February 7, 2019
We hope you are excited about the wonderful opportunities coming to the facility for students PreK-12! If you haven’t heard, please click here to learn more!
To make way for this progress, Panther Club will be moving to room 150 (former i-Lab) starting next Monday, February 11. This room can be found by walking down the main hallway to the end, taking a right at the “T,” and entering the fifth door on your right. Signage will be posted for your convenience. Read More
February 7, 2019
See our community’s hard work come to life at Maker Fest in the AnnMarie Thomas Makerspace on Saturday, February 23 from 1-3 PM. Anyone is welcome to attend as a spectator. No RSVP is necessary! Participation is open to everyone in our community—students, parents, grandparents, alumni, parents of alumni, faculty, staff, and more–showcasing a variety of skills, crafts, inventions, and activities.
Maker Fest is the perfect opportunity to “show and tell” something that you have created and share your accomplishments. If you have questions, please contact Ms. Koen, Makerspace coordinator, at nkoen@moundsparkacademy.org.
Together, We’ll Meet The Changing Needs
February 7, 2019
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
We are fortunate to live in an older neighborhood in Minneapolis. Our house, built in 1915, is more than 100 years old and has a warm, comfortable feel to it. However, with two parents, two children, two dogs, and aging parents, we made the decision several years ago to add on a new kitchen, a bathroom on the first floor, and a family room in the basement. The old kitchen was so small that I could touch the counter and cupboards on one side and easily touch the sink and counter on the other side. Cozy doesn’t quite capture the feeling of what it was like to cook in that small space and it limited what we were able to prepare and serve for our family and loved ones.
We love our house and can’t imagine living anywhere else. However, as our family evolved, our needs did too. We needed to change how we lived. Schools are like that too. Over time, our vision of education changes and the needs of our students emerge in ways that cause us to outgrow the spaces that served us so well for so long. Mounds Park Academy is no exception. Throughout the history of the school, we have renovated and added on to the original building constructed in 1958 to better meet the changing needs of our students. Read More
Be Part Of A Wonderful Tradition
February 7, 2019
Please sign-up to volunteer
and help make this year’s Book Festival a success! Lots of helpers are needed to put together this wonderful annual tradition at MPA. The goal of Book Festival is to promote the joy of reading, and the MPA Parents Association invites you to come enjoy the many activities offered during Book Festival week, February 25-28!
February 25-28
Bookstore in the Gallery & Used Book Sales During Lunch
Used, donated books will be for sale outside the cafeteria during lunch. All books are $0.25 each!
February 28, 3-6:30 PM
Book Festival Family Night
Lots of activities, games, and crafts in the Makerspace, plus the bookstore and dinner.
If you have any questions or want to get involved, contact Seema Anwar at seema_anwar@hotmail.com.
Social Media: Online And On Edge
January 31, 2019
by Jenn Milam, Ph.D., Middle School Director, Mounds Park Academy
Just last week I had the privilege of sitting among fellow Middle School parents to hear a presentation prepared and expertly delivered by Ms. Mohn’s Upper School women’s literature students about the power and dangers of online vulnerability that exist in and through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and any number of newly emerging applications. This parent education session serendipitously followed my attending a screening of the new film, “LIKE: A Documentary About the Impact of Social Media on our Lives,” with my family just a few days before.
What is clear to me as I write this piece is that now, more than ever, we must have open, honest, informed, and critical conversations surrounding not only how we (yes, you and I) and our children are using social media; but more, how it is using us. While online interactions in these virtual worlds may seem somewhat disconnected from reality, make no mistake the influence of the social connections, comments, tweets, direct messages, chats, and images that are exchanged online spill over into the very fiber of our daily lives, and into our beings as humans.
It is present each day that the Middle School students walk through the halls at MPA, when they play basketball afterschool, and attend Quiz Bowl tournaments on the weekend. It’s likely present in Lower School students’ experiences as they attend birthday parties and playdates and parents post pictures with captions on Facebook. And, yes, in Upper Schoolers’ interactions as they navigate college acceptances, celebrations, personal life moments, and social dynamics and move into adulthood.
Does this seem overwhelming? If you answered yes, you are not alone. The good news is, we can change our behavior and therefore, change the impact that social media has on our lives and those of our children. Read More
January 31, 2019
Friday, February 1 is Free Food For Thought Friday at MPA! This is a wonderful opportunity for students who normally don’t take hot lunch or who haven’t for a while, to try MPA’s program.
A MESSAGE FROM SAGE: SAGE is excited to partner with Mounds Park Academy for this fun event! Come and enjoy lunch on us! We know you’ll love the selections we have to offer. That day features a crowd favorite—house-baked chicken tenders, quesadillas, and brown sugar sweet potatoes. You’ll also find a build-your-own California Cobb salad, creamy baked mac and cheese, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and much more. Our team will be proud to serve you. Come and experience the passion and care that goes into every meal we create here at Mounds Park Academy!
Read More
Choosing A School Path That Inspires
January 25, 2019
There are so many things to think about when you’re raising a child, but there are few things more important than their education. A child’s educational journey only happens once, so it’s important to guide them down the path that is right for them.
For many, a private school education is the right choice because of the personalized attention students receive. Complementing the academic experience, many private schools teach students to be responsible community members and encourage them to make a positive impact on the world.
A strong focus on each child’s unique abilities
At Mounds Park Academy, our focus on every child’s individuality is one of the things that makes us so unique. We embrace every child, celebrate their differences, and help guide them to discover who they are truly meant to be. Teachers are not bound by test- score data as the sole measure of a student’s abilities, so they have more freedom and flexibility to accommodate individual students’ needs. Small class sizes allow teachers to better evaluate their students’ academic and personal strengths and challenges. Teachers engage with students every day in ways that help them thrive. Read More
January 24, 2019
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
Last week, a new lunch group was launched in the Middle School. Seventh and eighth grade girls were invited to participate in a “Girl Power Friendship Group” over the course of eight weeks. During lunch, Middle School girls are coming together to learn about how to navigate difficult emotions, confidently communicate with others, and build strong friendships. The new group, under the guidance of Ashley Cooper, Middle and Upper School counselor, and Aria Fiat, Ph.D. candidate from the University of Minnesota, is a proactive way to address the social, emotional, and mental health challenges that appear developmentally in adolescent girls.
Just last week in my head’s message, I reiterated a vision of MPA that reframes the understanding of “whole-child for whole-life.” Such an education is collaborative, experiential, and interdisciplinary, which values the assessments of broader aims—those skills, dispositions, and mindsets most necessary to live, learn, and thrive in today’s 21st century globalized society. A crucial aspect of which is the social, emotional, and mental health of our students. Read More
Strategic Planning From The Board’s Perspective
January 24, 2019
by Brent Peacock, Chair of the MPA Board of Trustees
In 2015, MPA launched an extensive, highly collaborative, strategic planning process. The process, which was initiated, designed and driven by a task force of the Board of Trustees and Head of School, involved and engaged 64 stakeholders from across the school community, including leadership, faculty, staff, families and, critically, students. The process was grounded in the mission and values of the school and was designed to be collaborative, comprehensive, transparent, and inclusive. It provided both a compass and a blueprint to make informed decisions in order to respond, anticipate, and proactively plan for changes and challenges ahead. Not only did the process produce a strong 5-year strategic plan (Momentum 2020), it also built trust and partnerships among its wide array of stakeholders. Read More
Maker Fest 2019: Meet Michelle Mick
January 24, 2019
We’re interviewing the Makers you’ll meet at at Maker Fest 2019 on Saturday, February 23 so you can get to know them ahead of time! If reading about Michelle’s work has inspired you to share your own, sign up here to be a Maker yourself!
What (or who) inspires you to make?
Having had a brain tumor that compromises my ability to do certain things, I find that having been told I am completely impractical–and now being able to function normally–I have an inner strength to try my hand at things that I have been told I can’t do or am no good at. I am inspired by bending down in the garden, in a parking lot, or wherever, and seeing this beautiful nature all around us. It could be as simple as this morning, with a few snow flakes coming down, and seeing them one by one land on our black truck, absolutely amazingly perfect. Or it could be sitting in the garden listening to the hum drum of the bugs in the middle of summer, and having a butterfly come and land on me and stay there for half an hour or so, or chatting with a tame blue jay!
What do you enjoy making?
I started by trying to paint butterflies on rocks, having read about the village members in Mexico selling rocks to tourists, to try and raise awareness of the Monarch butterfly. I donated the money that I raised to the Monarch lab at the U of M, and branched out by painting a swallowtail, caterpillars, hearts, you name it! I recently did a project for an MPA staff member, painting rocks and sayings, which was such an amazing thoughtful gift from the staff member to friends. Read More