Upper School Archives

Socratic Seminars And The Path To Making Meaning

December 15, 2020

Sixteen faces appear on Zoom as Upper School English teacher Lauren Drake begins her Western and Global Literature course. It’s a Wednesday afternoon and these tenth graders listen patiently as Drake explains how the main item on today’s agenda will work; the class’ first Socratic Seminar of the quarter. Today’s Socratic Seminar is a comparison of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Nature”, and a collection of William Wordsworth poetry. Drake explains the grading rubric, recaps the seminar’s norms, and reminds students to think about the space they inhabit in group discussions. Then it’s go time and students jump right in, starting with an examination of prompt one, a comparison of the uses of light and dark imagery in “Allegory of the Cave” and “Frankenstein”.

Different schools have their own unique way of engaging students in learning through classroom discussion. For some, there’s the Harkness Table, for others, the Fishbowl Model, and still others use the Jigsaw Method. At MPA, Upper School humanities teachers use the Socratic Seminar to create engaging, hands on, discussion based learning opportunities that facilitate deep dives into complex content knowledge. Read More

MPA Math League Team’s High Scoring Meet

December 15, 2020

The MPA Math League team participated in their third virtual meet this week, scoring very well with 89 points overall! MPA’s top individual scorer was sophomore Anthony Troullier, earning 12 points, including a perfect seven in event A. Four team members earned ten points: junior Amy Xiang (including a perfect seven in event B), senior Lareina Gu (including a perfect 7 in event B), senior Sean Park, and senior Steve Min (filling in nicely for Qiya Zhang, who was unable to attend). Freshman Ella Li also earned a perfect 7 in event B. The team overall did extremely well in event B, earning 26 out of a possible 28 points.

The team earned 16 points on the team round, and once all the other teams in our division and section complete the meet, final results will be announced. Some non-official team members did very well, including senior Sean Davis, earning eight points. Junior Samantha Forgosh also earned 8 points. The bench on this team is mighty deep! Congratulations, Math Team!

MPA Quiz Bowl Secures Spot In National Tournament

December 14, 2020

This past Saturday, the MPA Upper School Quiz Bowl teams couldn’t take celebratory pictures together quite like the one featured here from 2019, but their smiles were just as big! Three MPA teams competed at the RATRACE tournament (Really Awesome Thumb-Racing Academic Competition Event) Quiz Bowl competition, which was held virtually.

The A-Team, comprised of seniors Isak Dai, Ryan Ghose, Hana Miller, Ellen Vergin, and Tanner Gasteazoro, finished in the top 16 teams and secured a spot in the National Tournament this Spring! The B-Team, comprised of tenth graders Anthony Troullier and Gabe Messner, and ninth graders Zain Ali and Ian Frankel, missed making the top 16 by a very slim margin. The C-Team, comprised of ninth graders Ben Murr, Akshay Somayajula, Soumya Raman, Molly Vergin, and Fawzan Aslam, had a great showing with a 3-3 record.

Individually, out of nearly 300 players on 64 teams, Isak Dai finished third and Anthony Troullier finished sixth! Congratulations, Panthers! We can’t wait to cheer you on at the National Tournament!

A Dream And A Shoestring

December 10, 2020

Thirty-nine years ago this week, 13 people from throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul gathered with Bob and Lois (now Sandy Kreischer Smith) Kreischer to articulate their shared dream of founding an independent school in the east metro of St. Paul. In his introduction that evening, Bob said, “We are aware that this could be the start of something big and equally aware that this could totally end in a month or so.” At the end of the meeting, a vote was taken to officially establish Mounds Park Academy. The Articles of Incorporation were filed on December 11 with the State of Minnesota designating Mounds Park Academy as an educational nonprofit on December 14, 1981.

Bob had been the Middle School director of Breck School and Lois was an artist. Both had a dream of a school that would educate the whole child (before the term became popular) and a different kind of college-prep program that while focused on academic excellence, was committed to helping each student reach their potential. They also knew the importance of a teacher that “enjoys and really cares about their students” and a curriculum that “best meets the individual student’s needs.”

Bob understood, and Lois knew, the integral role of the arts in developing the whole child. The early foundations of the school were built upon a diversity, the joy of learning, independent thinking, curiosity, interdisciplinary learning, developing a sense of responsibility, and global awareness. These values may not seem out of the ordinary now, but in 1981 they were groundbreaking and innovative. Read More

The Importance And Power Of Outdoor Play

December 10, 2020

This interview with Amanda Janquart and MPA parent Amy Lemieux provides parents reflection and ideas for incorporating unstructured outdoor experiences into family routines. Amanda and Amy also share insight about how outdoor experiences foster children’s emotional and physical health.

Janquart’s formal education includes a B.S. in environmental education, natural resource management and biology, and Master’s work in early childhood education. “But I’ve learned the most through teaching at nature based preschools and raising my own children. What matters is being the person that shares the wonderment of discovery, encourages seeking, and allows for play,” Janquart says.

Upper School parent Amy Lemieux has a B.A. in psychology and elementary education from St Thomas and an M.A. in counseling from the University of Wisconsin. She taught elementary school for eight years and supervised student teachers for five years. Early in her career, she developed a passion for intergenerational programming, relishing the benefits of pairing the oldest and youngest in society.

Student Council Winter Clothing Drive

December 10, 2020

The Student Council is hosting a winter clothing drive in a contactless drop-off to collect warm winter coats and clothing for families in North Minneapolis. Similar to when you’ve picked up school supplies from the North Entrance, you will be able to drive up with your donations and drop them off without getting out of your car. After placing them in your trunk, a volunteer will pick your donated winter clothing with gloves and a mask. To contribute, please drop-off your materials at one of the following times:

Monday, December 14 from 4-5 PM
Tuesday, December 15 from 5-6 PM

Thank you for donating and for your support!

MPA Founders’ Day Cupcake Recipe

December 9, 2020

Happy Founders’ Day! Continue celebrating MPA’s birthday at home with the delicious Founders’ Day vanilla cupcake recipe. These are the cupcakes that were distributed to Lower School students and baked during the virtual Middle School baking show to celebrate! Thank you for the recipe, Chef Doug!

Cupcakes

Equipment needed: Measuring cups, large mixing bowl, pastry blender or two large forks, small mixing bowl, measuring spoons, wire whisk, rubber spatula, cupcake pan, paper/foil muffin cups, flour sifter

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cup of Sugar
3⁄4 Cup softened butter
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1⁄2 cups flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 cup milk

Students Reflect On Diversity Leadership Conference

December 9, 2020

MPA Upper School students Alex Appleton, Salma Ali, Safa Madar, and Alexx Tolstad represented MPA at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC). The students attended this transformative gathering virtually.

“Entering the SDLC conference, I knew I wanted to learn and that I wanted to expand my view with new perspectives. Within the first minutes of the intro I felt at home, I felt that this was a safe place, not just for me, but for all those around me,” said tenth grader Alex Appleton. “It was so encouraging to see people around me be vulnerable and I felt honored that they felt that comfort around me and the others.”

NAIS describes the experience as, “a multiracial, multicultural gathering of Upper School student leaders from across the U.S. and abroad. SDLC focuses on self-reflecting, forming allies, and building community. Led by a diverse team of trained adult and peer facilitators, participating students develop cross-cultural communication skills, design effective strategies for social justice practice through dialogue and the arts, and learn the foundations of allyship and networking principles.” Read More

MPA’s Historic Debate Performance

December 6, 2020

Congratulations to the MPA debate team on a historic performance at the Classic State Debate Festival. MPA was represented by 44 students, and Mounds Park Academy received the second-place team sweepstakes award, missing out on first place by a single point. That’s an award based on the top two performances across each of the three divisions of competition–novice, junior varsity, and varsity. It’s a testament to the depth of the team.

We call the tournament the Classic Debate Championships in novice and junior varsity. In the novice division with 57 entries, the team of juniors Gavin Thorson and Sofia Cortes Weiss advanced to the octafinal round, and the team of junior Zoe Schnell and sophomore Frances Martin advanced to the quarterfinal round. In the junior varsity division, the team of sophomores Kensi Binstadt and Zaara Nayak advanced to the octafinal round, and the team of juniors Charlotte Bergh and Ruby Schwieger made it to the quarterfinal round. The team of seniors Lilly Gasterland-Gustafsson and Peter Manolis competed in the final round of the junior varsity division, and finished second to a team from Rochester Century. Read More

Introducing Pantherpedia!

December 3, 2020

We are excited to introduce Pantherpedia, a fun new feature where we define one word that’s unique to MPA! If you have a word or phrase that you want defined, let us know and we’ll feature it in an upcoming Pantherpedia entry!

CHAMP Program [tʃæmp prəʊɡræm]⁠⠀
Noun: The CHAMP (Character Happens at Mounds Park) Program is MPA’s Lower School character development program in which a character trait is chosen every year for students to explore in their homeroom classrooms, in special assemblies, in service-learning, and in music, art, and drama classes. PreK through fourth grade students come together for a monthly CHAMP assembly to learn about character traits such as friendship, cooperation, compassion, respect, self-control, responsibility, inclusiveness, courage, mindfulness, and integrity. In addition, service learning is embedded in the CHAMP program and in the classroom, culminating in the fourth grade conflict manager program. Students learn the importance of giving back and helping others in ways that are integrated in the classroom curriculum. Our CHAMP curriculum has made a difference at MPA. Students strive to apply the character traits they’ve learned in school to their own lives.