Colorado Academy’s SPEAK (Series for Parent Education About Kids) Program is a robust, educational lecture series produced by CA in collaboration with the Parent Association to host national and local experts who speak on topics of interest. The lecture series is provided as a free service to the CA community, and presentation times are varied to accommodate parent schedules. Sign up via the CA website to attend these informative and enlightening lectures. Please check CA’s website under “programs” for future dates and times.
ALL-SCHOOL
HOW CHILDREN SUCCEED: The Hidden Power of Character – Paul Tough
Wednesday, September 25, 2019, 8:30-10 a.m.
Sadler Room, CA Campus Center
Lecture followed by book signing
Paul Tough lays it bare: we believe that success comes from those who score highest on tests, from preschool to SATs. Yet evidence indicates that our story here might be dead wrong. Using the tools of science, Tough peels back the mysteries of character and traces the links between early childhood neurological development and environment. By showing how “nature” and “nurture” are intertwined, he explores how childhood stresses modify life success and the surprising ways that parents do—and do not—prepare their children for adulthood. He helps us understand how early adversity affects childhood emotional, social, and cognitive development, and what we can do about it. And in his newest book, The Years That Matter Most, which will be released September 10, Tough tells the stories of students trying to find their way, with hope, joy, and frustration, through the application process and into college. Drawing on new research, the book reveals how the landscape of higher education has shifted in recent decades and exposes the hidden truths of how the system works and for whom it works.
ALL-SCHOOL
THE STRESSED YEARS OF THEIR LIVES – Dr. B. Janet Hibbs & Dr. Anthony Rostain
Thursday, October 3, 2019, 8:30-10 a.m.
CA Dining Hall
Lecture followed by book signing
“The Stressed Years of their Lives is destined to become a well-thumbed handbook to help families cope with this modern age of anxiety,” says one review of this new book. Childhood is evaporating into a life filled with over-scheduled activities and screen time, and adolescence has become a high-stakes, time-starved pressure cooker of stress, fear, and perfectionism for kids, while many parents experience anxious over-involvement. Book authors Drs. Hibbs and Rostain will look at the unique stressors of this age and reveal the keys to health promotion and harm reduction.
LOWER SCHOOL
REACHING THE RELUCTANT READER – Jarrett Krosoczka
Tuesday, October 29, 2019, 8:30-10 a.m.
Sadler Room, CA Campus Center
New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka creates books with humor, heart, and a deep respect for his young readers. First published at the age of 23, Krosoczka has dozens of published books to his credit, including his wildly popular Lunch Lady graphic novels and his powerful young adult graphic memoir about growing up surrounded by family addiction—Hey, Kiddo. He has been a guest speaker in thousands of schools across the country and is a frequent guest lecturer at the Library of Congress. Find out tips on how parents can reach their most reluctant of readers.
MS & US PARENTS & STUDENTS
THE HUMAN ELEMENT – Award-Winning Documentary
Tuesday, November 12, 2019, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Knowles Lecture Hall, Upper School
Join CA in a screening of this arresting new documentary on climate change from the producers of Racing Extinction, The Cove, and Chasing Ice. In it, environmental photographer James Balog of Colorado captures the lives of everyday Americans on the front lines of climate change. With rare compassion and heart, The Human Element’s coast-to-coast series of captivating stories, including some shot in Denver, inspire us to reevaluate our relationship with the natural world. The screening will be followed by a talkback with a climate change scientist. The documentary is appropriate for students Grade Five and up, and students and parents are invited to attend together. Light dinner will be served.
LOWER SCHOOL, Pre-K Presentation
THE WELL BALANCED CHILD – Jon Kleiman, Challenge Success
Tuesday, December 3, 2019, 9:15-10:45 a.m.
Sadler Room, CA Campus Center
LOWER SCHOOL, K-5 Presentation
THE WELL BALANCED CHILD – Jon Kleiman, Challenge Success
Tuesday, December 3, 2019, 2:00- 3:30 p.m.
Sadler Room, CA Campus Center
In partnership with Stanford University, CA brings the “Challenge Success” program to campus for two parent presentations. Presenter Jon Kleiman will talk about how today’s high-pressure culture can interfere with healthy child development. Find out how to establish practices in your family that buffer against these pressures and enable children to flourish. In these presentations, you’ll learn how you can establish a healthier home environment for your school-aged child, reduce academic stress without sacrificing achievement, and increase your child’s resilience, creativity, and well-being.
ALL-SCHOOL
BUILDING RESILIENCY WITHIN OUR TEENS – Alex Yannacone, MA
Wednesday, December 11, 2019, 8:30-10 a.m.
Sadler Room, CA Campus Center
Join Alex Yannacone, MA, Community Programs Manager for the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center, for this informative session about your teenager. This training will discuss skills and strategies for building resiliency in your teenager, creating manageable goals, understanding the importance of self-care, and how to incorporate mindfulness exercises for students. We’ll identify barriers and obstacles, as well as how to get support and access resources.
ALL-SCHOOL
CALLING ALL MINDS – Temple Grandin
January 16, 2020, 5:30.- 8:00 p.m.
CA Dining Hall, light dinner served
Lecture followed by book signing
With world-renowned autism spokesperson, scientist, and inventor Temple Grandin, join us to hear this evening of personal stories, inventions, and facts that will blow young inventors’ minds and make them soar. In Calling All Minds, Temple Grandin delves into the science behind inventions, the steps various people took to create and improve upon ideas as they evolved, and the ways in which young inventors can continue to think about and understand what it means to tinker, to fiddle, and to innovate. Drawing on her own experience as an autistic child, Grandin creates a blueprint for different ways to look at the world. And more than a call to action, she gives a call to imagination, and shows us that there is truly no single way to approach any given problem—but that an open and inquisitive mind is always key.
ALL-SCHOOL – SPEAK OUT Event
HIDDEN FIGURES: The Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race – Margot Lee Shetterly
Thursday, January 30, 2020, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
CA Dining Hall, light dinner served
Lecture followed by book signing
Audiences of all backgrounds have been captivated by the phenomenal true story of the black “human computers” who used math to change their own lives—and their country’s future. Set against the rich backdrop of World War II, the Space Race, the Civil Rights Era, and the burgeoning fight for gender equality, this talk brings to life the stories of the four women who worked as mathematicians at NASA during the Golden Age of space travel. Teaching math at segregated schools in the South, they were called into service during the WWII labor shortages. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had jobs worthy of their skills. In this extraordinary talk, Hidden Figures author Margot Lee Shetterly talks about race, gender, science, the history of technology, and more. She shows us the surprising ways that women and people of color have contributed to this country’s innovation, while she instills in us a sense of wonder and possibility.
ALL-SCHOOL
SCREEN/LIFE BALANCE – Catherine Price
Thursday, February 6, 2020, 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.
Sadler Room, CA Campus Center
Lecture followed by book signing
Science journalist, speaker, teacher, and author of Screen/Life Balance and How to Break Up with Your Phone, Catherine Price reveals some of the many ways in which our phones are affecting our productivity, creativity, relationships, memory, attention spans, and sleep. In this talk, discover a plan to take back your life from your device, without giving it up completely, and help your children to do the same. Price uses her background to help people question their assumptions, make positive changes, and see mundane things (i.e., phones) in a smarter and more philosophical light.
UPPER SCHOOL
CRACKING THE CODE OF COLLEGE ADMISSIONS – Craig Goebel
Wednesday, February 19, 2020, 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.
Sadler Room, CA Campus Center
Join Craig Goebel, an education consultant, as he helps parents understand how colleges and universities use market research to excite and win prospective applicants. Ratchet down the emotion and guesswork about the process, and find out what is driving colleges’ strategic recruitment, marketing tactics, and pricing, merit, and financial-aid decisions. Understand what data points are driving college branding and admissions and what you can do to be an informed consumer in the process. Goebel is a principal with Art & Science Group, a Baltimore-based consulting firm providing market-informed strategies to higher education and others.
ALL-SCHOOL
STATE OF THE SCHOOL – Dr. Mike Davis
Thursday, March 12, 2020, 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.
Sadler Room, CA Campus Center
Don’t miss this annual engaging address! It’s your opportunity to find out the latest CA news when Head of School Dr. Mike Davis shares a look at CA’s “dashboard” indicators. How does CA measure up? What are our future plans? What are the implications for your child’s education? The meeting is preceded by a brief Parent Association presentation, which will include the Parent Association Officers Slate for the 2020-2021 school year and options for gifting fundraising dollars back to CA.