Upper School

Upper School Division News, September 7, 2023

September 7, 2023

from Mark Segal, Upper School director

Looking Ahead

  • Friday, September 8: Make-Up Picture Day (for those who were not photographed at Back To School Night)
    •  Ice Cream Social, 3 PM, South Lawn
  • Wednesday, September 13: Upper School Student Club and Organization Fair
  • Thursday, September 14: Curriculum Night, 6-8 PM, MPA
  • Thursday, September 21: Senior Performances, 8-9:15 AM, Recital Hall
  • Monday, September 25: No Classes, Yom Kippur
  • Tuesday–Saturday, September 26-September 30: MPA Homecoming Week
  • Friday, September 29: All School Homecoming Assembly, 2:20-3 PM, Lansing Sport Center
    • Upper School Student BBQ and Bonfire, 5-8 PM, Benz Courtyard
  • Saturday, September 30: Homecoming Events @ MPA
    • Upper School Homecoming Dance, 8-11 PM, Upper School Commons
  • Tuesday, October 3: Senior Performances, 8-9:15 AM, Recital Hall
  • Wednesday, October 4: Class of 2024 Cum Laude Society Inductions, 7:30-8 AM, Recital Hall
  • Thursday, October 5: PA Upper School Parent Quarterly Coffee, 8-9:30 AM, PCR
  • Friday, October 6: Picture Retake Day
    • Senior Retreat & Dinner, 8-6:30 PM, Off Campus and MPA
  • Monday, October 9: No Classes, Indigenous Peoples’ Day
  • Wednesday, October 11: Grade 10 & 11 PSAT Testing
  • Thursday, October 12: All School Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-8 PM, MPA
  • Friday, October 13: No Classes, Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences, 8-5 PM, MPA

Earlier this week, I walked into a darkened first block Upper School classroom where the students sat silently. I was on “a mission” to deliver an item forgotten in a parent’s car at drop-off, and my interruption temporarily distracted the class from the task at hand—settling in for the day and the classes that lay ahead. The faculty member easily recentered the students and asked them to focus on the noises that they hear; conspicuous or inconspicuous. As a visitor to the classroom, I silently participated in this activity. I heard a door creak, a student shuffle in their chair, a locker close, and the shallow breathing of the student seated in front of me. Read More

Parents Association News and Events, September 7, 2023

September 7, 2023

Welcome to the PA, Panther Parents! Our goal is to enrich the MPA experience through community building, continuing traditions, supporting faculty and staff, and acting as a resource for all families. All MPA families are members of the Parent’s Association, and we would love to see you attend or volunteer at one of our events. We offer activities across all levels of the school community, and we want to connect with you. If you’re interested in learning more about what we have to offer, please email, PA@moundsparkacademy.org.

Upcoming Events
September 8: PA Board Meeting, 8:30 AM, PA Room at MPA
September 28: MS Coffee Talk, 8:15 AM, Porter Conference Room
October 9-13: Staff Appreciation, donation and volunteer sign-up coming soon!

Make Plans for Friday’s Ice Cream Social!

August 31, 2023

Friday, September
3-4 PM
South Lawn

Let’s celebrate the start of an incredible year! Make plans to join us for a beloved MPA tradition, the Ice Cream Social! This is an all-school opportunity to connect with one another, enjoy a sweet treat, and meet our new families.

Details:

  1. A sundae bar with all of the fixings will be available for students and their families. All of the sundae bar items will be peanut and tree nut free and provided by SAGE.
  2. JonnyPops Organic Freezer Pops will be available at a separate station for food-allergic students. This should be safe for all MPA students, but it is not guaranteed. Ingredients will be available for review by parents or can be found at the link above.
  3. All Lower and Middle School students must be directly supervised by an adult. No Lower or Middle School student will be allowed to have a treat unless they have an adult with them.
  4. Because any frozen treat could be messy on a bus, bus riders will be sent home with an allergy-friendly pre-packaged Enjoy Life cookie.
  5. All students at Panther Club and Panther Den will be taken outside for a treat and supervised accordingly by Panther staff.

If you have any questions, please contact communications@moundsparkacademy.org. See you there!

Welcome Home To MPA

August 31, 2023

from Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school

The new school year is off to a terrific start! To new families, welcome to the MPA family, and I look forward to getting to know you. To returning families, welcome back. Seeing how students have grown and matured in just a few short months is wonderful.

My spirits soared on Tuesday by the enthusiasm and energy of the first official day of school. When I arrived at school around 6:15 AM, I was surprised by the number of cars parked in the north lot. I quickly remembered that our seniors were gathering in the Benz Courtyard to celebrate the break of dawn on their last first day of school at MPA.

There was fantastic excitement on the other side of the building as students bounded into the building with zeal. Their enthusiasm was matched by parents who accompanied their children into the building and stayed for coffee and pastries sponsored by the Parents Association. It was a fantastic turnout and many told us that it was hard to leave the conversation and head off to work.

We have a longstanding MPA tradition of ending the first day of school with an all-employee meeting. I invite faculty and staff to share stories about the day and the mission moments that illustrate who we are. The joyfulness in the room was palpable. Here are a few examples of what was shared that reflect the common values we share at MPA: Read More

Ready To Embrace The New School Year

August 17, 2023

Two students at Panther Camp This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the August 2023 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

Hello, August! In two short weeks, MPA students will return to campus–they’ll file in with fist bumps from Dr. Hudson, settle into their new classrooms with new teachers, and fill the Family Commons and playground while making new friendships and rekindling old ones. They will jump head first into the 2023-24 school year with a special enthusiasm that only the back-to-school season brings out in all of us. Read More

Welcome to MPA, James Lekatz!

August 1, 2023

What position will you be holding at MPA?
Middle and Upper School Theater Teacher

From what school/organization are you coming?
International School of Minnesota

Tell us about your education and past experience.
I graduated in 2007 with a Theatre Arts degree from Augsburg University. Right after undergrad, I moved to London, England and completed my studies at the London International School of Performing Arts. Upon my return to Minneapolis, I worked as an Education and Access Associate at Stages Theatre Company, as well as music directed and composed many productions while on staff. I was Artistic Associate of Performing Arts at Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts where I collaborated to produce new works of musical theater with artists with and without disabilities. During Covid, I switch careers and moved fully into education. I taught music at Alice Smith Elementary and was the Head of Performing Arts at the International School of Minnesota.

What did you find appealing about MPA?
The atmosphere at MPA is so welcoming and kind, who wouldn’t want to be a part of it? As schools start more and more to take away arts classes, I found it exiting to see that MPA has the arts fully woven into the curriculum. Not just theater, but all arts have a place for students. Read More

Making Wishes Come True

July 21, 2023

Molly Vergin is a rising senior in the Class of 2024, and she’s attended MPA since pre-Kindergarten. Molly is a two-time leukemia survivor, being initially diagnosed in first grade and then again in the final days of eighth grade. She’s just over two years out from a bone-marrow transplant and continuing her volunteer work with Make-a-Wish. MPA Seniors complete a service project as the culmination of their community service, and we’re happy to share some information from Molly with the MPA Community.

From Molly:
As I am approaching senior year (hard to believe!) I am beginning to work on my senior service project. For this project, I am continuing to work with an organization very close to my heart, Make-A-Wish Minnesota. As part of this, I will be leading a team at the Make-A-Wish Walk for Wishes on Saturday, August 5 at 10 AM at Minnehaha Regional Park. As most of you probably know, Make-A-Wish grants wishes for children with serious illnesses. The Walk for Wishes is a 5K with the goal of raising awareness for Make-A-Wish and funding future wishes. As a Wish Kid myself, I’ve seen the transformative impact that Make-A-Wish has on the children and families they serve, mine included.

In 2014, my wish was granted—to travel to LA to meet the cast of my favorite show, one I spent many hours in the hospital watching, The Amazing Race. My wish gave me something to look forward to–bringing me joy and excitement in a really rough time. The wish also helped bring our family together when our world had completely changed. I have volunteered and spoken for Make-A-Wish for the last eight years and I can say I am thrilled to support the organization through this year’s Walk for Wishes, and I hope that some of you would like to join me. There are two ways to do this—by visiting the Make-A-Wish Minnesota Walk for Wishes website, you can donate to a team participating in the walk and/or join us to participate in the walk. My team is named Team Molly, and my goal is to raise $5000 dollars for Make-A-Wish. This is a great opportunity to fund wishes for more children, and any amount helps!

  • If you would like to walk with us on Team Molly, registration for the walk is $25. You can do that here. (This will take you to the Team Molly page. You choose the “SIGN UP” button which begins the registration process.) That $25 goes directly to Make-a-Wish MN, and it also gets you a t-shirt.
  • If you are interested in making a donation, you can use this link. Donate to Make-a-Wish through Team Molly. (You will see a yellow “DONATE NOW” button near the top and/or a pink “DONATE” down next to Molly’s name).

Thank you so much to everyone for helping make Wishes come true for kids facing serious medical challenges. All donations go directly to Make-a-Wish MN to help fund future Wishes. In the photo included, I just learned my Wish had been granted. In the second, my sister Ellen ’21 and I are posing with the host of The Amazing Race, Phil Keoghan.

Welcome to MPA, Louis McLaughlin!

July 17, 2023

What position will you be holding at MPA?
Upper School English Teacher

From what school/organization are you coming?
Visitation School

Tell us about your education and past experience.
Before becoming a teacher, I worked in the front offices of two businesses. I was a freelance graphic designer and web programmer. I even co-founded a tech startup right out of college. I also lived in five states as an adult before I turned 30 (Missouri, Louisiana, Washington, New York, and finally Minnesota). That said, I was probably 15 years old when I realized I wanted to teach high school English. So all my degrees are in literature. I have a BA in English from Loyola University New Orleans; an MA in English from Western Washington University; and an MA in Medieval Studies from Cornell University.

What did you find appealing about MPA?
Mounds Park Academy has a special place in the landscape of independent schools in the metro area. Teenagers I’d taught elsewhere described MPA as a place where students could have healthy balance, a school known for rigor, but also for fostering relationship. Coming in as a new faculty member, it seems like a place where you not only receive a great education, but where your whole, unique, individual self is welcomed and celebrated, and where your personal journey is supported.

What lasting impact do you plan to have on MPA?
I hope I can be an important force in my students’ lives. To help them grow in the subject I teach. But even more so, to be an adult who sees them, not just as the people they are, but the people they aspire to be.

What’s your big dream?
To find peace and to share it with others.

What are you (and your family, if you so choose) passionate about?
It’ll be no surprise to hear I’m passionate about education, especially about evolving what “English” class looks and feels like. Mindfulness plays a large role in my approach to teaching and to what we do each day in the classroom. My family and I are passionate about environmental education and grassroots political involvement.

What’s a fun fact about you that our community would love to know?
In graduate school, I studied three languages besides English.

Welcome to MPA, Heather Rankin!

July 17, 2023

What position will you be holding at MPA?
Upper School Science Teacher

From what school/organization are you coming?
The Science Museum of Minnesota’s St Croix Watershed Research Station

Tell us about your education and past experience.
I hold an MA in teaching from George Fox University and a BS in Chemistry from The Evergreen State College (go geoducks!). I have been an environmental chemist for most of my career, focusing primarily on water quality. I’ve worked in both the private and public sectors and have held a range of positions from laboratory technician to regulatory compliance administrator. I have taught science at both the University and secondary levels, including chemistry at Boise State University and general science at an independent school in Costa Rica. Most recently, I managed the environmental research laboratory for the Science Museum of Minnesota.

What did you find appealing about MPA?
Everything. Have you ever walked into a place and it just felt good to be there? That’s how I felt during my interview and campus tour. The Upper School science staff and leadership are amazing and I really appreciate the in-depth interview process. I’m looking forward to collaborating with fellow scientists in the Upper School.

What lasting impact do you plan to have on MPA?
I hope to give my students strong foundational knowledge that will aid them in solving future problems and building the truest, most beautiful lives for themselves that they can imagine.

What’s your big dream?
My big dream is a world with clean water, air, and soil for all living things, where the majority of people wake up feeling safe and fulfilled.

What are you (and your family, if you so choose) passionate about?
Travel, water, sunshine, the environment, reading, and community.

What’s a fun fact about you that our community would love to know?
I am learning to play the accordion. My oldest brother recently brought me my mother’s old accordion, which was purchased by my grandfather in the early 1960’s from a door to door accordion salesman.

MPA Alum Receives Award Posthumously

July 17, 2023

The MPA Alumni Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce the 2023 MPA Alumni Association Award recipient, Jaye Sinkfield ’12. This award honors alumni of outstanding talent pursuing their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations while embracing the spirit of MPA’s commitment to community and social outreach. Award recipients are real-world inspirations for both current students and fellow alums to dream big and do right.

Jaye was nominated posthumously in honor of their impact on the world. Tragically, Jaye passed away in January 2023, leaving behind lifelong friends, family members, and hundreds of people who felt their impact and were inspired by Jaye. We sat down with Tammy Sinkfield, Jaye’s mother, to learn more about how and why Jaye lived and the legacy they left behind.

Jaye and their twin brother, Jordan, were born to Tammy, a single parent who never dreamed of having children due in part to fibroids that prevented pregnancy. “That’s why I say, ‘They are my blessings, because God saw it fitting that I should be their mom,’” says Tammy, an inpatient nursing supervisor at Gillette Children’s where she has been for more than 25 years. “At their birth, from the moment Jaye came into my view as the doctor lifted them from my womb, Jaye was the most beautiful androgynous precious being. Though I hardly knew what androgyny meant, I understood in that instant what it was when I saw my first born baby, Jaye, this beautiful combination of beauty, grace, masculine, and feminine. Everything about this baby was symmetrical, balanced, beautiful, and perfect. Jaye was like the Black Gerber Baby. Everybody commented on what a calm and gentle spirit that Jaye had at birth. That carried them through life.”

When the time came, Tammy took great care to find a school for Jaye and Jordan, interviewing more than 12 and selecting Four Seasons A+ Elementary. “We knew we wanted private schools. I was always in private schools. But I couldn’t afford MPA at the time,” she shares. The twins thrived in elementary school, often serving as the leads in the annual plays. They were excellent performers. They came to MPA in Middle School—Tammy took a second job, the twins received a scholarship, and they got here. “I wanted them to have opportunities.” Read More