Mondays with Mike: Upper School in Focus – What We Saw in Your Child This Year
PCA Families,
This is Part Two of this week’s Mondays with Mike as we are on week 3 of our summer wrap-up series—and this email shines a spotlight on the Upper School.
If you’re a parent, a student, or a staff member who walks the halls of Grades 9–12, I hope this episode gives you a moment to pause, reflect, and give thanks. You’ll hear from Upper School teachers and leaders across STEM, humanities, leadership, and student life.
These aren’t recaps—they’re reflections. Honest, thoughtful, and often moving, these voices capture what it looked like for your child to press through challenge, step into calling, and grow in depth this year.
Special Format: This episode shares multiple stories in short segments from across the Upper School. These were recorded just before teachers stepped into summer break.
If you are interested in what went out to the families in the younger grades, you can check out those podcasts HERE or at any of the links below.
We did this last year, and it was the most listened to MWM we have done in nearly two years. So, we are bringing it back!
Know we are so grateful for the growth we saw in your kids this year at the Upper School!
Mike
This year in the humanities, your child did more than study history and literature—they entered into a conversation across centuries. From Confessions by Augustine to The Brothers Karamazov, from the rhetoric of Lincoln and Douglass to the poetry of T.S. Eliot and Luci Shaw, students engaged with enduring questions of truth, justice, beauty, and belief. They practiced crafting clear, compelling arguments; listening with empathy; and writing with both structure and soul.
Teachers noted a growing ability to analyze complex ideas, ask thoughtful questions, and articulate convictions with grace. In an age when many peers are shaped by soundbites and scrolls, your child is learning to think in whole paragraphs, reason across disciplines, and speak as someone anchored in truth. This kind of formation does not happen by accident—and it offers something unique and lasting.
STEM – Mastering Challenge with Precision and Purpose
In Upper School STEM, students faced challenge head-on. Whether exploring real-world applications of statistics, constructing solutions in robotics, running chemical reactions, or persevering through tough problems in calculus, your child was invited to grow through both success and struggle. Some earned dual credit, others built confidence in foundational skills, but all were asked to persist, adapt, and think critically.
What emerged was more than academic achievement—it was maturity: the ability to work through frustration, seek help, collaborate well, and stay faithful in the details. Unlike many of their peers, PCA students benefit from small classes, strong support, and a community that integrates technical excellence with a Christ-centered purpose. Your child is learning to steward knowledge with humility and determination.
Leadership & Counseling – Growing in Wisdom, Strength, and Service
Your child is stepping into leadership—sometimes in visible roles, sometimes in quieter, more personal ways. Through our Leadership in Action program, students collaborated across areas like academics, spiritual life, and student culture. They helped lead events, welcomed peers, offered spiritual encouragement, and learned how to grow through both feedback and failure. Alongside that, trusted adults walked with them through hard choices and soul questions—listening, praying, and guiding.
This year, many students discovered that real leadership is not about position, but about presence and perseverance. Some grew in public leadership; others developed inner resolve. What unites them is a maturing understanding that influence is something to steward—not to showcase. In a world where leadership is often reduced to visibility, your child is learning to lead from the inside out—with humility, courage, and a servant’s heart.
June Series on Mondays with Mike
- Unlocking Academic Growth: A Review
- Behind the Lens with Nate Paul
- THIS WEEK: Surprise guests! Stories of growth in your kids (PCAP, LS, and MS stories are HERE)
- NEXT WEEK: Spiritual Growth and what you are telling us
To hear past episodes, share with your loved ones and friends, follow, and even review us, check out our PCA Podcast on these platforms:
