Congratulations to team captains Adam Wang '24, Claire Gilliam '24, Henry Wykoff '24, and Eliza Nichols '25 as well as team members Ruchika Ramachandran '27, Eva Choe '26, Lin Zheng '26, Robiya Sahibnazarova '24, Jessica Penilton '24, Emily Law '24, Maya Guha '24, Eleanor Molvig '25, Caroline Keiper '25, Amelie Soslow '25, Erin Ilagan '26, Madeline Wiseman '27, Ethan Lu '27, Zahra Ansari '27, Anne Dervan, Collin Chan '25, Daniel Guo '25 Elizabeth Crane '27, Daniel Law '27, Henry Wykoff '24 (team leader) Collin Chan '25, Madeline Wiseman '27, and Izzy Aulino '24. The team will compete at the state competition on Saturday, April 6.
By Anne Dervan, HS Science Teacher
I was sitting behind a row of students in the auditorium at Tennessee State University after a long day of Science Olympiad competition when a team member received the news that the USN Mock Trial team had won the District Championship. It had beaten Montgomery Bell Academy. All the students' heads snapped my way, and in an unnerving chorus I heard, "We want to beat MBA, too."
It would take about an hour for the results to trickle in. The Regional Director of Science Olympiad would call the results for each of the 23 events in both the middle school and high school divisions. USN students spent the hour hopping up to cross the stage and collect medals, while other team members manned the text chain to share the results with team members who could not stay for the awards.
As the first, second, and third place awards for both our garnet team, our more experienced team, and the blue team continued, the students with me began to wonder if a first place finish at regionals was possible.
After the event announcements concluded, we knew it was close, yet no one near me was confident that the USN garnet team had received a higher average placement than the MBA team. There were several events in which USN placed first and second. Having two strong teams in several events had given us an edge, but we did not know if it would be enough.
As we waited, more than one USN student said, "This is nerve-wracking." I think that I actually saw some nail-biting, and then it was announced: Second place was awarded to MBA, and USN had won regionals. The team will now travel to UT-Knoxville for the state competition on Saturday, April 6.
Team captains are Adam Wang '24, Claire Gilliam '24, Henry Wykoff '24, and Eliza Nichols '25. The rest of the team includes Ruchika Ramachandran '27, Eva Choe '26, Lin Zheng '26, Robiya Sahibnazarova '24, Jessica Penilton '24, Emily Law '24, Maya Guha '24, Eleanor Molvig '25, Caroline Keiper '25, Amelie Soslow '25, Erin Ilagan '26, Madeline Wiseman '27, Ethan Lu '27, Zahra Ansari '27, Anne Dervan, Collin Chan '25, Daniel Guo '25 Elizabeth Crane '27, Daniel Law '27, Henry Wykoff '24 (team leader) Collin Chan '25, Madeline Wiseman '27, and Izzy Aulino '24.
Finally, a special thank you goes to the science faculty members who were peppered with Science Olympiad questions and requests. Thank you for your support of this team as we prepared for regionals.
Middle and High School Art Teacher Emily Holt will be honored with the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools’ Hubert Smothers Excellence in Teaching Award on Monday, November 9 in Memphis.
Third graders visited Mound Bottom State Archaeological Area for an immersive history lesson and guided site tour that will set the stage for this year's studies in Tennessee history and Native American history.
Middle School and High School Chinese Teacher Josephine Huang has been involved with USN as a volunteer, a parent, and a teacher. Now in her 20th year as a faculty member, Huang's innovative lessons and belief in relationships continue to instill in students a lifelong love of learning.
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.
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.
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.
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.