure parents and students have support at home to continue their education by becoming a tutor.
  7. Help teachers and parents provide STEAM activities at home: If you have a background in science, engineering, computer programming, or the arts, connect with us about how to create video content for students of all ages.
  8. Share your knowledge: Parents with a background in health care, education, or knowledge of public health and pandemics could share their knowledge during upcoming parent education events.
  9. Be a Buddy: Join our network of Buddy Program families to connect with new families and help them navigate their transition to MPA.
  10. Donate: Your support helps us to navigate the challenges we face and to fill the gap for families, employees, and expenses associated with our virtual learning implementation. Your gift today will support our Community Care Fund means Panthers can stay connected, continue to learn, and that everyone has the resources they need for a meaningful education during this time of uncertainty.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Rogers-Petitt, director of development and community engagement at jrogers@moundsparkacademy.org or 308-765-0524.

Vote For William Kim Through April 5!

April 1, 2020

mpa senior William kimKeep on casting your vote for MPA senior William Kim to be a finalist for the MPR Minnesota Varsity showcase concert! MPR listeners are voting to select one of this year’s 10 Featured Artists to advance to the Showcase concert in May.

Listen online and click here to vote for William until 11:59 PM on Sunday, April 5!

The Power Of A Great Teacher

March 26, 2020

MPA virtual upper school classby Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school

Great teachers make great online teachers. By now, you’ve read or heard me say that repeatedly over the last several weeks. To be honest, other than a few scattered snow days over the last several years, my assertion was more conjecture than evidentiary. However, after several days this week, I know this to be true. Because I know each teacher well, I knew in my heart but I now have proof that MPA teachers are great no matter the platform or medium.

It has been an incredible experience, working together with teachers, staff, and administration, to make the transition to virtual school. Through caffeine, adrenaline, and sheer will, we powered through to rise to the new challenge before us without doubt or hesitation. Frankly, there has never been another option. I didn’t realize this until I received a parent email with the following observation: “In corporate terms, this scale of change would have been vetted and pressure-tested through strategic planning process over a period of months, perhaps a full year’s planning cycle.” The can-do spirit of MPA has inspired us all. Read More

COVID-19 Parent Education Forum

March 26, 2020

parent and middle school student talking togetherMPA is committed to supporting parents as well as students. You are invited to Parent Education Forum with Dr. Julene Nolan, MPA school psychologist, and head of school Dr. Bill Hudson. The Parent Education Forum is designed to provide parents with the support, guidance, and insights needed to navigate these difficult times.

Please click here to share questions and concerns that are top-of-mind as you begin to navigate supporting your children through the changes that are happening in our world right now. We will use this to craft our time together and guide how we deliver future parent support. An example might be a question, “How do I keep my kids from fighting all the time?” a specific topic, “Screen time rules”, or a suggestion, “Here is something that is working for us.”

Topic: Parent Education Forum
Time: Mar 31, 2020 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 968 108 092
Password: 080517

Junior Hana Miller Celebrates Birthday With Blood Donation Campaign

March 26, 2020

MPA blood drive postersHana Miller has always been, and continues to be, a vocal advocate for blood donation. Amidst the severe blood shortage in the Twin Cities, which continues to suffer from the spread of COVID-19, Hana is doing right and organizing a blood donation campaign for her birthday this year.

“I’ve donated five times–the first on my 16th birthday–and passed out every time,” she said. “In fact, It was because of the tests that the Red Cross runs on their blood donors that I discovered that I was anemic. An average person should have a blood iron level around 16 and mine was recorded at a three!” After finding out she was ineligible to donate herself, Hana finds herself even more motivated to bring an awareness to blood donation.

The spread of coronavirus has forced a decline in the number of blood drives and donors in the United States “This is actually no surprise, considering the nearly 60% of the US Blood supply comes from donors over 45,” Hana stated. “This means that while the demand for blood has remained the same, possibly even increasing, our ability to meet that demand is decreasing. So considering I was stuck in my house for my birthday, and unable to spend the day as I wanted, I figured that the next best thing I could do was to try to help someone else. I decided to set up the donation campaign through the Red Cross.” Read More

MPA Goes Virtual: Isak Dai

March 25, 2020

isak daiThis story series illustrates how our community is embracing, growing, and connecting through virtual learning together. Read on to see what MPA junior Isak Dai looks forward to as #MPAgoesvirtual!

While virtual learning may look and feel different than a regular school day, Isak breaks it down in a way that makes it feel very familiar, even away from campus–to him, virtual learning is “bundling up the work we do at school and doing it at home through the internet.”

“Before our current situation, we certainly were practicing some aspects of virtual learning by accessing online resources like Schoology, but now have been forced to take all of MPA online,” he said. “My hope is that through this challenge we can learn to take advantage of the many virtual learning resources at our disposal and take these lessons with us when we eventually return to school as usual.” Read More

When To Let Your Child Choose: Advice From A Parent In Making A School Decision

March 24, 2020

upper school students using makerspace whiteboard togetherYou are looking at school like Mounds Park Academy because you want the best for your child. You want your child to grow into a free spirit, a risk taker, a right maker, dreamer, and a doer. You want an independent thinker. Yet should your child, whom you have raised to be a respectful, decisive, critical thinker, make their own school choice? And what is your role, as the parent, in the school search process? This is a question that the Office of Admission is asked regularly.

Depending on the age and maturity of the child and the reason your family is changing schools, the continuum can range from a parent making the decision solo, to a combined decision making process, to the student selecting from the parent’s list of approved schools, to, in some cases, the student making the decision completely on their own. Where each family falls on this continuum is vastly different.

How Young Is Too Young?
Educational choices stick with a child for their entire life, so balancing the natural desire to provide a platform for your child’s input while knowing that what they decide has substantial implications on their future is critically important. The best parent-child partnerships blossom when both sides see this decision as a learning opportunity. Incorporating your child on this journey and welcoming them to contribute can be an incredible chance for them to develop maturity and show their growth. But as every child development expert will tell you, there’s a time and a place for a child’s choice, and there is a time when parents need to make the decision. Read More

MPA Goes Virtual: Kaija Kunze-Hoeg

March 20, 2020

Kaija Kunze at a volleyball gameThis story series illustrates how our community is embracing, growing, and connecting through virtual learning together. Read on to see what MPA sophomore Kaija Kunze-Hoeg looks forward to as #MPAgoesvirtual!

Kaija tells us that she is excited to try this new style of learning. “To me, virtual learning is a new, innovative take on what a classroom looks like,” she says. “I expect to have to learn to focus harder as I will have more things that can distract me when I am learning from home.”

Knowing this may be a challenge for her, Kaija is preparing to set up her workspace to help her stay on task and continue achieving academically. MPA recommends starting with a quiet, well-lit area with strong Internet connection and a clean, clear working space to continue joyful learning away from campus. “I am going to try to make my at-home ‘classroom’ pretty close to what it would be at school so I can feel more engaged in my classwork,” she says. “I will use a desk, but it will just be more cozy.” Read More

Lower School Virtual Learning Update

March 19, 2020

lower school student working on a laptopby Renee Wright, Lower School director

Over the weekend, you learned that our campus will be closed until at least Friday, March 27, in alignment with Governor Walz’s order. Since then, social distancing protocols have been put into place, restaurants, coffee shops, shopping malls, and many other businesses have closed. All of these sudden changes are likely causing concern and anxiety for you and your children. It is comforting to know that these decisions are meant to protect the well-being of our entire community and that learning will continue in new and exciting ways, due to the innovative technology we have available to us.

On Tuesday, March 24, we will begin to learn virtually in Lower School—this will allow students to experience continued instruction and community connection on a daily basis. Schoology will be your go-to source of information. You will receive a post by 8 AM each day from your child’s homeroom teacher with lessons, assignments, activities—some will be recorded videos and some will be independent work. You will also receive regular posts of a similar nature from your child’s specialists. We know that it is important for teachers and students to stay connected and they will also do that through “real-time” sessions according to the schedule below. We have learned from other schools that in Lower School it is very important to start simply and to partner with parents to manage the workload, knowing that many of you will be working from home as well. We are working hard to strike the right balance in Lower School and will adjust the schedule below if needed. I hope you will plan ahead and help your child get set-up on a home device to ensure they are part of these.

We believe it is important for students to have a quiet, dedicated place to learn and to follow a consistent and predictable schedule each day. In Lower School, we want to avoid children spending their entire day on a device, so we will not be following their typical schedule. Depending on the grade level, your teacher may provide you with an adjusted schedule or you will be invited to establish your own. Either way, combining time working on assigned learning tasks and opportunities to play and be creative sans a device will be strongly encouraged—students learn so much from play! An emphasis will also be placed on spending time together as a family doing activities such as reading, playing games, cooking, and/or taking walks. These are all opportunities that create the emotional support young children need during this time. Read More