The boys worked hard preparing, and it paid off in an excellent Lower School debate on the presidential election.
I have started inserting some clips below. We will add to them and improve them next week, as well as burn the debate to a dvd for the participants. These were just quickly done for your viewing enjoyment. The sound improves, starting with the second clip.
The embedded versions are in YouTube, and Flash versions are above each clip.
As Mrs.
Schuhmacher goes through her routine during your sons’ study hall periods, she
is currently attempting an activities audit for our Memphis Leaders program. We
want to see where a boy is involved in an extra-curricular activity, both at
school and outside of school. With the information we gather, we can possibly
help our students get pointed in the best direction to where their abilities
and passions can intersect at that potential activity that could really make a positive
impact on their lives.
During this
exercise, she targets the Assignment Books as the beginning point. She reports that, in general, the books were not
filled out well this week. Students seem to be “slacking” as we are wont to
say. Some excuses the boys make, and which are not tolerated, are: “My teacher
told me not to use the assignment grabber because he/she changes assignments
during the week,” or “I lost my AB,” or “I don’t have any homework (today or
another blank spaced-day),” or “I haven’t had time.”
Phooey.
As we have
gone through goal grades, students are making connections between their
academic actions and the results they achieve. If their goal is an A, they have
to do their homework to the best of ability every time, read assignments while making notes, etc. To assist, please be reminded
about our English and math labs. During most study halls, more than one teacher
is available for both English and math labs. Students will say that Mrs. Askew (English
Lab supervisor) wasn’t available. That could be true. However, other English teachers
are available and willing to help, and the students have been told this many times. Both labs are open to all
students with any needs.
We
recommend that all writing assignments go through English Lab as a rough draft a
day or two before the assignment is due (see Assignment Book) or as follow-up
correction work for writing assignments which have been returned. These actions
will take planning and discipline on behalf of the student. We suggest you hound your boy to see that
he, indeed, goes to these labs which you have paid for!
An example:
If you are unsatisfied about your son’s writing assignment, for whatever
reason, from the many that I see, it is the student’s lack of proofreading which
is the majority of the problem. While this may come as a shock to some of you, these
boys can act in a hurry when they write a paper. They can unwisely rely on
SpellCheck® just as they can ill-advisedly believe that once the last keystroke
is struck and “File, Print…” is initiated, their paper is magically completed.
Again, phooey.
These
fellas are just boys, and we expect some stumbling towards what will ultimately
evolve into a polished academic approach, but we know that it all begins with the
discipline to plan their work and the ethic to work their plan… thus, the
Assignment Book is used as the central tool towards their success. You as the parent(s)
are vital in the “trust but verify” process for your son to achieve at the
level you expect at MUS. Please encourage your boy that your occasional
meetings are for his benefit as you check up on your significant investment. O,
and it cost a lot to go here as well.
Only one
more week before progress reports are recorded.
Please
join the Memphis Association of Independent Schools Technology Education
Consortium (MAIS-TEC) as they host their inaugural Internet Awareness
Night: “Analog Parents with Digital Children.” The event will take
place on Tuesday, November 18th, 6:30-8:00 in the Wiener Theatre of
Hutchison School, 1740 Ridgeway. The program is open to all parents and
guardians and will cover: Facebook, YouTube, Webkins, cell phones, and many
other topics. Check the flier:
Panelists
for the event will include: Meg Crosby, Google Administrator; Allison Parker,
St. Mary’s Guidance Counselor; Bobby Ireland, SAA/SDS Director of Technology;
John Simi, Shelby County Technology Specialist; and Captain Len Edwards,
Director of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
For
more information contact Whitney Miller of Hutchison School
(761-2220) or Cathy Short of Christ Methodist Day School. (261-2176.)
All Lower Schoolers interested in trying out for the school teams (seventh- and eighth-grade) should report to the Ross M. Lynn Gymnasium tonight and tomorrow night. Seventh-grade runs from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and the eighth-grade from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Freedom from Chemical Dependency speakers will be on campus all week meeting with students. They will also speak with parents this Thursday, October 30, at noon in the Wunderlich Auditorium. Lunch will be provided so please RSVP by e-mailing Catherine Schuhmacher. We had some misunderstandings the last time we requested RSVPs for lunch orders, so please let us buy your lunch. If you happen to drop by without making a lunch reservation, we welcome you. Please wait until everyone is served. You just might get lucky.
Coach Beck is consulting the tea leaves as he creates two teams for our indoor soccer season. Please make out a check payable to Gameday Sports Academy for $64, memo: MUS. Please turn in checks to the Lower School office. All money must be received by Thursday noon.
All boys interested in playing indoor soccer should sign up in the Lower School Springfield Foyer. We have no guarantee that we will indeed field a team or teams, but we want to gauge interest. Timing is paramount, so please discuss the potential of playing games every other Saturday for two months. Play would begin within a few weeks. There would be minimal to no practice involved. There will be a team fee distributed across the number of players.
Indoor Soccer is designed to be a recreational, community building exercise while providing a challenging opportunity for our soccer-playing students. If your son has any level of interest, he should consider signing up.
