Upper School Archives

November 7, 2019

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

I meet throughout the fall in small groups with seniors to check in with them about how their year is going, what plans they have for next year, and solicit their feedback on our school and how I might be a better leader. Their stories fill me with great pride and joy, and sometimes bring a tear to my eye. This past Monday was no exception. Each student—some of whom have been here for many years and some of whom are newer—spoke of the school as family, of the remarkable sense of community that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive of all.

Small class size is indeed a significant factor that contributes to the close-knit community we enjoy. However, we are committed to small classes for another very important reason: they result in academic success and higher levels of achievement. Our teachers know this from their experience, but there is also an immense amount of research that confirms it. Read More

Give To The Max Day Is One Week Away!

November 7, 2019

Give to the Max Day is the one day when our community rallies together to reach a big milestone for our “Make a Joyful Gift, Create a Better Future” campaign. Learn more about the Fall Campaign and why this time of year matters to every student, teacher, and community member at MPA.

Join us on Thursday, November 14 for a Give to the Max Day Community Coffee at 8 AM in the Family Commons, and at the end of the school day for our Give to the Max Day assembly and Lip Sync Contest in the Lansing Sports Center at 2:30 PM.

Make a gift today to increase your grade’s giving and to earn fun class prizes if they reach the goal of 70% participation! If a grade reaches 70% participation by November 15, Lower School students will win a party with Mr. Sheehan, Middle School students will win a Friday Night Party, and Upper School students will have a Coffee and Hot Chocolate Bar.

Join Us For The Second Screening Of “Angst”

November 7, 2019

Mounds Park Academy invites you to the second showing this week of the documentary “Angst” with open conversation to follow. The MPA Parents Association is graciously sponsoring this IndieFlix original documentary designed to raise awareness around anxiety. The film includes interviews with children, teens, educators, experts, parents, and a very special interview with Michael Phelps.

Friday, November 8, 8-9:30 AM
Recital Hall | adults only
No RSVP is Required
Watch the trailer at angstmovie.com Read More

Make A Joyful Gift, Create A Better Future

October 31, 2019

This year’s Fall Campaign is well underway! At MPA, we believe that participation matters. Every gift of every size is valued and makes an impact. If a grade reaches 70% giving participation during the Fall Campaign, then the class wins a fun activity for students! Here are the prizes for each division:

Lower School: A recess party with Mr. Sheehan
Middle School: Kids-only Friday Night Party in the Family Commons
Upper School: Coffee and Hot Chocolate Bar before and after school

Make A Gift

Physics 9 Sets Up Problem-Solving For Life

October 31, 2019

Physics 9 represents a change to the science curriculum starting in the 2019-2020 school year at MPA. For the first time, ninth graders are taking physics, and this adjustment to the science sequence at MPA allows for a variety of electives in the twelfth-grade year.

“By moving physics to the ninth grade, we are creating a foundational science course for all ninth graders that will introduce them to both the essential principles of physics and the core skills need for success in Upper School science courses,” says Hannah Sullivan, Upper School science teacher. “We’ve moved many of the core skills formally developed in the ninth grade science and engineering course to this new ninth grade course, while at the same time covering the topics typically covered in a high school physics course with a conceptual approach geared to the ninth graders.”

Physics 9 is experimentally based and introduces students to the principles of physics that make up our everyday experiences. Students discover some of the ways the physical world operates, as well as investigate motion, forces, energy, waves, optics, and electricity. Engineering and problem-solving principles are incorporated through several project-based design challenges. The egg drop project is one of the challenges that students undertake as part of the course. Students design a device under specified weight and volume that would protect an egg in fall from 11 meters. This was related to their unit studying Falling Objects, Newton’s Laws, Force, Impulse, and Momentum. Read More

The Essence Of Joyful Giving

October 31, 2019

by Neelu Boddipalli, MPA Parent and Trustee

I’m a firm believer that education is the best gift you can give a person–especially a child. Education has played a defining role in my life and I am grateful for the opportunities it has opened for my family. It was education that rewrote my father’s destiny from the ancestral life of a rice farmer to that of a prolific and celebrated innovator. It was education that gave a voice to my mother–a high school dropout–who self-taught English, earned a high school diploma and Bachelor’s degree to become a successful working mother. I watched how education transformed my extended family–urbanizing and globalizing us and increasing our intellectual capital.

So, when it came to my own children, there was no question in my mind that education would–must–play an important role in their lives. But why a private education? As our boys embarked on their K-12 journey, we leaned toward Mounds Park Academy for one simple reason: the love of learning. MPA invests in exceptional leaders who are committed to nurturing the love of learning in growing minds. MPA also invests in creating an environment–such as the Makerspace and the virtual classroom–that fosters the love of learning. These benefits, which I’m grateful my children get to enjoy, were the result of generosity long before we came to MPA. Read More

MPA Students Finding Their Voices To Create Change

October 31, 2019

With a mission to empower communities to engage in climate change solutions and a vision for “a world of resilient communities with equitable solutions to climate change,” Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy is providing youth with an opportunity to stand up for a cause they feel passionate about. Among the first generation to experience effects of climate change are MPA seniors Jordan Akers and Meera Dear, who seized this opportunity as a chance to use their voices and lead for their own generation and those to come. The two attended Climate Generation’s Youth Climate Kickoff at Roosevelt High School, joining other local youth and leaders for a day of learning, making new connections, problem-solving, and growth.

“We loved connecting with like-minded activists and learning about other issues and movements. Being there, we really felt like we were changing the world,” they wrote in their blog post about the event.

Jordan and Meera navigated through workshops and deep discussions, with topics that were both familiar and brand new, from environmental racism to the philosophies behind protesting. Discussing with new people and discovering more about climate change solutions built upon not only their knowledge, but also their confidence, and it furthered their passion for making a difference in their communities.

“To say the least, this year’s Youth Climate Kickoff was a transformative experience,” they wrote. Read Jordan and Meera’s full blog post reflection here!

High Performing And High Risk? Let’s Learn And Talk About This

October 31, 2019

by Jenn Milam, Ph.D., Middle School director

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, you will find a guest Head’s Message here from one of MPA’s division directors. We hope you enjoy reading their thoughts and reflections about life at MPA.

It seems everywhere we turn these days, there is a new story about mental illness, anxiety, and depression alongside the challenges of maintaining psychologically healthy children in a world that seems to be moving so quickly hardly any of us can keep up. Some of the stories bring horrific tragedy to our television screens and images that almost none of us can bear. And if you look a little more closely, there are more and more stories that are seeking to illuminate and explore the often unseen, silent struggle of young people dealing with anxiety, depression, disconnection, and loneliness. In a special issue of Time magazine, “Mental Health: A New Understanding,” researchers, doctors, and sociologists take various perspectives on mental health, its historical roots in disease classification and treatment, and some of the more modern contributing factors, including but not limited to, technology, social pressure, and family life. In addition to the sociocultural milieu and newsworthy stories I read about mental health and anxiety, I work alongside young people and see the stress, the anxiety and depression, the mounting weight of their worries being carried from class to class, role to role, activity to activity. Read More

Thank You For A Special Culture Day At MPA!

October 30, 2019

Culture Day at MPA was made possible with help from our wonderful faculty, staff, parent, and student volunteers and participants. We are incredibly lucky to have such an amazing community at MPA! On behalf of the Parents Association, thank you to everyone who was involved.

Thank You MPA Faculty & Staff!
Language teachers Evelyn Johson, Maria Jose Johnson, Martha Castellano, Liz DesLauriers, Kari Kunze-Hoeg, and Marisue Gleason for providing artifacts, information and participation; Nicole Koen for crafts in the Makerspace; Jenn Milam for procuring volunteers and MCing; Sarah McFarland for planning and coordination; Hannah Lawson for preparing the musicians; Lauren Hernandez and Natalie Waters Seum for all the marketing materials and advertising; Jennifer Rogers-Petitt, Ashley Goetzke, and Ilse Larsen in Development for help with logistics and getting the word out; Jake Eibon for A/V logistics; custodial staff Vern Kissner, Thomas Connors, Andy Gilbert, and Pat McLees for set up, take down, and clean up; Sage Dining Services, Chef Doug Pittman, and his staff for the delicious food!

Thank You Parents!
Tina Jain for donating drinks; Melissa Tuura-Johnson for the awesome decorations; Sunderraju Ramachandran for the idli cooking demonstration; Lizabeth Lane, Yukiko Miyokawa, Gayane Manukyan, Chris Weimholt, Lucia Gray, Eliza Auyeung, Christine Daves, Deborah Crutchfield, Weijun Tanya Liang, Samrina Mapara, Anastasia Mastrogiorgis, Alan Troske, Kristin Gasteazoro, Jim Saliba, Raphael Coffey, Karlyn Peterson, Adrienne Risner, Fabiola Grubhofer, Amy Cowen, Christine Larson, Sally Richie, Mikki Williams, Susan Mercer, Anudeep Rahil, Marian Hassan, and Misty Tandon for help with the parade, decorations, serving food and cleaning up.

view the photos >

Emergency Alert System Testing

October 30, 2019

On Wednesday, November 6 at 9:45 AM, MPA will test its Emergency Alert System. MPA uses this system throughout the year to alert families of school closures and, in rare cases, emergencies on campus. You should receive an email, a phone call, and a text message at the time of the test, provided MPA has the most current contact information for you in the database.

If you would like to update any of your contact information, please contact your division assistant as soon as possible:

Lower School: Becky Tesdahl at btesdahl@moundsparkacademy.org
Middle School: Jolynn Lassonde at jlassonde@moundsparkacademy.org
Upper School: Dianne Peterson at dpeterson@moundsparkacademy.org