Lower School Archives

May 2, 2025

Mr. James Ewer will be joining us as Lower School director beginning July 1, 2025. Mr. Ewer brings with him a powerful blend of experience, conviction, and vision that will serve the Lower School—and the entire MPA community—exceptionally well. We are thrilled to introduce him to our community!

Tell us about your education and past experience.
For the past 14 years, I’ve dedicated my life to education—working across classrooms, leadership teams, and communities to create spaces where every child feels seen, challenged, and inspired. My journey has taken me from the front lines of teaching to the strategic work of school leadership, professional development, and instructional coaching. Along the way, I’ve led teams, reimagined systems, and built programs grounded in equity, joy, and high expectations.

I hold a master’s degree in school leadership from Harvard University, where I deepened my commitment to transformative, culturally responsive education. My work is rooted in the belief that education should be liberatory, and that the way we lead matters just as much as what we teach.

What did you find appealing about MPA?
This community feels truly special. From the moment I stepped in, there was a sense of warmth and honesty that stood out. People didn’t just share logistics or expectations—they shared their hopes and dreams. That openness, that willingness to be vulnerable and visionary at the same time, is what I felt most connected to. It reminded me that the heart of any thriving community isn’t just in its plans, but in the people who dare to imagine what’s possible together.
Read More

Navigating A Complex, Often Challenging Digital Landscape

May 1, 2025

from Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school

Looking for something to watch over spring break, I happened upon “Adolescence” on Netflix. Once I started watching it, I was hooked. Set in a northern English town, the series centers on 13-year-old Jamie Miller, who is arrested for the murder of a female classmate. The series delves deep into the psychological and social factors that could lead an ordinary teenager to commit such a heinous act. Rather than focusing on a traditional “whodunit” approach, “Adolescence” explores the “whydunit,” examining the influences of online radicalization, toxic masculinity, and societal neglect.

The four-part series is unsettling and deeply thought-provoking, shining a powerful light on some of the complex realities young people face today. While fictional, “Adolescence” captures an urgent truth: the internet is not just a place of harmless entertainment; it’s also shaping how young people see themselves, each other, and the world. “What struck me about the show is that it wasn’t really made for teens at all, but for us adults—to spark conversations about how easily young people can get lost in curated realities online,” said Dr. James Densley, MPA parent and internationally recognized criminologist, bestselling author, and thought leader on violence prevention. (James will be leading a discussion at MPA on Monday—see details below.)

One growing area of concern within the internet is the rise of the manosphere—a network of online spaces where young men and boys are often exposed to unhealthy, even harmful, ideas about masculinity, gender, and identity. What begins as advice about fitness, confidence, or success can quickly spiral into narratives that promote anger, blame, and misogyny. These messages are often hidden in gaming communities, social media influencers’ posts, and algorithm-driven content that adolescents encounter every day.

Music And The Brain

April 29, 2025

At Mounds Park Academy, music is much more than an extracurricular activity. It plays a vital part in a child’s cognitive and emotional development by engaging the brain in ways few other disciplines can. It sharpens memory, strengthens attention, and boosts language skills. But beyond academic growth, music also nurtures empathy, creativity, and social and emotional intelligence through composing, performing, or simply listening. This is why music plays an essential role in Mounds Park Academy’s whole child, progressive, college-preparatory curriculum, PreK through grade 12.

In a time when standardized testing is heavily emphasized and there are rising concerns about math and science scores within our nation, parents might question MPA’s emphasis on arts education. From the school’s founding, our curriculum has reflected an intentional balance between academics and the arts. Through new and emerging research, we now know they were correct.

Cognitive Benefits of Music Education

The Frontiers in Neuroscience article, “How Musical Training Affects Cognitive Development,” states that children exposed to musical training have better verbal memory, language pronunciation and accuracy, reading ability, and executive functions, because of how the brain processes sound. Nina Kraus, author of “Of Sound Mind,” said “People think of the hearing brain as being a silo within the brain. In fact, our hearing engages our cognitive, sensory, motor, and reward systems.” Music learning is so powerful because it engages every one of the above systems into a single activity. Kraus asks us to consider playing the violin. “To play the violin, a student coordinates their motor, cognitive, and sensory system to be able to put their fingers on the correct strings and move the bow at the right time; to read musical notes on a sheet of music and know what sounds they represent; and to hear if the pitches and rhythms are correct and coordinating with other players at the same time,” she goes on to say that this elicits a certain feeling from the student playing the music, which triggers the reward system within the brain. Engaging these different systems makes learning music one of the richest and deepest brain activities humans can perform. Simply put, “Teachers resoundingly tell me that children who participate in creating music do better in school,” Kraus states. Read More

Lower School Division News April 24, 2025

April 24, 2025

from Jennifer Le Varge, Lower School director

Mark Your Calendars

Tuesday, April 29: LS Quarterly Coffee, 8:15-9:30 AM, Martin Lenz Harrison Library
Tuesday, April 29: LS/MS Swim Team Awards, 3-4 PM, Family Commons
Thursday, May 1: MS/US Rising G5-9 Parent Meeting, 6-6:45 PM, MPA Campus
Thursday, May 1: MS Vocal Concert, 7-8:30 PM, Nicholson Center
Friday, May 2: New Family Panther Party, 4-5:30 PM, MPA Campus
Wednesday, May 7: LS CHAMP Assembly, 8:15-8:45 AM, Family Commons
Tuesday, May 8: LS Duty-Free Lunch with Parent Volunteers, 11:40 AM-12:40 PM, Playground and Family Commons
Wednesday, May 14: MPA PA Gender Inclusive School Parent and Ally Meeting, 6-8 PM, Family Commons and Panther Center

Spring fever has struck, and we’ve got some active kiddos here at school who are excited about being outdoors as much as possible. Read on for more updates, as we’ve got lots going on!

Express Yourself Friday: April 25
Our next Express Yourself Friday will be held on April 25!

Lower School CHAMP Updates
At our last CHAMP assembly on April 16, we launched our positive behavioral interventions with the students, along with a new CHAMP Challenge with emphasis on the CHAMP attributes of accountability and self-control. With the help and input of our first graders, we have determined that our expected CHAMP behaviors are:

Be Safe

Use safe hands and feet
Use whole body listening

Be Kind

Be mindful of voice levels
Honor all community members

Do Right

Be a first-time listener
Respect out classroom/school spaces

The students were presented with a CHAMP Challenge of showing the expected behaviors as much as possible over the next few weeks. Students will receive a CHAMP sticker when they demonstrate these behaviors and we will celebrate this positivity at our next CHAMP assembly from 8:15-9 AM on Wednesday, May 7.

Lower School Parent Coffee: Tuesday, April 29 (Library)
Our next Lower School Parent Coffee will be held in the Library on Tuesday, April 29 from 8:15-9:30 AM. We will host our special guest, Lower School parent Dr. Audrey Wells, who will share a snippet of her latest presentation on sleep and technology from the recent MPA Students and Screens initiative. We will also engage in a mini workshop about the lower school positive behavior initiative and go over some positive ways to end the year and look forward to a productive summer. We hope to see you there!

Lower School MAP Assessments for Grades 2-4: April 28-May 9
Spring MAP assessments will be held on April 28-May 9 for our students in Grades 2-4.

Lower School FastBridge Assessments for K and Grade 1: May 12-23
Spring FastBridge assessments will be held from May 12-23 for our students in Kindergarten through grade 1.

Nurturing Cross-Age Connections

April 23, 2025

from Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school

When I’m asked what I love most about my job, the answer comes instantly: the kids! Their joy, curiosity, and kindness infuse every corner of our campus and every moment of the school day. One of the greatest sources of that joy is the cross-age relationships we nurture here at MPA. Whether it’s a simple high-five between students passing in the hallway, Upper Schoolers reading with Lower Schoolers, or a schoolwide Pairing Assembly, these moments—both intentional and spontaneous—are among the most meaningful parts of life at a PreK–12 school under one roof.

This week’s Earth Day Pairing Assembly beautifully reflected two of our school’s guiding values: our responsibility to care for the planet and our deep belief in the power of connection across ages and stages. In so many ways, this event captured the heart of what it means to dream big and do right—to imagine a better world and then work together to bring it to life.

Earth Day is a moment to pause, reflect, and recommit to the well-being of our planet. But at MPA, it’s more than a moment. It’s a mindset. Our curriculum, our projects, and our partnerships all reflect our commitment to sustainability, stewardship, and preparing students to thrive in an interconnected world. Read More

Teaching And Learning

April 22, 2025

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the April 22 issue of Inside MPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

A few weeks ago, we shared the first video in our Head Of School Conversation series featuring both Dr. Bill Hudson and Dr. Lori-Anne Brogdon. They continue to work together closely as the head of school transition approaches in July, and we’re thrilled to share the second video in the series where they candidly talk about their work together.

Watch “A Head Of School Conversation: Teaching And Learning” here >

Set in the Makerspace, they cover the importance of curiosity, rigor with purpose, independent thinking, innovation, learning by doing, supportive teachers, and dreaming big.

“I think about soft skills that are now the necessary skills, and we talk a lot about challenge, and being able to fail, and being able to get picked back up again by those who are around you or even yourself,” says Dr. Brogdon. “We’re not willing to explore things that might seem scary or challenging if we don’t know somebody’s going to be around or that we have the stamina within us that someone has helped us to develop to move forward.” Read More

MPA Students Selected For Youth Art Month Student Exhibit

April 17, 2025

The MPA Art Department is very excited to share that several students were selected to participate in the 2025 MN Youth Art Month Student Exhibition! MPA is well represented in the exhibition by these Lower, Middle, and Upper School artists:

Andrew ’35
Maya ’33
Luke ’33
Evie P. ’31
Devin W. ’31
Ella B. ’31
Jenny Liao ’28
Grace Nelson ’26

With special congratulations going to our award winners:

First Place Elementary Flag Design: Ashlyn ’33
Second Place Elementary Division: Tillie ’34
Best in Show: Earl Martin ’25

The exhibit is presented by Art Educators of Minnesota and is sponsored by Blick Art Materials. We are so proud of the MPA representatives! Click here to see all the artwork of our participants.

Take A Journey Down The Yellow Brick Road

April 17, 2025

from Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school

There’s a special kind of magic that fills our school in the weeks leading up to the spring musical. Laughter rings through the Nicholson Center, lines are rehearsed in quiet corners, musicians fine-tune their performance, and sets begin to take shape. That energy is alive and well this year as we prepare for our reimagined production of “The Wizard of Oz“—a performance that reflects not just creativity, but the heart of an MPA education.

This year, 56 students from grades seven through 12 are involved in the production as cast members, crew, and orchestra musicians. And it’s not just our seasoned theatre students who are participating. Among them are athletes, musicians, first-time performers, and students who joined simply because a friend encouraged them or because they were curious. They come from different friend groups, different grades, and different backgrounds, but theatre brings them together in a way that is powerful and transformative.

As director James Lekatz shared, “The most powerful gift theater gives is the incredible strength to create community. These students aren’t in the same friend groups, but they are coming together for this production. The audience is made up of friends, family, and strangers, coming together for one night to support students doing incredible things. Theater brings people together to experience a brief moment together.” Read More

A Celebration Of Our Community’s Cultures

April 15, 2025

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the April 16 issue of Inside MPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

Last week, our community celebrated Cultural Celebration Day with a school-wide festival of cross-divisional activities, art, music, traditions, cuisine, and more.

The Family Commons was transformed not only into an exhibition of our community’s many cultures and heritages but also into a space for West African drum lessons, Myanmar’s New Year Festival dance, handmaking Chinese paper lanterns and Tibetan prayer flags, designing Henna body art, and learning the steps to Bhangra, an Indian folk dance. Passports in hand, visitors browsed station upon station, meeting a different person sharing their culture at each one. From Egypt to Italy and Thailand to France, we listened, we learned, and we became closer to one another through this special type of sharing that we value so deeply at MPA.

The strong sense of belonging at MPA fosters not only a welcoming and inclusive space for students and their families, but also encourages lifelong learning rooted in joy and curiosity. Cultural Celebration Day is just one example of our school being filled with the sound of laughter, music, and wonder. Read More

Cultures Come Together, Celebrate

April 10, 2025

On Wednesday, April 9, the Parents Association hosted Cultural Celebration Day, an evening celebrating the diversity of backgrounds at MPA with food, music, dance, and community.

Some of the highlights of the event were beautiful dance performances by MPA parents and students, colorfully decorated tables set up by the hosts sharing their cultures and cuisines, the ever-popular henna artist, Bilkis, Boba by Treats, and a West African drum workshop. It was wonderful to experience the energy and engagement of community members. We hope to see you all next year!

A big thank you to the Cultural Celebration Day Planning Committee, cultural booth hosts, MPA staff, MPA student hosts, and event volunteers, who all helped make this event successful.