MOUNDS PARK ACADEMY i-TERM 2019
MPA MIDDLE SCHOOL i-TERM Week of March 11-15, 2019 PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW: Mounds Park Academy’s i-Term provides students in grades 5–8 with a unique opportunity to embody MPA’s mission of thinking independently and learning joyfully by participating in a one-week enrichment experience. i-Term courses are designed to provide inquiry-based, experiential learning beyond the classroom. The project-based, focused nature of i-Term offerings enables students to learn new skills, do things that are not possible within a normal school setting, and be exposed to things they would not be otherwise. Students will venture into the community, work with experts in a particular field, and create new friendships along the way during this signature experience.
STUDENT OWNERSHIP: While students are required to participate in i-Term, they are empowered to select a course that will either deepen their current understanding of a topic or introduce them to a new area of interest.
REGISTRATION PROCEDURES: Students will be asked to select three courses for i-Term. While class sizes are purposefully kept small to ensure an intimate learning environment, every effort will be made to match students with their first choice. Course preferences are due in the Middle School Office by August 28, 2018. Once a student is registered and confirmed in a course, no changes will be made.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Several i-Term classes are covered by tuition; however, some courses require additional fees to help offset travel expenses. Families are required to pay these fees by the dates indicated on the registration forms..
USING THIS DOCUMENT: i-Term courses are divided into four categories—STEM, Global Leadership, Fine Arts, and Miscellaneous. They are color coded as indicated below. Use this document to review course content and select your ideal i-Term course.
STEM COURSES
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COURSES
FINE ARTS COURSES
MISCELLANEOUS COURSES i-TERM ONLINE: moundsparkacademy.org/iterm
ARCTIC ADVENTURES COST: $400.00
This course invites students to embrace winter with outdoor activities and learning about the Inuit culture. Participants will travel to Ely for three days to go dogsledding and to learn about wildlife and tracking, stopping at the Wolf Center on the way back to school. Back in the Twin Cities, they will work with a naturalist as they take a historical snowshoe tour at Fort Snelling State Park. Finally, students will create Inuit style prints and learn more about the culture through music, cooking, and games.
STEM COURSES
ANIMAL SCIENCE COST: $25.00
Partnering with the Minnesota Zoo and Como Zoo, students will learn the ins-andouts of a day in the life of a zoo. The first day at the Minnesota Zoo will focus on the care and training of animals. Day two will focus on exhibit design. What exactly goes into making the homes for these animals? Students will work with designers to see how ideas become reality. On day three, they will work with Como Zoo and look at how the zoo has transformed from “visitor centered exhibits” with the animals front and center to “animal centered exhibits” where the needs of the animals come first. Back at MPA, students will utilize the Makerspace to create enrichments, and begin the design process to build an exhibit for the “MPA Zoo.” On the final day, design becomes reality as participants work to build their exhibits.
STEM COURSES
STYLE ENGINEERS COST: NONE
Have you ever wanted to learn to sew and design clothing? Have you ever wanted to investigate how materials move? Style Engineers brings together science, technology, engineering and math as part of the process of fashion design. Students in the course will learn to sew basic garments and drape fabric, but they’ll also learn about the engineering design process and investigate different materials. We’ll study how different clothing and fabrics can facilitate movement and insulate the wearer from temperature extremes. We’ll also experiment with wearable electronics and sew our own LED circuits. The course will culminate in a design challenge where teams of students will have to design a garment and consider factors such as mobility, insulation, and creativity. Students will present their creations in a “runway” show on the last day of i-Term.
STEM COURSES
WOODWORKING: CREATING AND FINISHING FURNITURE COST: $25.00
This Woodworking course will allow students to build a piece of furniture that is completely made from wood. Within this course, students will learn how to use different woodworking machinery and power tools that allow them to cut, shape, and create their work. Students will also learn how to sand and paint/stain their pieces of woodwork. While students will have to follow directions on how to build their product, they will have the opportunity to add their own personal flare to their project. Students will be able to pick from a variety of furniture pieces. In addition to students making their own product, they will take a field trip to see how a business interacts with people who do woodworking on a daily basis or as a hobby. A guest speaker will also present on how he developed a passion for woodworking.
STEM COURSES
SPORTS MEDICINE AND WELLNESS COST: $25.00
Do you enjoy sports? Are you interested in learning about health-related careers that allow you to work with athletes? This course will introduce students to a range of specialties in the field, including physical therapy, orthopedics, athletic training, nutrition, massage therapy, podiatry, and more. Students will learn from professional practitioners, and will travel off-site to learn more about their own personal fitness as well as to see a college training facility. Participants will try out new technologies, such as concussion testing and tools to adjust an athlete’s alignment, and will learn about the identification, rehabilitation, and prevention of injuries. Finally, students will apply their learning to create a fitness and wellness plan for a specific sport and age group.
STEM COURSES
FRENCH IMMERSION TRIP TO QUEBEC COST: $2,040-$2,195 (dependent on group size)
This five-day excursion to Quebec City includes a variety of museum visits, a visit to a Quebec school classroom to meet students for games and activities, snowshoeing on the Plains of Abraham along with a visit to the Citadelle, and a cable car ride to the top of Montmorency Falls. Students will participate in interactive games to experience the legends at Huron-Wendat Village, see a historic re-creation of the battle of the Plains of Abraham, and visit the famous pilgrimage site of Cathedrale Ste Anne de BeauprĂŠ. Students will also toboggan through the city and visit the famous Ice Hotel. This course is open to all students; parents are invited to travel as well. A complete itinerary is available in the Middle School office.
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COURSES
HEIFER INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL VILLAGE AND WORKING FARM COST: $900.00
We will fly to Little Rock, Arkansas to visit Heifer Ranch’s working farm. Heifer International is an aid organization that provides live animals to families in need around the world as a way of producing self-sufficiency. During Heifer’s week-long program, we will increase our understanding of global hunger and poverty issues through an immersive experience in which nothing–shelter, food, water, or cooking fuel–can be taken for granted. On the farm, we will participate in hands-on service projects, including gardening, maintenance, and livestock chores. Our service will allow us to give back to Heifer International while experiencing something for the first time, like milking a goat, feeding rabbits, or harvesting vegetables. As our flights allow, we will also stop at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum and/or at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas to learn about the crucial role the school played in the desegregation of schools following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Decision.
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COURSES
KOREAN CULTURE AND LANGUAGE COST: $25.00
Korea is very important to Americans for a multitude of reasons, from the North Korean nuclear weapons program to the South Korean Kia and Hyundai cars you see every day, and from K-pop to Kim Jong-un’s haircut. But most Americans know relatively little about this peninsula in East Asia. This course will immerse students in Korean culture, history, politics, and language. We will make and eat Korean food, view and discuss (music and other) videos, read Korean stories, learn about religious and philosophical ideas, learn about the Korean War and the current political situation, and study the Korean language. Finally, we will learn about the ties that bind Korea to its neighbors, Japan and China. We will venture off campus for a related field trip.
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COURSES
SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER COST: $25.00
This class will voyage into science fiction, old and new. Together we will travel back through literature, film and television while exploring different themes of science fiction, such as artificial intelligence, aliens, time travel, and utopia and dystopias. Students will read and analyze classic and modern science fiction authors like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, M.T. Anderson, Mary Pearson, and more. The use of popular television shows and films, like “Star Trek,” “Twilight Zone,” and “Dr. Who,” will be shown to examine how science fiction themes are brought to life. Finally, participants will take field trips to the Bakken Museum and Science Museum, where they will focus on the blending of science fiction and science reality. A few more surprises will be in store for those who choose to boldly go where no one has gone before!
FINE ARTS COURSES
STOP MOTION ANIMATION COST: NONE
In this course, you will be introduced to stop motion animation using iPads. Stop motion originally took hours and hours to create a short sequence, but with the advent of technology filming it moves much more quickly. That said, students should come to class with plenty of patience for the process. During the first week, we will explore character development and story boarding. To practice our skills, we will be creating short animated sequences in small groups. The second week students will choose a theme and create their very own short animations, with plenty of time to experiment. Note: While some stop motion animation is focused on drawing, we will be using colored and textured paper to build our two dimensional scenes in this class. You don’t have to think you are good at drawing to take this class!
FINE ARTS COURSES
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH TECHNICAL THEATER COST: $25.00
Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of a theater production? How does that giant set appear onstage? Are those actors really eating all that food onstage? How did Cinderella’s dress magically turn into a gown onstage? Is that real blood? There is all kinds of magic that happens backstage––find out how to create it for yourself! Students will learn the craft and artistry involved in creating the behind the scenes magic to live theater through hands-on projects and field trips. Each techie will learn the tricks of the trade and techniques such as 3D painting, lighting effects, how to design and build props, how to create fake food used on stage, how to create costume pieces, makeup effects, and scenery construction. Guest professionals will demonstrate techniques used in productions and that will ignite the artist within each student. Backstage tours of local theater companies will give students an opportunity to meet other professionals and the magic that can be found in every theater firsthand.
FINE ARTS COURSES
ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, AND DESIGN ODYSSEY COST: $25.00
Have you ever looked up and wondered how buildings were designed and constructed? Do you like to draw and build things? This course will expose students to many aspects of the construction process, including drawing plans, landscape architecture, interior design, engineering, and contracting. Participants will learn about some great structures in the world, study famous architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank O. Gehry, and explore Green Design. Finally, students will travel to local sites to get a firsthand look at both modern and classical designs, and will create their own architectural plans.
FINE ARTS COURSES
MEDIA STUDIES COST: $25.00
Students will have the opportunity to explore the world of film production and investigate the power of the media through journalism. In addition, they will study different areas of filmmaking including PSA’s (Public Service Announcements), commercials, and news segments, as they visit local media outlets and go “behind the scenes.” There will be adventures in video production including scripting, shot set up, interview techniques, lighting, sound, and editing. The course will culminate in an exhibition of original student video projects.
MISCELLANEOUS COURSES
ENTREPRENEURSHIP COST: NONE
Have you ever wondered what it takes to start your own business? This course will expose students to all aspects of business development, including identifying a product or service, analyzing government regulations, creating a budget, securing start-up funding, and designing a marketing strategy. Students will talk to entrepreneurs in a variety of fields to learn about the risks and rewards associated with entrepreneurship, and will individually or collaboratively develop and present their own preliminary business plan.
MISCELLANEOUS COURSES
“
i-Term gives students a chance to set aside the normal school schedule and focus on one class they choose, all day, all week. Students dig deep, explore a passion, and follow their curiosity– wherever it may lead them.
”
MR. ETHIER, MIDDLE SCHOOL FACULTY