Upper School Archives

MPA Connecting for Understanding: An Open Dialogue about Neurodiversity

January 20, 2022

The MPA Parents Association invites you to Connecting for Understanding: An Open Dialogue about Neurodiversity.

Do you think there is a “normal” brain? What does that mean? Or does having a “normal brain” simply mean having a brain that functions well within the given structures of our current systems? As parents, how do we talk with our students, when they, or their classmates, don’t have brains that fit within the parameters of “normal” learning or “normal” classroom behavior? What does it mean to be neurotypical vs. neurodiverse? How do we discuss these topics with accurate information and compassion to create understanding within our school community?

Please join us as we welcome Pediatric Neuropsychologist, Dr. Jonathan Miller, on January 27, 6:30-7:45 PM for an interactive dialogue about neurodiversity and the many ways in which our children learn. This event is for Lower, Middle, and Upper School parents.

This is the first in a series of community-building open dialogue events hosted in partnership between the Parents Association and MPA. Upcoming webinars will cover issues around race and LGBTQ+ topics. Please join in the conversations!

January Parents Association Events

January 20, 2022

Parent Education Night
Save the Date for a Zoom Parent Education Night! January 27, 6:30-7:45 PM. Please join MPA families to learn about neurodiversity in our school community.

Faculty and Staff Appreciation Week
January 31-February 4. Keep an eye out next week in the Panther Post for a Sign Up Genius and more details. Contact Tara Lafferty with questions, TMattRN@aol.com or 201-563-4622

January Walks with Dogs
Join Michelle Mick Friday, January 21 & 28 for a walk in a local dog park. Bring your dog or not, we’ll meet at Battle Creek Dog Park, a lovely, big, off-leash dog park with 35 acres at 8:15 AM. Parking is off Upper Afton Road, in the parking lot next to the dog park. Look for Michelle and her dog (Rufus), near the entrance of the dog park.

For your GPS, the address is: 2350 Upper Afton Road, Maplewood, MN 55119. The contact person is Michelle Mick, and please feel free to SMS or call 651-328-7312 if you can’t find us!

Attention Middle School Panthers and Parents
The annual Middle School Café is going tubular this year! Stay tuned and get excited. While we can’t unveil all the details just yet (sorry!), we can say, SAVE THE DATE, Friday, February 25th from 2:30-5:30 PM.

Microfunding Grants
Looking for Microfunding for your club or classroom? It’s not too late to apply for these PA grants. Please send your applications to Natalie King, our micro-funding chair at natalieking10414@gmail.com. Applications can be found here.

Meet Zainab Lodhi ’25

January 14, 2022

This is Zainab’s second year at MPA. She joined in eighth grade and is currently in ninth grade.

What do you love about MPA?
What I love most about MPA is the community and environment. Not only does MPA provide students with a supportive community, but it also gives an environment that encourages curiosity, and it pushes its students towards improvement rather than pressuring students to constantly succeed. MPA makes me feel safe and respected, which I feel is vital in high school. I have never dreaded going to school at MPA. Everyday feels like a new and exciting experience. MPA truly is one of a kind––not only in its beliefs, but how it implements them to create an experience for each of its students.

How are you encouraged to dream big and do right at MPA?
MPA wholeheartedly encourages its students to institute change, gives students the support they need to pursue their passions, and teaches students that everyone can make change. We are not treated like we are ignorant of the “real world,” and instead, given room to grow as individuals. I have felt that this treatment encourages us be unafraid of uncertainty and pursue happiness. Read More

Great Schools Depend On Great Teachers & Staff

January 13, 2022

from Bill Hudson, Head of School

This is the second of a four-part series of Head’s Messages that dives deep into MPA’s new strategic plan, 2024ward. Today we will outline this priority: Affirm and inspire our exceptional and dedicated faculty and staff through competitive compensation. The first article may be found here. An overview of 2024ward may be found here.

“It’s like baking a lasagna and baking a cake at the same time in the same kitchen, but you can only use one bowl,” responded one teacher when asked in a national survey to describe what teaching has been like during the pandemic. Teachers have demonstrated and modeled incredible resiliency as they pivoted to remote learning, to hybrid learning, and back to in person learning (and back to remote, unfortunately) along with a number of health and safety measures layered upon what typically happens in a classroom. Together with those in the medical field, public health, and first responders, teachers have been real heroes over the last two years.

Nowhere was this more evident to me than observing master teacher Mari Espeland one day in the fall of 2020. Mari was teaching music to two first grade classrooms simultaneously, one via Zoom, without singing. I marveled at the ease in which she transitioned between three distinct learning activities within 30 minutes. However, as a teacher myself, I know that what appeared to be effortless required a great deal of planning, a deep knowledge of music education, a thorough understanding the developmental needs of young learners, and many years of experience. Despite the limitations brought on by the pandemic, the students in Mari’s class were engaged, joyful, and learning about rhythm. Read More

Upper School Division News January 13, 2022

January 13, 2022

from Mark Segal, Upper School Director

Those of you who drop off your children at school each morning know that Mr. Comfort, Mr. Haase, and I are at the north door eagerly awaiting student arrival, regardless of the temperature, daily. This morning, however, was different. The shift to virtual school left me missing this important part of the day. Welcoming and checking-in with students as they arrive at school is as important for me as it is for them. Their face mask covered smiles and high-fives help me start the day on the right foot and help me establish the right mindset for the day ahead.

I am confident that the time away from on campus, in-person learning will help to stop the current spread of COVID impacting the MPA student community. Just because we are not physically together does not mean that we will forego the important human connection that is part of the MPA ethos. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), “those with strong social-emotional skills are better able to manage daily challenges and advance academically and socially.” Although we will be physically distanced for the next few school days, we will continue to focus on building these social-emotional skills to connect us socially.

As we look ahead to the next week, teachers will check in with their students and advisees to see how they are doing and gauge if they are in a cloudy, rainy, or sunny disposition. We will meet via Zoom as a community next Wednesday (January 19) to kick off the second semester and third quarter with a Wednesday edition of our weekly Monday Morning Meeting. Important information will be shared, laughter will happen with the Student Council facilitated Monday Morning Memo, and Mr. Comfort will grace us with one of his “groan-worthy” jokes.

Please remind your student that they should follow their regular schedule and plan to “attend” each of their classes synchronously. This does not include any scheduled study halls. As if we were meeting in person, attendance will be taken at the start of each block and students should be dressed appropriately and ready for class. Please make sure your student has set aside an appropriate, well-lit workspace (NOT their bed) to attend class. Computer cameras are required to be turned on and pointed at your student’s face. Read More

Connect With MPA Parents This January

January 13, 2022

Parent Education Night
Save the Date for a Zoom Parent Education Night! January 27, 6:30-7:45 PM, please join MPA families to learn about neurodiversity in our school community.

January Walks with Dogs
Join Michelle Mick Friday, January 14 for a walk in a local dog park. Bring your dog or not, we’ll meet at Battle Creek Dog Park, a lovely, big, off-leash dog park with 35 acres at 8:15 AM. Parking is off Upper Afton Road, in the parking lot next to the dog park. Look for Michelle and her dog (Rufus), near the entrance of the dog park.

For your GPS, the address is: 2350 Upper Afton Road, Maplewood, MN 55119. The contact person is Michelle Mick, and please feel free to SMS or call 651-328-7312 if you can’t find us!

Meet MPA World Language Teacher Kari Kunze

January 7, 2022

How many years have you been at MPA?
This is my 22nd year at MPA (32nd year of teaching).

What do you love about MPA?
I love how the school embraces all academic areas as “essential.” Our students are effortlessly interdisciplinary in how they understand the world around them. I see it in my students in class and in my children at home, and every time, I am amazed and impressed.

How does MPA inspire students who dream big and do right?
MPA students have opportunities to go beyond the MPA curriculum through programs like the Graduate Certificates of Distinction and the Malone Online Schools Network. The liberal arts curriculum builds from the solid foundation of the Middle and Lower schools to very advanced classes in the content areas. Students are able to achieve excellence in their passions that they can carry beyond our school. Read More

Innovating Our Future

January 6, 2022

from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

Happy new year! I hope that you and your family had an enjoyable break, spending quality time with friends and loved ones.

It was journalist and author William Vaughan who said, “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” I suppose I am neither as I was in bed by 10:30 PM on New Year’s Eve. However, I do consider myself an optimist and while as a family we experienced tremendous loss in 2021, I do recognize the many good things that happened. As head of school of Mounds Park Academy, I am grateful that we were safely in-person and on campus for the majority of the year. The dedication and hard work of our amazing faculty and staff, a strong partnership with parents, and the resiliency of our students are certainly to be celebrated.

A new year brings new beginnings. A new year holds promise and opportunity. As a school, we begin the year with a new strategic plan, 2024ward. The new plan builds upon our former plan, Momentum 2020, and captures the energy to embrace the future with opportunity and enthusiasm. Strategic planning is one of the most important responsibilities of the MPA Board of Trustees.

Planning began in early 2019 by a constituent represented task force commissioned by the Board but was halted by the pandemic in the spring of 2020. Instead, the focus of the Board of Trustees and administration shifted from long-range strategic planning to the development a comprehensive scenario analysis and effort to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Given the demand on the school’s fiscal and human resources necessary to successfully navigate the ongoing pandemic, the board and head of school agreed to embark on an alternative, abbreviated approach. Read More

Parents Connect: January Events

January 6, 2022

January Events

We are looking forward to connecting with MPA families in 2022! Upcoming events and opportunities to look forward to include Family Education Evenings, All-School Sno Daze activities, Lower School Valentine’s Day party, and Middle School Café. Keep your eye on the Panther Post for sign-ups and opportunities to volunteer!

January Walks with Dogs

Friday, January 7 and 14, join Michelle Mick for a walk in a local dog park. Bring your dog or not, we’ll meet at Battle Creek Dog Park, a lovely, big, off-leash dog park with 35 acres at 8:15 AM. Parking is off Upper Afton Road, in the parking lot next to the dog park. Look for Michelle and her dog (Rufus), near the entrance of the dog park.

For your GPS, the address is: 2350 Upper Afton Road, Maplewood, MN 55119. The contact person is Michelle Mick, and please feel free to SMS or call 651-328-7312 if you can’t find us!

Parent Winter Walk at 7 Vines

January 28, 5:45-9 PM, $55. Come enjoy a winter evening and snowshoe walk with other MPA Parents at 7 Vines Vineyard in Dellwood, MN! Ticket Price includes snowshoe rental (with help putting them on!) for a walk around the vineyard lit by twinkling candlelight ice luminaries, a complimentary beverage (mulled wine, kombucha, fancy coffee), four rounds of Bingo for prizes, s’mores, cocoa, and cider. 7 Vines will have exclusive pricing on food and wine that evening, as well. Attendance is limited to 100, and the Parents Association has reserved some spots for this event, but it does sell out. Please let us know if you are interested in joining in the fun by January 10. Contact Staci Banks, sbhehe42@icloud.com, or Venmo the cost of the tickets to @Staci-Banks-Hehenberger. Unfortunately, tickets are not refundable.

Meet The Gruen Family

January 3, 2022

The Gruen Family lives in White Bear Lake, MN. Christine Gruen was an MPA student for four years, and is now an MPA parent to Max, Class of 2024.

What do you love about MPA?
I love that the teachers take the time to get to know students and genuinely care about their success and well being. I love that my children feel comfortable approaching their teachers if they ever need help or guidance. I love that MPA is a small family-type community. I love that my children are experiencing amazing learning opportunities that can be used in everyday life. I love seeing my children happy!!

What initially attracted you to MPA?
We had recently relocated to MPA from California. I was attracted to the warm welcome we received by both faculty and students, and the sense of acceptance my children received as transfer students.

How are your children encouraged to dream big and do right at MPA?
My children are inspired by their teachers to become the best versions of themselves, whatever that may be. They are always encouraged and challenged. Read More