Middle School Division News January 11, 2024

from Dr. Jenn Milam, Middle School director

Mark your Calendars

  • Friday, January 12: US Class of 2028 Parent Coffee, 8-9 AM, PCR
  • Monday, January 15: Indexed Tuition Re-Application Deadline
  • Monday, January 15: No Classes, Martin Luther King Day
  • Thursday, January 18: MS Grade 7/8 BIPOC Affinity Group, 2:20-3 PM, Panther Center
  • Friday, January 19: MS/US End of Quarter 2
  • Saturday, January 20: Minnesota State Future Cities Competition, Dakota County Technical College
  • Monday, January 22: No Classes, Professional Day
  • Thursday, January 25: MS Grade 5 Music Share, 2:20-3 PM, Recital Hall
  • Thursday, February 8: Middle School Snow Tubing, Badlands SnoPark (Wisconsin)
  • Friday, February 9: No LS/MS Classes, Conferences
  • Friday, February 9: LS/MS Conferences, 8 AM-5 PM
  • Thursday, February 15: LS/MS Evening Conferences, 3:30-8 PM
  • Friday, February 16: No Classes, Professional Development (Panther Care Closed)
  • Monday, February 19: No Classes, Presidents’ Day

HAPPY 2024! I hope this finds you having had a wonderful winter break with lots of rest, fun, and time with those you love the most! I also hope that 2024 presents you with a fresh start, a renewed energy, and a centeredness that can feel so elusive after the hurried holiday season. While it can be tempting to set lofty goals toward self-improvement and milestone attainment, I encourage you to be kind to yourself and search instead for peace, contentment, comfort, and fun! Catherine Price, author of The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again, writes, “If we want to be sure to save enough of our time and attention for the things that matter to us the most, we need to know what those things are—and create space for them” (p. 170).

When so much of the world is in flux of some kind, and there are indeed many transitions ahead for our division, my wish for 2024 is that we do our best to stay focused on the important things, to care for one another, and to follow the K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, silly!) method for making space for things that matter most to each of us.

Middle School Office Staffing, Reminders, and Updates! 
With the departure of Mrs. Lassonde, Ms. Meras and I will be managing the divisional office tasks, duties, and day-to-day activities. If you need to report an absence, we request that you email MSOffice@moundsparkacademy.org. If it is urgent, please email either of us individually (pmeras@moundsparkacademy.org) and (jmilam@moundsparkacademy.org) and we will get it ASAP. As a reminder, the office phone number is (651) 748-5565.

Additionally, if you or someone you know loves middle schoolers, a dynamic work environment, and is yearning to be a part of a great team, we would love it if you would share our Middle School Assistant job posting here.

Priority review of applications will begin on January 12! Thanks for your support, kindness, and for sharing in your networks! Read More


A Makerspace Twist On National Novel Writing Month

One of the most memorable seventh-grade traditions at MPA is completing NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is a national effort where participants write a novel throughout November. “It’s one of my favorite units to teach,” said Maddy Wolfe ‘12, seventh-grade English teacher at MPA. “They create well-rounded characters, complex story worlds, and a plot laced with tension, all while learning and incorporating language rules and mechanics.”

This year, in addition to their novels, the seventh graders created 3D frames depicting a scene from their stories. They chose a scene from their novel to highlight, and they needed to define the details that make up the scene in its entirety, translated onto a foreground, midground, and background.

“We used a multi-plane camera process—an old-fashioned way of creating 3D space by painting on glass frames as in the early King Kong movie—to create the illusion of space,” commented Keith Braafladt, MPA’s Makerspace coordinator. “It was a surprise how interested and passionate the students were, especially in terms of using color and painting techniques with paint markers, which is a painting tool we just started using last year with our Gunpla model-making activity. The students had so much more control than learning to use a brush in small spaces.”

When the models are held up to a projector, a 3D image is projected onto the wall behind.
“They turned out really incredible!” said Ms. Wolfe. “Their scenes included so many details from their novels, and it was cool to watch their visions come to life.”

“It was a wonderful collaboration using digital fabrication tools to make the frames and the transparencies using a historical perspective technique that came from filmmaking and animation and building this all around the notion of the creation of the narrative for the students’ novels,” commented Mr. Braafladt.

See photos from this exceptional project here.


A Day In The Life Of An MPA Student

Two students working togetherThis message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the December 20, 2023 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

What is a day in the life of an MPA student? What do they learn? Where do they study? How do they feel?

To answer all of the above and more, we invite you to join us for the opportunity for to experience life at MPA. Our PreK-12 Preview on January 25, from 8:30-10 AM, gives an inside look at MPA on a school day. This is the perfect opportunity for your family to see yourselves here at MPA. Experience the comfy, cozy library spaces, the Makerspace as bright as your ideas, and the wide-open, welcoming Lansing Center. Your family will be led on a tour by community members and experience delightful surprises that make MPA so special along the way. In addition to exploring our state-of-the-art spaces firsthand, you will also meet the people who make our community the family that it is.

At the Preview, you will discover something remarkable–the type of learning that MPA students do each day. If you have any questions, contact the Office of Admission at 651-748-5577 or admission@moundsparkacademy.org. We hope to see you there!