Here’s Your Appreciation Gift for Thanksgiving

Director Vince Durnan's gratitude extends in many directions, starting with appreciating the difference between now and a year ago.
Somehow, we find ourselves heading out to begin the formal season of thanks. My gratitude extends in many directions, starting with appreciating the difference between now and a year ago. Remember those days, those pre-vaccine nail-biter days when we all watched the COVID-19 campus case counter more intently than we did the stock market indices? When we lived on the knife’s edge of science research in the form of that groundbreaking saliva testing study? When we worked valiantly to find a viable hybrid form of classroom experience, combining in-person and on-screen?
 
It all looks better in the rearview mirror. The lessons of those experiences, of those privations, of those pandemic exigencies are yet to be fully explored in our profession and our school community — but we most surely find ourselves in a far different position, and even if we are celebrating grandparents and special friends in a leaner form, the turkeys are trotting. For that, I am grateful.
 
And last Saturday, our High School Jazz band played for hundreds of Preview Day guests and volunteer guides. Then a collection of HS actors brought the kinetic “Noises Off” back to life on that same Auditorium stage to a full house. And then the terrace outside the library hosted four more parent socials, thanks to USNA, completing the whole K-12 string, precipitation and cold breezes notwithstanding. And for that, I’m truly grateful.
 
Maybe it’s the seasonal euphoria, but it strikes me that we’ve passed two really important tests since last Thanksgiving. The first is the test of making informed decisions on doing school in a way that supported broader public health considerations, even when other institutions regionally chose a more risk-tolerant defiant route. And the second is the test of sticking together, of seeing the benefit of working with rather than against one other, against a partisan cultural backdrop that all but celebrates an unwillingness to cooperate. Thanks for that.
 
Now it looks like we’ll have the chance to get fully engaged in the frenetic schedule that we used to know so well. We’ll identify some new areas in need of attention, some new opportunities for us to set the best kind of example for any school that might be watching, some new paths in pursuit of excellence. We’ll figure out ways to weather the supply chain frustrations, a tremendously tight labor market, and a hard-to-predict-with-confidence macroeconomy, all while preparing for a new and decidedly excited Director. I’m grateful for the chance to see all that happen.
 
Which kind of gets to my baseline thanks for just being here among you, walking this walk. Let me close, a few hundred words short of usual (as a gift to you) by saying how much all the appreciation, socks and all, continues to mean in the wake of this summer’s bumpy road for me. Betting you have something pretty big to reflect on in gratitude. Take time to let that happen.
 
Here’s to a restorative hiatus,
 
Vince Durnan                                              
Director                                                                                                                                                
 
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School News

List of 3 news stories.

  • 'They're creepy, they're kooky,' they're on stage at USN

    USN Peabody Players present "The Addams Family: School Edition" on Thursday, November 19 through Sunday, November 22 in Durnan Auditorium. Click here for tickets. This musical is appropriate for K-12 audiences.
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  • Music Night REMIX tickets on sale

    Join USNA on Saturday, January 30, for all the nostalgia, none of the teenage drama. This adult-only concert will feature USN's faculty house band, The K-12 Situation, with proceeds benefiting the school. Click here for tickets.
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  • Diplomacy wins for USN at Model UN

    High School students traveled to Murfreesboro last weekend for the Model UN conference last weekend, which provided opportunities for leadership and collaboration across grade levels. They had the highest number of resolutions per capita in the General Assembly, had the highest-ranking resolution presented to any committee, and earned awards for Outstanding Statesperson & Outstanding Resolution.
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Archive

Athletics News

List of 3 news stories.

  • Mountain Bike Team Takes on “Electric" State Champs Trails, Dehner Snags Overall Podium Medal

    Steve Smail & MTB Team Coaches
    With trail names like Megawatt, Electric Avenue, High Voltage and Livewire, the mountain bike team knew it was time to pedal out some extra watts for their NICA/TICL State Championships at Raccoon Mountain, and survive the technical trails above Chattanooga full of boulder gardens, rock drops and sandy rubble.
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  • Mountain Bike Team Takes on Winged Deer Trails, HS Makes Podium Appearance

    Steve Smail
    Winged Deer Park and trails in Johnson City hosted our 4th race on Sunday October 11th, and despite a bit of hurricane outwash winds and showers - and reduced team numbers due to fall break and distance from Nashville - our racers utilized all available skills and speed which helped “wing" Sophomore Claire Dehner to a 4th place podium spot, our first podium appearance and medal for the season.
     
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  • HS athletics recaps for September 11-17

    Tiger golfers have officially qualified for the region tournament, and our other teams are not far behind. Volleyball sits near the top of the district, finishing up regular season play next week with Senior Night. Girls soccer continues to hold first place in the district after another 9-0 win, and our cross country runners are chasing after some school records. To round it all out, our mountain bike team traveled to Oakfield to continue to improve on their times for the season. There’s plenty more where that came from- so be sure to come out to the River Campus, Sperling Gym, or out on the road to cheer on our Tigers before their seasons end.
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Contact

Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212

Phone:  615-321-8000
Fax:       615-321-0889 
Email:    info@usn.org

River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218

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USN Mission: 
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.