MARCH 7–11, 2016

MPA MIDDLE SCHOOL i-TERMWeek of March 7–11, 2016

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 MS Office by April 30, 2015. 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 Other Courses. They are color coded as indicated below. Use this document to

review course content and select your ideal i-Term course.

ITERM ONLINE:

moundsparkacademy.org/iterm

STEMCOURSES

GLOBALLEADERSHIP

COURSES

OTHERCOURSES

FINE ARTSCOURSES

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 3 days to go dogsledding

and learn about wildlife and tracking, stopping at the Bear and Wolf Centers along

the way. Back in the Twin Cities, they will work with a naturalist as they take an

historical snowshoe tour at Fort Snelling State Park. Finally, students will create

Inuit art with clay and printmaking, and learn more about the culture through

cooking and games.

STEM COURSES

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION MPA (C.S.I. MPA)

COST: NONE

The CSI franchise has taken over the airwaves and brought forensic science

to millions of homes in the U.S. Have you caught C.S.I. fever? If so, learn the

techniques that real detectives use in solving crimes: finger print analysis,

impression analysis, hair analysis, blood splatter analysis (fake blood of course!),

and more. Special guests from the field of forensic science will bring their

expertise to your learning experience. The highlight of the week occurs on Friday

when students, working in teams, use the knowledge and techniques they learned

throughout the week to solve a crime and help bring the suspect(s) to justice!

STEM COURSES

HEALTHCARE CAREERS AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

COST: $25.00

This course is designed to expose students to a variety of areas within the

Healthcare field. Students will hear from physicians about their training, daily

life, and the range of specialties available, assess medical apps, and research,

diagnose, and prescribe treatment for some uncommon ailments. Participants

will also work with staff from local universities to learn about population health,

including global health disparities and infectious diseases. Finally, students

will explore biomedical engineering as they travel to the 3M Innovation Center

and the University of Minnesota’s Medical Device Center, learn about robotics

and tele-surgery, and use MPA’s 3D printers to collaboratively design their own

medical “device.”

STEM COURSES

PHONE AND TABLET APP DEVELOPMENT

COST: NONE

Students will learn to create and program phone and tablet applications.

They will use Javascript and Titanium SDK to create apps that can run on

mobile devices. The main focus of the class will be on the iPhone and

iPad. Along with learning to create native user interfaces, students

will learn to use the physics engine included with iOS to create simple games.

STEM COURSES

CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

COST: $25.00

This introductory Chinese language and culture class will give students a deep

dive into all things Chinese. Students will learn some basic Mandarin language,

including greetings, numbers, colors, body parts, characters, and more. They will

put their new skills to use when they travel to a Chinese grocery store, and then

return to school to create authentic specialties. Participants will explore traditional

Chinese music, art, and dance, and be introduced to elements of Chinese martial

arts. Finally, students will learn about Chinese history and geography, try their hand

at calligraphy, and hear from an expert at the Confucius Institute at the University of

Minnesota.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COURSES

FRENCH IMMERSION TRIP TO QUEBEC

COST: $1,995 - $2,195 (based on number of travelers)

This five-day excursion to Quebec City includes a variety of museum visits, a guided

tour of the National Assembly, a visit to a local school to meet bilingual peers,

and a cable car ride to the top of Montmorency Falls. Students will participate in

interactive games to learn about traditions at Huron-Wendat Village, see an historic

re-creation of the battle of the Plains of Abraham, and visit the famous pilgrimage

site of Cathédrale Ste-Anne de Beaupré. Students will also toboggan, ice-skate, and

visit the famous Hôtel de Glace. This course is open to all students; parents are

invited to travel as well.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COURSES

Spend the week immersed in the language, cultures, and histories of the German-

speaking world (including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the German diaspora

around the world). Students will learn some basic German language throughout the

week, and explore German food, music, art, literature (Grimm’s Fairy Tales), pop

culture, and current events. Participants will visit the Germanic-American Institute’s

mansion on Summit Avenue, the Minnesota History Center to learn about German

migrants to Minnesota, the historic Rathskeller in the Minnesota Capitol building,

and the Glockenspiel Restaurant. The capstone experience of the week will be an

overnight at Concordia Language Village Waldsee. During the overnight, students

will practice some of their German phrases, learn typical games and songs, and eat

authentic meals.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COURSES

GERMAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

COST: $200.00

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COURSES

SPANISH IMMERSION TRIPTO PUERTO RICO

COST: $2,704.00

Practice your Spanish skills during this seven-day trip as you immerse yourself

in Puerto Rican life and culture. Students will learn Colonial history as they tour

the Capitol, El Morro Castle, and the plazas and museums of San Juan. They

will journey into the Caribbean national forest, creep through the caves of Rio

Camuy Cave Park, and visit Arecibo Observatory, home of the world’s largest radio

telescope. Participants will also meet local students during a visit to a Puerto

Rican School, learn Salsa dancing, explore Serralles Castle, and relax on Luquillo

Beach. This course is open to all students; parents are invited to travel as well.

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 use computer-aided design tools as they create their

own architectural plans.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COURSESFINE ARTS COURSES

CIRCUS ADVENTURE

COST: $50.00

Flip for fun. Jump for joy. Soar to new heights. Join Circus Juventas’ internationally

renowned troupe of coaches for a week of adventure, risk-taking, and fun.

Students will spend their mornings in warm-up activities, participating in team

games, and pushing themselves to try new things as they rotate through stations.

In the afternoons, participants will experience more traditional circus arts. Finally,

the group will don professional costumes and makeup for a small culminating

performance at the end of the week. Come try your hand at acrobatics, juggling,

theater, aerial stunts, balancing acts, and more!

FINE ARTS COURSES

MUSIC COMPOSITION: THE ROAD FROM THEORY TO PRINT

COST: $25.00

Have you ever wanted to compose your own piece of music but have no idea

how to start? This class will introduce some of the knowledge necessary to

begin composing music, including how to create a melody and accompaniment.

You will learn basic music theory and work individually and in groups to create

compositions, which will evolve through improvisation on instruments or with

singing. GarageBand, Finale and Noteflight will be the focus of the music

technology portion of the compositions following the initial composition on staff

paper. A local composer will share insights with the class, and students will travel

to a recording studio to record their work. At the conclusion of the week, students

will have the opportunity to share their compositions with friends and family.

FINE ARTS 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

WITCHES, WOLVES AND STEPSISTERS

COST: NONE

Why is the witch so mean? What if the wolf is just hungry? And are the stepsisters

really as dumb as they seem? From movies to musicals, students will look at

fairy tales through the eyes of the villains to write their own play based on these

misunderstood characters. At the end of the week, participants will perform for

Lower School students, family and friends. This course will be directed by an artist

from the Children’s Theatre Company.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

COST: NONE

OTHER COURSES

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 entre-

preneurs 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.

STRATEGY GAMING

COST: $25.00

How would you like to... Explore a new land in Settlers of Catan? Race across

Europe by train in Ticket to Ride? Build a great city in Citadels? Learn how to play

Dominion, Carcassonne, and Pandemic? Playing strategy games develops analysis

and problem solving skills and helps build communication and negotiation ability

through face-to-face competition and cooperation. Join us as we learn how to play,

analyze, and form winning tactics and strategies for several games and travel

to Fantasy Flight Games in Roseville to interact with game developers, see how

games are produced, and act as game testers. If you love games and strategy, this

is the class for you!

OTHER COURSES

OTHER COURSES

TASTE OF CAREERS

COST: $25.00

Does the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” make you ner-

vous? Do you find yourself wondering how you will actually use the skills you learn

in school each day? This course is designed to introduce students to a variety of

career options in the areas of “The Arts,” “Business,” “Law and Politics,” “Science,

Technology and Medicine,” and “Service, Education, and Non-Profit work.” Par-

ticipants will take personal inventories to highlight their strengths and interests,

create a resume, prepare for a mock interview, and learn a bit about the college

admissions process. Guest speakers will provide insights into training, daily life,

and other aspects of each field, and students will travel to local companies to get

an insider’s view.

2051 Larpenteur Avenue East

Maplewood, MN 55109

651-777-2555

moundsparkacademy.org