Mind Lab National and International Olympics, 2009

The purpose of the Mind Lab Olympics is not only to finish the year in an exciting way but also to provide our pupils with a chance to put the Mind Lab etiquette, teamwork and thinking skills into practice.

On the 16th of May 2009 at St. Piran’s School in Maidenhead Berkshire, the 5th annual National Mind Lab Olympic Games were staged for school teams from England that offer the Mind Lab thinking skills educational programme.

This year 15 schools competed to be the English National Championship team and then to go on to Venice in June to compete against other countries national Mind Lab teams.

The Crosfields school team in Reading were the winners of the English National championship trophy ahead of Twickenham Prep (silver) and St. Piran’s School (bronze).

The team: Ewan Wilson (Abalone and captain), Max Raoult (Quoridor), Will Stevens (Checkers), Rahul Reddipalli (Octi) played masterful games throughout the closely fought championship.

Olympic competitors displaying thinking skills (creative thinking and critical thinking), social skills and emotional intelligence.

St. Piran’s Head teacher Jonathan Carroll was amongst the audience of proud parents and headteachers and said afterwards “I was amazed at all the children. Some are just 8 or 9 years and they have all displayed huge levels of concentration during the 20 minute rounds and then showed such dignity and respect in both winning and losing. It’s a great experience for them all and one of the reasons we value the Mind Lab programme so highly.”

Dan Jacoby, who teaches Mind Lab at St. Piran’s school said afterwards: “What a credit to all their parents. Absolute intense concentration and quiet while they picked their moves and tried hard to win and then the sheer delight and broad smiles at the fun of playing games. Using games is one of the oldest methods of teaching and with Mind Lab we teach decision making, problem solving and planning ahead which are the thinking skills at the core of all learning and subject teaching.”

All the Olympic teams who participated should be congratulated for their performance on the day. Not only did they play superbly using sophisticated strategies and skills but they displayed a huge amount of maturity and emotional intelligence as they both won and lost gracefully under a great deal of pressure. They were a great example of Mind Lab in action and made us all extremely proud.

The Crosfields School team then went on to compete at the International Mind Games Olympics held in Venice, Italy against 11 teams from of the 30 countries worldwide who have the Mind Lab educational programme. Please click here for a photo story of this exciting event.

UK Olympic champions display great thinking skills (creative thinking and critical thinking), social skills and emotional intelligence.

This was a hugely valuable life experience for the children in the team (and their parents who accompanied them) and for the thinking skills programme at the school. Although Mind Lab is much more than the Olympics, it is a truly exciting event and a life changing experience for the children, parents, and teachers, who participate.

As one of our head teachers e-mailed to us " Thank you for giving them such a brilliant opportunity- one I am sure they will remember for a long time!"

Next years International Olympics will be held in Budapest Hungary and will involve many more Mind Lab school teams from across the globe.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us for more details or information about this wonderful aspect of the Mind Lab programme.

Suri Poulos 01628 509021, suri@mindlabeurope.com, www.mindlabeurope.com