Congratulations to Nancy Dietman, William Dierenfield, Sarah Duvall, Jennifer Heegaard, Erin Powers, Eric Baudry, Josh Meltzer, and Karen Leopold who won first place in The Minnesota International Center's Worldquest competition this past weekend.  The competition included questions about world events, sports figures, flags and capitals, people in the news, and other geography trivia.  It was held at the McNamara Center at the University of Minnesota and was a sold-out event.

Last week Bob Cooke, Middle School Director, Nansee Greeley, Lower School Director, and I had the opportunity to attend an ISACS Conference for Division Heads in Chicago.  This conference was an opportunity to network with colleagues from other independent schools in the Midwest and was a valuable time to learn and reflect.  The conference featured two experts in education, human behavior and communication:  Alfie Kohn and Michael Thompson.  Alfie Kohn is the author of ten books on education including The Schools our Children Deserve and The Homework Myth:  Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing.   Michael Thompson is a consultant, author and psychologist who talked about the psychological journey that students experience during their 13 years of school.  Some of his books include The Pressured Child, Raising Cain, and Best Friends, Worst Enemies:  Understanding the Social Lives of Children.  Both speakers had thought-provoking ideas and questions that all schools need to ask.   I highly recommend checking out any of their books.