Fine Arts Monday

Music and the visual arts are, too frequently, relegated to extra-curricular opportunities. At Northfield, they are essential components of our liberal arts education. In addition to taking part in the many opportunities to study and practice art and music in our art class and in our choirs, bands, and ensembles, all students attend Fine Arts Monday. Emily Langness, Erin Sundquist, and Bill Coleman lead this year-long survey of the arts from the ancients to now.

The Fine Arts Monday program strives to give our community a fluency in the language of art and music, as well as an understanding of how those arts both reflect and shape the cultures they exist within.

Great Ideas Tuesday

On Tuesdays, historian Ken Spurgeon leads Northfield through the 103 Great Ideas, as embodied and grappled with in history.

Work Wednesday

Each Wednesday, students put aside their books and academic studies to put their time and attention into work for others. We assign students the tasks that they can best manage, whether it’s clerking for a consignment shop, weeding for a rescue mission, or building a house for those who could not otherwise afford to buy one.

For more information, visit our Work Wednesday page.

Current Events Thursday

Each Thursday, Warren Snyder facilitates a school-wide discussion on a range of issues, and invites guest speakers, such as televison journalist Larry Hatteberg.

Great Books Friday

Each Friday, Tom Penning and Tony Jacobs present a writer from the Great Books curriculum. Authors include Sophocles, Eurpides, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Shakespeare, Kepler, Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Tolstoy. A special emphasis is placed upon how these writers' ideas resonate with current concerns.