The MUS Lower School Blog

Excused Absence Request Form

Download EXCUSED STUDENT ABSENCE REQUEST. For any reason that a student plans on missing class, this form must be completed. It is designed for him to learn how to plan for the excused absence while practicing the discipline of notifying his teachers in advance so that they can plan to resolve his missed assignments in a timely fashion. Please save to your files, print and complete as necessary.

School's out for summer, but not forever (Sorry, Alice).

 

Good work, done well. You deserve a break. Enjoy it while you can, fellas. See you in August.

Soccer camp; The Biggest Kick in Town!

SOCCER CAMP
June 4-8, 9 a.m. - noon
Boys, Grades 5-8
Coach: Mr. Vincent Beck
Skills targeted: Soccer camp focuses on fundamentals and techniques for new players as well as techniques and tactics for more experienced players.
What to bring: soccer shoes, shin guards, soccer ball, and tennis shoes
Cost: $180 (includes camp T-shirt)

Register here!

Exams gradually grind down to a halt

Concluding today's Language (eighth grade and half of the seventh grade) and Old Testament (the other half of the seventh grade) exams, Thursday brings the final opportunity to contribute to the semester's GPA in the form of the eighth grade history exam. There is no seventh grade exam Thursday, therefore seventh graders need not come to school.

Friday goes like this for both grades: Beginning at 8:15 and running straight through to 11:45 a.m., all classes meet in 25-minute increments for seven periods. Exams are returned, grades are revealed, shouts of joy, desperate sighs, and/or tears of woe ensue.

That's it. Please arrive Friday by 8:00 a.m., and pick-up to take off campus at 11:45 a.m. as no lunch will be served, and there's nothing else for the boys to do here, thank goodness.

Book buy-back is Thursday and Friday. Summer School begins Monday, June 4. All students required to attend should have registered by now.

Salut!

Math exams welcome students back from random holiday

Eighth grader, Murray Morrison, anxiously awaits his Honors Accelerated Geometry exam early Tuesday morning after a welcome mid-exam week Monday holiday. Morrison celebrates the occasion with his new exam season "all-business" haircut. Ms. Packard's instruction must be on his mind as this photo serendipitously captured her seemingly working her way around toward his cerebral cortex, albeit the right frontal lobe.

Commented Morrison, "Yeah, I'm channeling some Packard this morning because this geometry exam could require us to create or invent new solutions… all of which are readily accomplished by the frontal right lobe, especially when the problem is one of which is difficult to solve, has never been solved before, involves change and dynamic systems, and/or in which all the data can never be known. You know, typical 'right brain' stuff."

A second year Order of the Owl academic award recipient, Murray should wrestle this little doggie down with ease.

Exam reviews

Seventh Grade

May 16 – Beck, Science 12:30-1:30 p.m., S1

May 17 – Beck, Science 11:30-1 p.m., S1

Lawrence, Science 12:15-2 p.m., DLH

May 22 – Dent, Old Testament 11a.m., Room 110

 

Eighth Grade

May 15 – Gill, Science, Wunderlich, 3:30-5 p.m.

May 17 – Miller, Science, her classroom, 12-2 p.m.

May 23 – Tenent, SS 12-1:30 p.m., Room 108

Exams end at 10:45 a.m. each morning. Students are asked to leave the building once they finish their exams, or they can remain in ASAP. The building will stay open until 4 p.m. daily. Lunch will not be served so students are encouraged to bring food from home.

Rising Freshman Class Student Council reps

From left to right: Tom Fowlkes, Durand Martin, Thomas Pickens, Tim Hart, Tucker Colerick, Philip Freeburg, and Forest Colerick. Congratulations, fellas!

Math placement documents due Monday, May 14

All rising eighth graders are to return the purple math placement sheets, signed by the parents, first thing Monday, May 14. Here, Mrs. Burke's seventh grade pre-algebra class demonstrates what a returned purple sheet looks like for those who may be tempted to feign ignorance.

We plan to initiate scheduling for next school year as soon as possible, and these placement documents verify that the parents have been informed about math department expectations, including the summer packets. Yee ha.

Order of the Owl 2012

This morning welcomed a lot of doting parents and grandparents celebrating their new initiates into our Lower School honor society, The Order of the Owl. Additionally, qualifying eighth graders were inducted into the NJCL National Honor Society.

It's always a great experience to see all those who have worked so hard and performed so well assembled together in public celebration, acknowledging work well-done over the long school year. Achieving significant academic success, while promoting both the spirit and fabric of our Honor Code and Community Creed, is worthy of our festivities today. Congratulations to all who received their awards; encouragement to those who wish to promote their studies in this community of honor.

Seventh Grade (alphabetized)

Maxwell Henry Bannister

Clarence Carter Braswell III

Philip Edward Deaton

Andrew James Douglass

Justis Jefferson Brooks Eikner

Kian Ghodoussi

Grady Michael Hecht

Henry Sawtelle Holmes

Cade Fielder Klawinski

John Hamilton McCaghren

Rahul Mehra

Aneesh Roshan Ram

Alex Salvador Salazar

Evan Beck Smith

Jacob Daniel Suppiah

Henry Ellis Trammell

Thomas Lowell Wells

James Alexander Wolf

Eighth Grade, Back-to-Back (alphabetized)

Samuel Edwin Bartz

Kettner Tucker Colerick

David William Dabov

Thomas Keller Fowlkes

Jonathan Cole Harrison

Austin Lawrence Hord

Henry Carr Keel

Jason Lin

Thomas McMurray Morrison

Russell William Sands

Ethan Zachary Schaffer

Colin Marshall Threlkeld

Eighth Grade, First Year (alphabetized)

Norman Beck Blake

Benjamin Lundy Daniel, Jr

Nathan Ngoc-Lam Dinh

Matthew Peter Fuess

Owen Thomas Galvin

Gregory Andrew Hanissian, Jr.

William Neal McAtee, Jr.

William Power Rantzow

Jon Austin Redick

Bilal Sohail Siddiq

Henry Thomas Stratton III

Connor Austin Whitson

Eleven Springfield Scholars installed

Mr. Flip Eikner ('77), MUS Academic Dean, speaks to the 2012 Springfield Scholars inductees last night at the University Club, offering his personal remarks about the life and legacy of the Scholars' namesake, our first Lower School principal Mr. John Murry Springfield.

The Springfield Scholars annually represent the Top 10% academically of the eighth grade class.

Proudly displaying their new ties and lapel pins, the 2012 Springfield Scholars stand at attention following a fun evening of celebratory toasts and some subtle jabs from their beloved faculty guests. From left to right: Chandler Clayton, Eric Makapugay, Dylan Echlin, Philip Freeburg, Patton Orr, Grayson Lee, Witt Fesmire, Patrick Murphy, Saatvik Mohan, Daniel Tancredi, and Forest Colerick.

2012 Lower School Student Council election results

Rising eighth grade representatives and officers of the 2012-2013 Lower School Student Council: McCall Knowlton, Charlie Jones, Cade Klawinski, Ishan Biswas, President: Jack McCaghren, Vice-president: Alex Salazar, Jack Heathcott, Frederick Danielson, Webster Austin, and Brooks Eikner. (not pictured: Carter Braswell and Matt Silver).

Congrats to all!

Middle School Youth Legislature

Four MUS participants represented our Lower School at the 14^th annual Middle School Youth Legislature Conference. Sponsored by the YMCA, the conference affords students the opportunity to present and debate bills they have researched and written. Co-sponsors of bills this year included Patton Orr and Philip Freeburg as well as Saatvik Mohan and Will McAtee. Meeting in the Memphis City Council chambers and the Shelby County Commissioners chambers, students experience the legislative process.

Patton Orr and Philip Freeburg sponsored a bill entitled “An Act to Restrict Use of Artificial Tanning Beds”. They argued that too much exposure to UV rays lead to a higher rate of skin cancer.

Here's a taste:  

Saatvik Mohan and Will McAtee proposed having fewer physician visits to access prescription drugs. Their bill was “An Act to Access Any Drugs Needed with the Consent of a Physician.”

From McAtee/Mohan:  

At the conclusion of the conference, exemplary delegates are recognized. Saatvik received an Honorable Mention among the advisors. Patton received an Outstanding Statesperson award.

Congratulations to all participants, and many thanks to faculty sponsor Mr. Eddie Batey.

More exam info; study tips

All students should have filled out the exam study schedules during their study halls over the past few days with Mrs. Schuhmacher. Students were encouraged to prioritize time for more difficult classes. Students were also reminded to make copies of any missing notes due to absences and to correct all old quizzes and tests, if available. Please see the example provided:  Download Exam calendar.

Starting Saturday, May 12, all students should spend time each day studying each subject a minimum of thirty minutes.

Any additional review sessions with teachers will be posted on the calendars taped outside Mrs. Schuhmacher’s office.