Upper School Archives

Together We Will Make It To The Finish Line

May 7, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

One of the ways I am navigating this challenging crisis has been to start running again. Some of you may know that I took a bad fall while on a run two and a half years ago and broke bones in both my ankle and my foot. It’s been a long road to recovery as I’ve dealt with both physical and mental trauma. For some time, I have been mentally preparing myself to start running again but until recently, I lacked the resolve. Several weeks ago, after a particularly long day, I reached a breaking point. So I ran. I needed to reassure myself that I can overcome anything, that pain does indeed result in gain, that this is hard but I can push myself through it by the strength of my resolve, and that it’s all worth it on the other side.

You have most likely heard me say that we are in marathon, not a sprint. The irony of my fall was that I had just recently achieved a personal milestone, completing the ten-mile run of the Twin Cities Marathon. Never having been a runner before, I slowly worked my way toward that ultimate goal. In a marathon, there are mile markers and in my training runs, there are landmarks to measure progress. A friend reminded me recently that we have no such guideposts at the moment; we are engaged in an endurance event without mile markers, working toward a finish line that may not even be visible. Read More

Innovation & Student-led Learning Enhance Online Science At MPA

May 7, 2020

A spirit of innovation flows through all that we do at Mounds Park Academy; now it’s just through high-speed Internet instead of hallways and classrooms. Innovation fuels creative thinking and allows students to experience the joy of learning—and thanks to John Milam’s seventh- and eighth-grade science courses—the joy of teaching.

At the start of distance learning, Milam and his students brainstormed ideas on how best to approach the coming weeks. The students told him that they wanted to become an expert on a science topic—and then teach it. MPA encourages this level of student engagement in their learning, as demonstrated in the blog article “Letting the Students Lead.”

Still, Milam, who joined the faculty in 2019, was apprehensive. While students often present in class given MPA’s commitment to public speaking, they had never before taught a class.

“At MPA, there is a lot of emphasis on student voice,” says Milam. “But I was initially leery of turning over the class to the students.”

Now, Milam is learning new ideas from his students regarding how to make his own teaching better.

“Students at this age know how to talk to Middle School students – their peers – in a different way than I do as a teacher—they know what they don’t know,” says Milam. “As a teacher, watching them teach, I am learning new ways to use innovative technologies that I might not have considered before, including everything from Quizlet Live, Kahoot, and Mapfling to Brain Pop and Survey Monkey.” Read More

Environmental Club Celebrates Virtual E-Week

May 7, 2020

This week was the MPA Upper School’s Environmental Club’s annual E-Week! E-Club members came up with a fun itinerary for students to get more involved in environmental issues, enjoy the outdoors, and attend other climate centered events.

“Making E-Week virtual this year has been pretty difficult,” shared senior Ella Jones, E-Club president, “We would traditionally hold a ping pong tournament and a game night, but we have adapted by coming up with new ideas which can encourage people to spend time with friends and also get outside in the fresh air.”

They held a Zoom discussion about how to get involved with Climate Strike’s Minnesota chapter, held a Netflix party, carved out time to spend time outdoors, held a letter writing campaign to Minnesota representatives on the importance of climate action, and a photography competition.

Accessing MPA Community Care Funds

May 7, 2020

Thanks to the generosity of our community, MPA would like to support you and your family if you are facing a financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The MPA Community Care Fund has flexible dollars available to help you if you need it, including financial assistance, technology needs, emergency resources, helping your graduating senior with expenses for college in the fall, among others.

Please fill out this confidential Request for Assistance form or contact Jennifer Rogers-Petitt, director of development and community engagement at jrogers@moundsparkacademy.org.

Buddy Program Volunteers Needed For 2020-2021

May 7, 2020

As a school community, it’s always exciting to welcome new families in all grades and divisions each year. Helping these families have a smooth transition is a top priority and one way we make that happen is through the MPA Buddy Program.

We hope you’ll consider being a Buddy Family next year! Some key expectations of Buddy Families:

Connecting with your assigned family or families over the summer.
Helping the parents and students navigate the back to school process such as Back to School night and the first days.
Connecting with the new family throughout the year to answer their questions, support them at events, and helping to make sure their year of “firsts” at MPA is as smooth as possible.

The Development Office will support you with your Buddy Family, when and if you need! Please share your interest, or let us know if you have questions, by sending an email to agerstner@moundsparkacademy.org.

Give From Home Week

May 6, 2020

As we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re facing the most unprecedented economic challenge of our time. In response, May 1-8 was announced as #GiveFromHome week in Minnesota. This effort will help nonprofit and educational organizations like Mounds Park Academy in very important ways.

Your gift will support the MPA Community Care Fund to ensure every student and staff member has what they need to dream big and do right. Hundreds of MPA community members have already given and we are so thankful for the ways our community has risen to this challenge and supported one another. On behalf of our students and staff, if you’ve already given, we thank you. Let’s meet unprecedented times with unprecedented action to provide our students, families, and faculty and staff with the resources they need.

Senior Service Makes Global Connections

May 6, 2020

The Senior Service Project is an opportunity for MPA students to use their voices and skills, propose, and carry out a service project with an organization or for a cause they are passionate about. All students submit a proposal, complete a minimum of 30 hours of service work, keep a record or journal of experiences, and prepare an exhibit or presentation based on their experience.

For his senior service project, MPA senior Charles Grimes created portraits for The Memory Project. The Memory Project is a nonprofit organization that connects artists with children throughout the world, who then get sent their portraits after completion. His portraits specifically will be sent to children in Venezuela.

“Our participants create these portraits to help children feel valued and important, to know that many people care about their well-being, and to provide a special childhood memory in the future,” states The Memory Project as part of its mission statement.

Give From Home For MPA

May 2, 2020

COVID-19 is our world’s most unprecedented challenge of our time. In response, May 5 was announced as #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving and May 1-8 as #GiveFromHome week in Minnesota. This worldwide effort will help nonprofit and educational organizations like Mounds Park Academy in very important ways.

Your gift will support the MPA Community Care Fund to ensure every student and staff member has what they need to dream big and do right. These flexible funds will allow us to respond to emerging needs, including:

financial assistance for MPA families in need;
technology access for teachers to continue enhancing virtual learning;
employee support funds for wellness and emergency resources;
supporting the MPA Class of 2020 as they prepare for their college expenses in the fall and face the inability to host graduation parties to mark this milestone and gather the necessary supplies for their journey to college; and
the cost of additional supplies to ensure a whole child education can continue, including art supplies, books and e-books, software and hardware, and devices for families without access to adequate technology or wi-fi for virtual learning.

MPA Senior Donates 1,200 Medical Masks

April 30, 2020

In the true spirit of dreaming big and doing right, MPA senior Anna Zeng has donated 1,200 medical face masks to healthcare workers at HealthPartners.

Anna was enthusiastic, “To show my gratitude for what you and the rest of MPA staff have done in taking good care of us, and to contribute what I could to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said. After contacting a reputable mask supplier in Guangzhou, she used her own savings to order the masks and make the donation to MPA, which Dr. Hudson then safely delivered to a clinic.

“Our health care team needs masks,” HealthPartners writes on their website. “This unprecedented time of need, has turned into an unprecedented time of kindness. We’re grateful for the overwhelming support you’ve shown our health care heroes. Right now, they’re saving lives, but you can make a difference too.”

On behalf of our school and local community, thank you for your generosity, Anna!

Virtual School Survey Results

April 30, 2020

Modeling the resiliency we inspire in our students, MPA has been engaged in a collaborative, ongoing process of designing, implementing, assessing, and adapting teaching and learning to meet the needs of our students. Adjustments along the way have been guided by feedback from parents, students, and faculty as well as research on distance learning and best practices. The candid feedback from parents in the two surveys conducted over the past six weeks has been extremely important and useful.

Parent Satisfaction
The almost all parents are satisfied with MPA’s virtual school. The levels of satisfaction and appreciation measured last week are very similar to the results from our first survey given on March 26. While there are areas for improvement and growth, parents continue to see the value of an MPA education and notice a contrast with other schools.

Ninety percent of parents are satisfied, with more than 60% saying they are very satisfied. One parent expressed their gratitude in the following way: “I really appreciate how the teachers are teaching normally. I hear my child engaged in classes, doing homework, and having extra, ‘found’ time to work on the college search, test prep and independent reading. We feel blessed to have MPA leading our children, now more than ever.”

Teaching and Learning
Maintaining a continuity of learning means we continue to challenge students and know that rigor provides comfort and consistency. Holding high standards and expressing care and compassion are not mutually exclusive. Parents appreciate the level of teacher engagement and responsiveness as well as the individualized attention being provided. Ninety-four percent are pleased with the level of teacher engagement and 90% are happy with the individualized personal attention given to students. Read More