China and Beyond

Last Wednesday evening, seniors and parents gathered on campus for the annual senior potluck dinner to launch their last year as MPA students. Speaking to the assembled group, Mr. Meacock issued a challenge, in this closing year, to make a difference. "Don't go only for what feels good, but what does good." He talked about the difference between celebrity and fame. "Celebrity," he said, "looks into the mirror of self, fame looks to the horizons of future betterment."

That same evening, on the other side of town, friends, family and admirers gathered to remember someone who, long ago, answered a similar challenge. When asked to join in a wildly ambitious plan to start a new school "to do good on a truly grand scale" Bob Flotten said, "yes."

Mr. Flotten passed away earlier this month, and at the memorial Wednesday evening, friends and family recalled a life of service with a particular emphasis on MPA. Bob Flotten, though his children did not attend MPA, was a key player in the creation of our school. He was a member of the very first board of trustees and served from 1982-84, then again from 1988-1994.

Maureen Conway: "Bob Flotten sat on the hiring committee that gave me my job, a job which has, to a great extent, come to define my life. Thus, in a very real way I owe many of the happiest times and some of the most important parts of my life to Bob."

Karen Rossbach: "He had that way of giving a person his full attention and made you feel like he knew you forever. He was a great person who loved Mounds Park Academy and gave tons of his time to getting it started. I feel fortunate to have known him."

Barb Bradley: "There was always a sense of joy about him, a total enthusiasm for MPA."

Marilyn Shardlow: "Bob was passionate about education: he put his time and money where his mouth was and gave an amazing amount of time to getting MPA off the ground. He was at every event in the early years."

Richard Meacock: "Bob was one of those people who seemed to radiate kindness. He was always fully engaged in conversations and asked highly perceptive questions in a profoundly respectful way. He was key to the tone established at MPA in its founding years."

As we look forward to a year of senior promise and opportunity, we thank Bob Flotten for answering the challenge and being among those at the beginning who made it all possible.

Mr. Meacock closed his remarks to seniors Wednesday night with this admonition: "Temper privilege with responsibility, and savour the pleasure that comes with a quiet, but no less powerful fame." We hope that Bob Flotten, in his final years, savored the pleasure that comes with the quiet fame he so richly deserves.

Posted by Mike Downs at 2:50 PM | Permalink

As we welcome new people to MPA, I recall two years ago when I was new myself. I was very excited about all the wonderful things going on here - the great teachers and wonderful students. I also noticed that there were some things that needed to be done that would make it possible for even more wonderful things to happen here - in new spaces and in new ways.

So we made a plan. And this summer, we started to put that plan into place. You may have noticed some changes. It is much easier to get on and off the south side of the campus now - drop off and pick up are considerably easier and there is more parking. Students in the lower school may have noticed that some of the classrooms look and feel much better than before. We have started renovating classrooms, and that will continue in coming years.

I also can't wait until Tuesday when we officially open the new grassy playing area that extends from the playground all the way to Larpenteur. We'll cut the ribbon Tuesday morning and it will be open to all.

But there was one other thing we did this summer, perhaps the simplest of all, that I am particularly excited about. In fact, it might be the most important addition. We put in a window. It's a special window. When you look through it, you can see forever. You can see the great big world outside. You can see the sky.

When you walk down the hall and you feel yourself coming in to the light from those new windows up above, let yourself look up. Let yourself see beyond that window to the big world outside. Imagine yourself in that world, becoming a part of it in your own special way. And imagine yourself making that world a better place for everyone, in your own special way. Because that is why you are here - so that we can help you, and you can help each other make yourselves ready for the big world outside, ready to go out and make it a better place for all of us.

Have a great year!

Posted by Mike Downs at 4:13 PM | Permalink