Why Global Learning is Essential Over the course of the last two years, as a school, we have reviewed the scope and sequence of our curriculum at MPA. We revised our global and humanities offerings to reflect our students’ needs as growing citizens of and leaders of the most diverse and interconnected society in history. To better help them in their roles as global citizens, we looked at ways we could inter-connect our History, English, and Global curriculum so that our students could more easily make connections between areas of study. As a result of these discussions, we have made important changes to our Humanities departments’ curriculum. One of these new offerings you see displayed here: our new Middle School Global program. The changes we made to the global program will aid students’ ability to apply their social studies skills which include: base knowledge, understanding location, chronology, cause and effect, individual impact, and more. The changes in curriculum will make the pages of literature come to life and, arguably more importantly, they will also encourage students to connect with the world beyond the classroom walls. These alternate classroom environments give students opportunities to understand the impact of the individual on history, the possibilities that exist for them as one person in the world, and remind them of the reality that the world is their classroom. These decisions to improve the global offerings for our students reflect the global mission and values of the Academy to engage the whole child, inspire the independent learner, and prepare the global
leader of tomorrow to make a positive difference in the world. You will notice on your contracts that the costs of our class trips have increased in price, but we are confident that you will find these offerings to be an incredible value. Additionally, we are happy to announce that all of our offerings will take place the week prior to our Spring recess which means that all middle school students will be experiencing alternate classroom environments at the same time and families will have no interruptions to their recess. It is with great excitement that we introduce these new opportunities to our families. We thank you for your continued support of the importance of the global mission of Morgan Park Academy.
Director of Middle School Global Learners Program
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Middle School
Global Learning Trips Class Trips Class Trips are included on each student’s contract in the cost of tuition. 6th Grade - Nature’s Classroom Incorporated (Monday, March 20-24, 2017): $405
All 6th graders will take part in an outdoor educational experience at Nature’s Classroom Institute (NCI) which is located between Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Institute is surrounded by 600 acres of woodlands and open prairies and borders beautiful Lake Beulah. Students at Morgan Park Academy have been taking part in the program at Nature’s Classroom since 1996. MPA was the second group ever to attend Nature’s Classroom and we have gone every year since then.
The Nature’s Classroom program stresses team building, individual independence, and experiential outdoor learning while including the current classroom curriculum of history, mathematics, art and writing. NCI motivates students to continually learn by teaching through creative and progressive methods. Pricing includes all meals, transportation, and lodging. To learn more about the program, please read the brochure by clicking here or read information on the NCI site here .
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7th Grade - Heifer International in Little Rock, Arkansas (Sunday, March 19 - 24, 2017):
$630
In alignment with our global values, all seventh graders at the Academy will take part in the Alternative Break offered by Heifer International. Alternative Break combines experiential learning programs, such as the Global Gateway experience and team building, with service activities. The service allows participants to give back while experiencing something for the first time like milking a goat or harvesting vegetables. Pricing includes all meals, transportation and lodging. To learn more, please visit their website or watch this video .
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8th Grade - Washington, D.C. with World Strides (Monday, March 20-24, 2017): $1600
Culminating their middle school experience, all MPA 8th graders will learn up-close about our nation’s history as they take part in a 5 day, 4 night trip to Washington, D.C. They will be guided by an expert course leader during their visits to the sites determined by the school coordinator. Sites each year will likely include all of the Smithsonian Museums, the White House, Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, the Kennedy Center, the Vietnam Wall Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Holocaust Museum among others. These sites are subject to the discretion of the trip coordinator and the 8th grade humanities teachers. A meeting will be held in September for parents of incoming 8th graders. Pricing includes all meals, transportation, and lodging.
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Elective World Language Trips These trips are elective (not included in the cost of tuition) and are available to 7th & 8th graders only. Students may participate in the trip for their language of study at the Academy. In addition, the monies are collected by the companies handling the trips; installment payments are an option. Parents do not pay Morgan Park Academy directly. 1. Spanish - Costa Rica - February 18 - 25, 2017: $2325 (May decrease with airfare cost and participation). This trip is offered through Hemisphere Travel. After travelling to Costa Rica, students will arrive in San Jose to participate in cultural, community, language immersion, and sustainability activities. To read more, please click here to read the brochure . 2. French - Quebec City - February 18 - 22, 2017: $1630 (This price is for 15 students. It will drop to $1394 if we have 20 students participate) This trip will be a cultural tour of Quebec City. Students will learn about the history and culture of this beautiful city while being immersed in the French language and practicing their chosen language. To read more, please click here to read the brochure .
*Passports are needed for these experiences.
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