DFW Mind Games Event Challenges Students
ARLINGTON, TEX. – The Texas Conference Office of Education team works alongside more than 230 educators to provide a well-rounded education for students in 21 schools throughout the state. Among the many activities that extend learning beyond the classroom are the newly introduced Mind Games events. The inaugural pilot was held Feb. 26, 2025, at Burton Adventist Academy (BAA) in Arlington, Tex. Six Texas Conference schools from Dallas and Fort Worth participated.
“Mind Games was born from conversations with a few of our educators,” said Kisha Norris, Texas Conference vice president for education. “As we began to think about how this event could impact our students and our system, we dreamed about an academic game that could target subject areas that needed a bit more concentrated study for our students based on our academic achievement scores.”
“Akin to a trivia competition, Mind Games challenges students across disciplines like math, science, history and Bible, including Adventist church history,” Texas Conference President Elton DeMoraes shared as he watched students answer questions.
“Schools were encouraged to host classroom-level competitions to identify students that would formulate their teams,” added Norris. “Topics of study and study resources were shared with each participating school.”
Three competitions were held during Mind Games, dividing the students by grades: third to fifth, sixth to eighth and ninth to twelfth. Teams had four members, with an optional alternate, and each team had to have at least one member from each grade level within their group. For the final round, scores were reset, and the top four teams competed in a Jeopardy-style format.
“It was such a wonderful day,” Norris said. “The joy that was seen on our students’ faces and the excitement shown was invigorating to see! I’m so excited that our students were able to grow and learn in a new and stimulating way.”
Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) in Keene, Tex., provided scholarships to the winners. SWAU faculty members also shared information with the online audience about incredibly challenging questions, adding to the learning experience.
BLAST, the livestream team from BAA, created a one-of-a-kind experience for the online audience, keeping them updated and engaged with the activities. You can find a replay of the junior high and high school portions at BurtonAcademy.org/mindgamestxc.
A list of Mind Games winners can be found at TexasAdventist.org.
By Tamara Michalenko Terry
Director for Events &
Editorial Services
