St. Mary's Announces 2012 Speakers Series

is partnering up with Irvine Technology Corporation to present the 2012 Speaker Series.

Three speakers are scheduled to discuss current parenting and education topics. Attendees are encouraged to interact with the speakers and participate in the question and answer portion of the evening.

The three sessions are:

• DEREK CARROLL — Taming Temper Tantrums
  M.A., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Child Behavior Specialist
  Jan. 26, 6:30 p.m.

Derek Carroll completed his undergraduate degree in Psychology and English at Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland and has a graduate degree from Chapman University with a Masters in Psychology, with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy.  He is a Child Behavior Specialist and has a number of strategies for early childhood behavior development and eradicating tantrums. Carroll will be discussing how best to promote more healthy self-control and communication in our children.

• WENDY MOGEL — The Blessing of a Skinned Knee
  Internationally Acclaimed Clinical Psychologist, Parenting Expert and Author
  Feb. 16, 6:30 p.m.

Wendy Mogel appears as a guest expert on the Today Show and is regularly interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR and Parents Magazine. A frequent keynote speaker, she addresses diverse groups reflecting on raising children in a world where entitlement and competition abound. Publisher's Weekly gave her New York Times best-selling book, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, a starred review saying, "Impassioned, lyrical and eminently practical, this volume is a real treasure." Rabbi Harold Kushner (author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People) praised her book about raising teenagers, The Blessing of a B Minus — calling it "wise, witty and well-written ... a treasury of common sense for anyone dealing with adolescents."

• PATRICK F. BASSETT - 21st Century Schools
  President, National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
  March 28, 2012 - Wednesday at 6:30pm

NAIS is a membership organization for more than 1,400 independent (private) schools and associations of schools in the U.S. and 250 affiliated schools and associations internationally. NAIS is a leader in educational leadership, research and trend analysis for independent K-12 college-prep education. Bassett will be providing a framework on "Schools of the Future" and the critical skills and values schools must develop in students to prepare them for the 21st century.

The speaker series, held in the St. Mary's School gymnasium, is free to the public. Register online.