The MUS Lower School Blog

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Stadium dedication tonight; tailgate info

The Stokes Stadium dedication is tonight, August 28 at 6:00 p.m. immediately west of the front entrance to the stadium off the west parking lot which serves the main Ross Lynn Arena as well.

At 6:30 in the Evans tailgate area, just to the south of the stands, there is a free tailgate party catered by Back Yard Burger with hamburgers, hot-dogs, and drinks served. Bring the family for a pre-game celebration, and stay for the 7:30 kick-off vs. the Kingsbury High Falcons. Kingsbury annually presents a challenge for the Owls, and it should be a good match-up.

Remember, students get in the game for free with their U-Card. Tickets are $5. Concessions are available. 

Again, please remind your boys that they are MUS students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including during Friday night varsity football games. They are each expected to monitor themselves and to find a school representative they suspect or witness something nefarious. 

Seventh grade football practices in stadium today

The seventh grade football team practices at 5:00 p.m. on the turf in the stadium today.

Parents welcome to campus in September for lunch discussions

From Mrs. Catherine Schuhmacher, Lower School counselor: Parent to Parent is a lunch time offering for parents able to get away from work and discuss issues pertaining children and the popular culture. Thursday, September 3 the program begins at noon in the Halperin Gillespie Room of the MUS Campus Center, the building immediately west of the Lower School parking lot. 

This is a parent-led program for that meets each Thursday in September. The program begins with the updated DVD segment, which introduces the week’s topic, and the facilitator then leads a discussion with the group. This time proves to be a great networking opportunity for parents, especially for those who are learning that their kids don’t always tell them everything that’s going on! Feel free to bring your own lunch and learn more about some of the daily challenges your adolescents may be facing including constructive ways to help them through this quickly evolving time of their adolescent development.

 

Some respectfully disagree. Good for them.

We're on a healthy eating theme as of late here at school, and Mr. Tenent recently shared with me a new creation from the fast food market that is sure to hit River City sooner than later. Be forewarned; the graphic images of copious calories may be disturbing to some viewers.

With regard to healthy eating choices, some of our boys have balked at the "no candy" policy, respectfully displaying their opposition in the populist form of collecting signatures in order to reverse the Draconian edict. Notice I say, "respectfully." These boys are in training to become leaders, independent thinkers who look for opportunity in the face of a set-back.

Good for them! We respect their overt challenge. It's a sign of their emotional intelligence, their both intuitive and trained, responsive act of negotiating for their wants rather than folding in a submissive resignation. It may be a controversial discussion to some, but we like it when a boy stands up for himself. Schools may too often be tempted to practice either a permissive allowance or a cold, hard line when students exercise their opinions, and we admittedly operate with the luxury of serving good kids from good families in a culture of personal responsibility. That is our advantage.

"Talking back" to an authority figure is not the case here. Talking back does occur, and it is disrespectful, selfish, and the sign of a spoiled child in need of correction. In contrast, their respectfully gathering signatures is evidence that all of us, parents and teachers alike, are doing our jobs. 

This summer I read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It's a fun, insightful read presenting the reasons as to why some individuals lie outside of the regular ability distribution. In other words, can just anybody be Bill Gates? Did his home environment, time of birth, and the coinciding cultural developments contribute significantly to his opportunity for fame? Chapters 3 and 4 present a type of case study where nature and nurture are compared and contrasted in the lives of some very bright children turned adults, and the main theme of environment supports my argument for being excited about our boys' petition. 

The boys still don't get candy, but they may have earned the opportunity for something better. We would like them gradually to comprehend the larger picture surrounding the seemingly trivial act of gathering signatures. That's just an example of why it's exciting to work with these fellas.

Reminder about your son's grades

MUS academics function within official grading report periods. For example, September 11 completes the first Progress Report period. The following week, parents can log into Net MUS and view the progress (or regress) of their boy according to the official school record. At Parent Back to School Day September 16, passwords and log-in information to NetMUS (see link on the left column of this page) will be distributed to all parents. From that point forward, once a grading period is completed (as listed on the printed calendar your received at the book sale), those grades will then be available a few days later on NetMUS.

However, all Lower School students have been told, and will continue to be told, to record the grades daily that they receive in their classes throughout the regular school week. These grades are to be written in the back of the Assignment Book. As you trust your son to record his scores faithfully, you can always verify his results any time through the real-time tool of your son's Assignment Book record. 

From time to time, there may be a discrepancy between the Assignment Book record and the NetMUS grading period results. One of our goals for your satisfaction is that parents are never surprised by a grade report. Therefore, we suggest that you consider some family dinner conversation about expectations, timeliness, and accuracy when it comes to the Assignment Book and grade recording.

We beat the press to the punch

We decided last week to announce to the Lower Schoolers that we were suspending the practice of the boys purchasing candy during lunch. Purchasing led to eating, and eating too much sugar is a real national health concern, one from which our boys are not immune. The American Heart Association's recent report agrees as delivered today on CNBC. Teens eat 34 teaspoons daily, so the report says. Well, that's just deplorable. Maybe we all can help these boys learn to make some healthy diet choices.

Heads up... boys not completing homework

Welcome to the second to last Monday in August, just getting our big toe into the chilly waters of a new school year, and already we have a significant number of missed homework assignments emerging from what looked to be one heck of a fun weekend for our boys!

I know, I know... it was a beautiful weekend, the Varsity won the big game, and it felt like San Diego out there. Believe me, I was out there in it as well. However, I did not have homework. Your sons did. They always will as long as they are students at MUS. Therefore, priorities must be established, by your individual family and son, that prefer schoolwork before leisure.

This summer, I had more homework than I have ever had in my life, so it seemed, while my family played out there in the great wide open with me in graduate school. It was not easy for me, and I am sure that it was hard on them as I had to focus my time on my schoolwork. 

(Here's an example of a long night in the Big Apple just one month ago. One of many lonely, but necessary, sessions.) 

Poof, June and July disappeared, and now here I am on the business end of 2009-2010 with an empathetic posture for these lads in both seventh and eighth grades who have the responsibility to complete their daily assignments to the best of their abilities. With or without the structure of formal classes, we at MUS do believe in our graduates becoming life-long learners. We have to start by disciplining ourselves into becoming daily homework doers.

Missing medical forms

Student health forms are still available for you to fill out in order for your son to be up to date with school records and requirements. A list of students who are missing forms will be posted Monday, and blank forms will be distributed then. These can be returned to MUS by fax. The fax number will be on the form. Forms are due in the office by homeroom (8:15 a.m.) Wednesday, August 26. Delinquent students beyond the morning of the 26th will not be allowed to attend class until the forms are secured.

MUS grad brings the pain, wants to be a healer

If you don't know MUS grad John Stokes ('06) then you should. He is one of our many recent graduates doing great things at the next level, and we like to keep up with our boys as they progress. Enjoy the article.