January 21, 2021
MPA Speech had a fantastic tournament, called the “Figure It Out Bout,” that was designed to be an educational experience for competing in a virtual world! Teams from all over the state, from Austin to Dassel-Cokato, to our neighbor Stillwater, competed.
As customary, MPA was exempt from placing as a team since we hosted. Technically, MPA placed third, with half the entry of Stillwater and Shakopee, who were first and second respectively. Senior Ryan Ghose won two categories, Humorous and Prose, and was the Tournament Individual Sweepstakes champion–an award that signifies an extraordinary individual effort determined by who earned the most points on the day. Ryan swept both categories on 1’s, meaning he never lost a round. Junior Charlotte Bergh was also a tournament champion in Ex Reading. Seniors Sana Punjani, Salmah Elmasry, Anna Gaudio, and Emma Cohen also placed top three. Sophomore Cynthia Ghannoum, seniors Isak Dai and Livia Wooldridge, and the duo of seventh graders Evie B. and Teagan O. all made the final round as well.
This was the first tournament in which the MPA Middle School Speech Team competed, and we’re so excited to say all seventh and eighth graders who competed either placed or were in a tiebreaker to get into a final round. Congratulations to Teagan and Evie, Annika B., and Yusuf A.!
Save the date for MPA’s Virtual Maker Fest! On Saturday, February 20 from 11 AM-1 PM, MPA will host a variety of community makers to showcase their projects, passions, and hands on how-to demonstrations through Zoom. Participants will be able to the presentations by visiting different breakout rooms. More event details for Virtual Maker Fest 2021 will be coming soon! 
The upcoming webisode series “Some Good News,” created by the cast and crew of this year’s Middle School play, premieres tomorrow, 
The MPA Mentorship Program entered its third year with MPA Alumni being paired with a member of the senior class. The MPA Alums and seniors exchange three emails throughout the months of November and December. A survey was sent to both the seniors and alums to determine what their interests, career goals, college choice, etc. Work then began to recruit mentors who matched with the interests of our seniors. The program is proving to be successful and gain traction as for the second year in a row we had more alumni interested than seniors enrolled. Engagement continued to be at a high level and many connections were made that will continue far beyond the seniors’ last year at MPA.
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
The 2021 Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards (MSAA) have been announced, and we have multiple MPA Upper School artists to congratulate this year! Award winners will have their work included in a virtual gallery and will be invited to an online awards ceremony hosted by the Weisman Art Museum in late February. Gold Key artwork will be submitted into competition at the national level of judging. Congratulations to these ambitious artists! Learn more at 
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
Playing one of America’s greatest pastimes has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. When I was younger, baseball was always the most fun and something I’d look forward to in the summer. Being an athletic kid, it came particularly easy to me. I was fast, I could also hit the ball pretty well, and I was exceptional at catching and throwing. On top of that, I’m a lefty, among the most desired traits in baseball players. As I continued to progress through youth baseball, my team won a lot of games and tournaments. We had a great coaching staff that was knowledgeable and brought tremendous energy. They really wanted us to succeed. However, when high school came along, and the pressures of the recruiting environment began to ramp up, my relationship with baseball began to change.
How many years have you been a student at MPA?