The MUS Lower School Blog

Let them gain their independence

Encouraging resilience. Allowing failure. How to let go without letting them down? Hands-on "shape and mold" vs. learning when to back off. What price do children pay for parent's overprotection? Wow. These challenging issues were addressed this morning by TIME Magazine's Nancy Gibbs and Dr. Gayle Saltz on this morning's TODAY. We should consider an opportunity to have a constructive Coffee Talk about their discussion one day soon. Thanks to Mrs. Schuhmacher for bringing it to our attention.

Swimmers win

Congratulations to the Lower School Swim Team for winning their 1st meet of the season. 

MUS - 65
St. George's - 45
MHEA - 43
St. Francis - 39
St. Dominic - 10
White Station - 6

Also, congratulations to the 100-yard Medley Relay Team of Thornton Brooksbank, Austin Dobbs, Sherman Tabor, and Pierce Rose for setting a new SHELBY COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOL RECORD with a time of 56.36.  This shattered the old record of 1:00.89.

The next meet will be Saturday, December 12 at the Germantown Athletic Club.  It should start no earlier than noon.  Email Coach Whitney at weclark@memphis.edu about whether you will be there or not.

Honor Council presentation

Today in Lower School assembly, the Honor Council presented some practical and philosophical information for the boys, led by faculty sponsors Mr. Terry Shelton and Mr. Elliott Dent. Please view and enjoy.

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

XBox Tournament a success

Consequent to winning the First Annual Lower School Civic Service XBox Tournament, teammates Conor Dowling and Luke Stallings have earned a Grub Day and front-of-lunchline pass for today. Alex Creson and Keegan Jones were defeated in the finals, but remain enrolled in school and displaying sound mind.

Special thanks to President Ettingoff and Sr. VP John Valentine for orchestrating the activity, displaying quality leadership in their creativity and follow-through. The event raised $115 for charity and involved 14 teams.

Wrestling info, directions to meets

The Lower School  wrestlers open their season tomorrow evening at Briarcrest High School. Wrestling will begin at 6:00 p.m. in their Middle School cafeteria. We will also be wrestling against St. George as well.  The competition should end around 8:30 p.m. 

The next competition date for the wrestlers will be Saturday, November 28 (for those wrestlers who will be in town) at Collierville High School (expect to arrive at 9:00 a.m. and wrestle at 10).  We will also be wrestling in tournaments December 12 at St. George's, Collierville and Germantown High School December 19 with more details to follow later on these tournaments.

It's not too early to think about college

Valuable college advice is hard to come by, but when I encounter wisdom, I pass it along. As exams approach, you may want to consider this for the boys. Enjoy. 

Meetings called for Red and Blue Science Olympiad teams

Red Team: Plan on meeting with Mrs. Sowell Tuesday afternoon @ 3:20 in her office, Room 109, in the Science Building.  She has put together a list based on what event you requested, and she needs to confirm before you start meeting with teachers.  YOU MUST ATTEND this meeting.  No excuses.

Blue Team: Plan on meeting with Mrs. Sowell Wednesday afternoon @ 2:20 in her office, Room 109, in the Science Building. She has put together a list based on what event you requested, and she needs to confirm before you start meeting with teachers.  YOU MUST ATTEND this meeting.  No excuses.

The new exam schedules are here, the new exam schedules are here!

Any Steve Martin fans out there? Mrs. Schuhmacher here, reminding all about impending semester exams. The semester is quickly coming to a close with exams approaching in three weeks. All exams begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 10:45 a.m., and students are expected to dress in school attire. Students are encouraged to stay at school for any scheduled review sessions with teachers. These will be announced in the coming weeks, and your son should write these dates and times on his exam calendar and in his AB. I will be in the students’ study halls and in assembly next week to go over the exam calendar and to provide tips for success. Please post the attached exam calendars Download 7thExamSchedule2009 and Download 8thExamSchedule2009 so that all are aware and the family can modify schedules as needed during this hectic time.

Also, when checking the Assignment Grabber next week, have your son record the information posted in the Notes section. All teachers will be posting general guidelines about semester exams. Additional questions? Call or email me, 901.260.1326 or Catherine@musowls.org.

Seniors, Memphis Leaders

Thursday's Lower School assembly witnessed a Q+A with two MUS seniors and school leaders, Barry Brunetti and Stephond Allmond. Barry gets into the local paper from time to time as a quarterback for the Owls. Senior Class president Stephond makes it in there, too, usually as one being on the receiving end of his elementary school days friend's passes.

In 2005-2006, both Barry and Stephond transferred to the MUS Hull Lower School into our eighth grade, Barry from Snowden and Stephond from Riverview. I was in my first tour of duty as principal, and I had the honor of overseeing these two, among some 200 others, but these guys stood out for some obvious reasons, one being Brunetti's then choice of hairstyle. He's since come a long way in the personal aesthetics and grooming department, but I digress.

The gist of our assembly was allowing the younger boys to see that all the flash that these two visible senior student-athletes exhibit on the fields and courts around here are only part of the story. Both young men offered specific anecdotes relating the details of their challenging, demanding academic, social, and personal adjustments as they re-oriented themselves into the kind of guys that they needed to become in order to be successful at MUS.

Barry keyed on the fact that he plays best when he knows that the week's academic work is accomplished and behind him. Stephond discussed a relentless pace of time management and academics-before-athletics prioritization which requires efficient use of free periods during the school day. The practical wisdom communicated by these guys was evident, and the ease with which both college scholarship-bound students communicated their willing acceptance of their significant personal responsibilities impressed us all. 

That said, both Barry and Stephond were clear to state that their journey here has not been all peaches and cream. They have had to swallow some humble pie and expend more effort than they ever anticipated, even weathering the silly taunts from friends on the outside and the pointed confrontations from authorities here at school. However, they trusted us, and they got down to business... like a lot of guys have to do around here once they decide to push through their fears and avoidances. Barry and Stephond may be more noticeable, but a lot of boys can relate to their experiences of a positive transition here once priorities became a mature pursuit.

There are yet some chapters still to be written while here at MUS by these two before they shove off to college, and as they continue to live, move, and have their being among us, they want to communicate to the younger boys that MUS offers significant opportunity and support, but the student has to be responsible for his own success... and it's worth it.

When asked about the obvious omission in their high school experiences, Stephond concluded, "There's time for girls after all the business here is over with." 

  

Varsity Football playoff game tonight

Tickets for tonight's 7:00 p.m. TSSAA playoff game vs. Baylor sell for $8.00. U-Cards are not accepted for free student entrance as this is a state playoff game. The tailgate party begins at 5:30 with the Fan Tunnel at 6:45. Folks are encouraged to bring a pot luck dish to the tailgate, just don't spike the punch.

Get fired up!

Spelling Bee results

Yesterday's finishers were:

1.  Andrew ELSAKR

2.  Zack SPISAK

3.  Alex CARTER

The winning words were acquittal and extraneous.

This trio will join the previous three winners--Michael CARTER, Marshall SULLIVAN, and Baty DANIEL--in the Spell-off on December 3.

If you're on the meal plan, please consider

Recently, I received questions concerning the expenditures on some of our boys’ meal plans. After consulting with the food service staff and investigating a number of specific cases in which a family thinks that their meal plan payment from first semester is prematurely depleted, I think I figured out what’s going on.                                                  

For reminders, there are two meal plans at MUS: Regular and Plus. The Regular plan, paid either by semester or annually, costs $426 first semester with 78 meals covered, $866 annually with 167 meals. Second semester costs $486 for the Regular plan, but I don’t yet know exactly the final number of meals. It will be a few more as we meet for more class sessions Second Semester. The Plus Plan costs $527 first semester, $1072 annually. Second semester costs $602 for the Plus Plan. Most people purchased either a semester or an annual plan at the fall book sale.

A Regular plan pays for one meat, one vegetable, one side (salad or dessert or chips) and one drink.

A Plus Plan pays for all of the same, plus one addition item of any one category.

The plans cover a finite number of lunches, and each time a subscribing student goes through the lunch check-out line, a meal is deducted. Simple.

U-Cards identify a student as a way of protecting the family’s investment and accounts for the activity.

Now here is where it gets arguably complicated. Students get hungry and exercise their free will according to what signals emit from their tummies. They choose items a-la-carte, independent of and in addition to their subscribed plans. When not paid for in cash, these items are paid for by a separate individual student debit account. No funds transfer out of the meal plan account for a-la-carte purchases. Therefore, when Junior drops by the cafeteria for breakfast or chooses a snack at lunch which falls outside of his plan, his debit card is charged. When a food service cashier says, “You have an additional item,” or, “You don’t have any money,” what they are saying is “Your extra food choice today is in addition to your plan. You have to pay for it or return it.”

If Junior pays cash, case closed. If Junior says, “OK,” then the cashier debits his debit account. If Junior hands the cashier a $20 and wants the money to go on his account, it goes into his designated debit account, and the transaction is recorded. On the off chance that Junior is frugal and desires to eat only the items stipulated on his plan, when notified of his discretion, he will get out of line and return the extra item, get back in line somewhere in the rear of the mob and again patiently await his turn at the cashier.

These accounts run out quickly as a significant number of the boys purchase food a-la-carte. These are the accounts under scrutiny by any parent investigating why their son’s account is being reported as low. The meal plan covered by either the semester or annual payment is not a factor in these discussions. 

So there it is. A-la-carte purchases go against either a debit account which requires constant replenishing, or a-la-carte purchases are paid by cash. It’s kind of like the way one would use a checking account in contrast to a savings account. The debit account acts like a checking account, and it’s function is to satisfy Junior’s breakfast and snack choices outside of his contracted plan. The meal plan is the savings account designed for a set number of lunches which remains untouched in dollars being withdrawn, diminished only by the daily lunch plan transactions Junior initiates. A student has a finite number of meals per semester on the plans, and what he does not use at semester’s end is his loss, so he should be vigilant as he nears the end of each semester.

I hope this helps. Please calls the school’s Food Services Director John Nicholas at 260.1330 or email him at john.nicholas@musowls.org if you have a particular question about your son’s meal plan.