Middle School Archives

Middle School Division News January 11, 2024

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

December 22, 2023

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

December 19, 2023

This 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!

RSVP Today

How We Learn

The Admission Process

We’re Using Robots to Build Kids—With Your Help

December 15, 2023

It’s been 35 years since I graduated from Mounds Park Academy. Had you asked me then, I would never in a million years have predicted my eventual return as both a parent of a senior and, equally incredibly, as a mentor for the school’s FIRST® robotics competition (FRC) Team 3926, the MPArors.

How I came to mentor robotics is a long story. But it’s so much fun, full of energy, intensity, and camaraderie. I’ve watched in real-time as students grow in confidence and leadership. “We’re using robots to build kids” is how FIRST founder Dean Kamen once described it. While the team wisely keeps me away from actually building the robot, I mentor a lot of the other team’s activities: community outreach, public engagement through social media, preparing for regional competitions, fostering inclusivity in STEM, and raising funds to pay for it all.

It turns out that running an FRC team isn’t cheap! Last year’s expenses included $16,000 in robot supplies, $8,000 in registration fees for two competitions, and $14,000 in travel-related costs. The team also has to regularly update aging tools and equipment.

This is our busiest time of the year for fundraising, and I’m touched by all the generous alumni who have supported robotics at MPA. Did you know that roughly half of the team’s funds come from individual donors? We are so grateful that you have helped us start the season strong.

However, there is still a ways to go before we meet our financial goal. So, this giving season, I’m reaching out to my fellow alumni to ask for your help. Perhaps you yourself were part of the robotics team, or (like me) wished the team had existed when you were a student at MPA. Or maybe you simply appreciate the profound impact that FIRST® Robotics has on our kids.

We’d love to hear from anyone interested in supporting the team – or is able to introduce us to potential new business or corporate sponsors (who make up more than 40% of our funding). Learn more at www.team3926.org or the QR code below, or call (651) 777-2555 x462.

Thank you! Go MPArors!

Sirid Kellerman ’88

The Good Fight

December 14, 2023

from Jennifer Le Varge, Lower School director

Editor’s Note: Periodically, you will find a guest Head’s Message here from members of the administrative team. We hope you will enjoy reading their thoughts and reflections about life at MPA.

Many years ago, near the start of my career when I was teaching in Lebanon, I worked with a wonderful human who became my mentor. Sadly, they recently passed away. In June of this year after yet another move to another new place—this time from Luanda, Angola to Beirut, Lebanon to St. Paul, Minnesota—I opened the cover of the book “Making Thinking Visible” found in a battered cardboard moving box, where this mentor had scrawled in blue cursive letters:

Jennifer—
keep fighting the good fight.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I was fortunate to join colleagues and student diversity leaders from Mounds Park Academy, alongside 8,500 other participants at the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference (PoCC) in St. Louis. The theme of the conference was “Gateways to Freedom: A Confluence of Truth, Knowledge, Joy and Power.” As a first timer at PoCC, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I know that my experience was like no other professional learning opportunity I have encountered.

Firstly, this was not just any conference. Long-time attendees lovingly call PoCC the “family reunion,” and it truly felt like it even as a first timer. Since 1986, this annual gathering of like-minded yet diverse educators holds space for participants to fully see others and to feel seen in a real way. In a non-judgmental way. In a more genuine way than some of us might encounter in our daily lives and in our schools. I had the chance to attend various leadership sessions with a focus on people of color, hear from world-famous yet down-to-earth keynote presenters, laugh and learn with the Latinx affinity group, and lend my voice to the volunteer choir. As I reflect on my PoCC journey, certain themes come to the fore, which I share here in the spirit of collaboration. Read More

Middle School Division News December 14, 2023

December 14, 2023

from Jenn Milam, Middle School director

Mark Your Calendars

Friday, January 12: Class of 2028 Parent Coffee, 8-9 AM, PCR
Thursday, December 14: Middle School (Grades 6-8) Band, Orchestra and Choir Concert, 7 PM
Tuesday, December 19: Class of 2028 Parent Coffee, 6:30-7:30 PM, PCR
Wednesday, December 20: 5/6 Feed My Starving Children/Bowling Field Trip
Thursday, December 21-Tuesday, January 2: No Classes, Winter Break
Wednesday, January 3: Classes Resume

As we count down the days to winter break, it is important to remember that not all of us, even our own children, look forward to two weeks away from the routine, structure, support, and friendships. This can be a good time to pause and check in with your student (and yourself!) to ensure you’re managing stress, expectations, and change healthily. As young people begin to anticipate a change in routine, it’s not uncommon for them to become more restless, anxious, or stressed. There may also be increased feelings of grief and sadness, particularly for those who lost a loved one or experienced big life changes over the past year. Read More

Parents Association News and Events December 14, 2023

December 14, 2023

Thank You!
Thank you to all MPA community members who volunteered to wrap gifts for MPA staff on December 11. This is a beloved tradition at MPA where volunteers wrap the personal gifts of MPA Faculty and Staff, giving them the gift of time during the Holiday season. This Monday, we wrapped 229 gifts for 25 staff members! We took 0 lunch breaks and had 0 reported paper cuts. It was quite a day! Thank you again from Tara and the MPA PA!

Book Festival Success
Last week, during the 2023 Book Festival, the MPA community celebrated our love of literature in a big way! We raised money for the library, supported student literacy, and discussed so many wonderful books with each other. Thank you to our community for participating in this effort, and we would like to extend a huge thank you to our amazing volunteers who helped make the MPA Book Festival a success.

Dr. Hudson’s Book Club
February 12 at 6 PM
One more announcement for our parent readers! Dr. Hudson’s Book Club will return to the MPA Library on February 12 at 6 PM. We will be reading The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James Baldwin. Childcare will be provided. Sign up here to get your copy of the book.

Nominations Sought for School Committees and Board of Trustees

December 13, 2023

Each year, the Governance Committee of MPA’s Board of Trustees identifies, considers, and invites a small number of people within the MPA community to become new trustees. In soliciting and evaluating nominees, the Board seeks to match the board’s needs with the nominees’ professional and leadership skills and broad personal, cultural, and experience backgrounds. Before becoming trustees, many members first served in various capacities at MPA, such as on school committees, committees of the Board, in the Parents Association, or in other volunteer positions where they have been able to demonstrate and share their capabilities, personal experiences, and leadership skills.

The Board continuously seeks to broaden the diversity of experience and background of its membership. In addition, this year, it seeks to identify, among other things, those with professional capabilities in development, facilities, the arts, HR and personnel management, finance, education, and strategic planning. If you know someone who might be a strong candidate for the board or other school committees, or if you are interested, please submit a simple nomination form. The Governance Committee of the Board will be reviewing and vetting nominations during January and February and bringing a slate of candidates to the full Board for consideration at its spring meeting.

A detailed explanation of the Board’s work and a description of the Board’s active committee’s work can be found on the Board of Trustees MPA webpage.

Feel free to contact Board Vice-Chair and Governance Committee Chair Jeremy Drucker ’97 at Drucker.Jeremy@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Please complete this form to nominate yourself or someone else.

Transformative Initiatives And Compassionate Support

December 11, 2023

As Mounds Park Academy continues its commitment to providing a holistic and supportive learning environment, the recent addition of Jeanne Doyle as our Lower School Counselor brings forth a wealth of experience and fresh perspectives. In a recent interview, we explore Jeanne’s initial impressions of MPA, her unique insights, and the innovative programs she has introduced to enhance the Lower School experience.

In your experience, how is MPA different from other organizations you’ve worked for?

“One amazing, unique quality I noticed about Mounds Park Academy right away is that Dr. Hudson truly knows every child’s name! He knows and cares about each student and each MPA family. His love for the children is so genuine. If I were a parent of a child at MPA, this depth of care from the top would be so reassuring to me. As a counselor, I appreciate that feeling seen, known, and loved can foster a strong sense of self-worth in children. Everyone wants to belong in their community. This level of care is echoed throughout the teaching faculty and the staff at MPA, and that is truly a hallmark of our school. Read More

The Evolution of Digital Environments

December 7, 2023

from Bill Hudson, head of school

Next week, MPA will celebrate “Hour of Code,” an international movement of schools dedicating one hour to coding activities for students to introduce them to computer science. Instead of just one hour, MPA will dedicate the entire week of December 11-15 to activities designed to de-mystify “code” and demonstrate how anyone can learn the basics. The idea came from our Technology and Innovation Committee, comprised of our technology team and teachers from all divisions who meet regularly to better leverage technology to advance and enhance student learning and prepare students for college and life.

In keeping with our mission and values, technology is a critical aspect of a college-prep, progressive education that centers hands-on, experiential learning at the core of all we do. At MPA, our philosophy is that since technology surrounds us, its knowledge and skills are best learned through active participation. Our charge is to prepare our students to meet the challenges of this continually evolving digital environment with new ideas and new ways to use it that are spiraled throughout our curriculum.

I recently came across a quote that said that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t yet been invented. In a world of disruptive technological change with ever more rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence, I believe there is an urgent need for what Mike Walsh, CEO of Tomorrow, calls “citizen developers,” those who will be able to design work even if they lack formal programming skills. Likewise, director of academic technology Michael Moran shares, “By no means do we expect our students to become computer programmers; however, it’s our responsibility as educators to approach computer science and coding as a literacy.” Read More