Lower School

January 15, 2020

Mounds Park Academy’s service-learning process and partnership with Kowalski’s Market is making an impact! It all began when MPA kindergartners learned the letter “T” for “turtles.” They discovered that sea turtles are dying by mistaking plastic bags in their ocean habitat for food. Then, they learned the word “activist” for the letter “A.” Through responsibility, courage, and inclusiveness, they joined the Upper School students at a weekly morning meeting to message ways to save sea turtles. The kindergartners also composed a letter to Kris Kowalski, owner of Kowalski’s Market, expressing their concern around plastic bags.

In their letter, the kindergartners acknowledged positive things Kowalski’s Market is already doing to make a difference in the community. Kowalski’s displays signage in their parking lots reminding customers to bring their reusable bags from the car, and they give five cents back to the customer for each reusable bag. Kris responded to the students’ letters, sharing more helpful information about their cause. The students learned more about consumer choices and individual responsibility for taking care of our environment. She included the Kowalski’s “Breakdown of the Bags” to help them be informed consumers.

MPA students develop academic, social, and life skills through the design thinking process. Therefore, the kindergarten class decided to make their reusable grocery bags in the Makerspace to be sold Kowalski’s Market. As the first step, kindergartners saw several prototype canvas bags and shared observations about the value in each bag. They carefully looked at the designs and sizes to determine which would be best for the consumer. After being donated canvas fabric and materials, they were ready to begin making their bags! Read More

January 2, 2020

Empowering Students To Understand Stress And Navigate Anxiety
Feeling frightened has infiltrated everyday life. As a society, we worry about the future, and are unsettled about the unknowns. We’re stressed and we’re scared, with anxiety showing up among people of all ages.

While anxiety is increasingly common, learning how to manage—and even embrace—difficult emotions helps build resilience while cultivating individual and interpersonal skills. At Mounds Park Academy, Dr. Jules Nolan works with faculty, students, and parents to help families understand what stress means in context of overall well-being. As a licensed, nationally certified school psychologist and president of Minnesota’s association of school psychologists, Dr. Nolan brings expertise in child and adolescent mental health, behavioral issues, school performance, learning issues, and effective teaching and parenting strategies.

“We are seeing a spike in student anxiety (nationwide), driven by three key factors,” she explains. “One factor is that we have more sophisticated tools to diagnose anxiety. So, while the prevalence can seem greater, it’s tied to a better understanding of what anxiety is and what makes it different from other conditions. At the same time, we are seeing circumstances where anxiety is over-diagnosed. For example, in any given population we would expect one to three percent of people to meet criteria for generalized anxiety. However, in some schools we’re seeing as many as 20 to 25 percent of students with that diagnosis. The third, and perhaps most influential factor, is that our society often has a hard time grappling with stress and anxiety, and by trying to push it away, we are actually making it more difficult for children to develop coping skills.” Read More