Don’t Let This Happen to You

When making your plans for Spring Break, take notes from international headlines during the recent winter storm.
Not that your friends would share your text messages with The New York Times (would they?), but elements of that story from Houston/Cancun last week now resonate through schools nationwide. I am suppressing a degree of schadenfreude, knowing that’s not a healthy way to go. But the timing is kind of perfect — we’ve been sending the message about mass travel, crowded destinations, and CDC quarantine expectations. Then the junior senator from Texas sets the exactly contraindicated example.
 
In case your media habits are elevated sufficiently not to have even seen the story, here’s a link to what happened. Suffice to say that skipping town, citing children’s demands for a break as the reason, without any clear commitment to staying home and testing after return, did not play well. Talk about a cautionary tale. Kind of a gift, really.
 
The takeaways, as Spring Break approacheth:
  1. We’re not making this stuff up, and we haven’t from the start (our brilliant Medical Advisory Board sees to that) — everyone in the K-12 world is buzzing about the topic.
  2. We forecast, with Nashville’s numbers diminishing to where we stood in late October, that the next big spike might follow the vacation week — heaven forbid.
  3. We still regularly get calls from worried USN community members who saw/heard about a student or family flying around the country for some purpose, asking if we could confirm that there were plans to quarantine thereafter. Really, it happens pretty much weekly, this week included.
So the ask is that you please take all that to heart. We’re doing our level best to keep things rolling, getting the little and the big things right, striving for the consensus that makes school possible. And as ever, with pooled testing resuming on campus and 150+ faculty and staff getting their first vaccination, we count on your good sense and community spirit.
 
Here’s another test we can pass. I like our chances. Just call if you’re not sure.
 
Keeping this message on repeat,
Vince Durnan
Director
 
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More USN News

List of 3 news stories.

  • Spring sports season ends with podium finishes, trophies

    The girls lacrosse team ended its season in overtime to become state runner-up. Tennis players Carter Kojetin '29 finished as a state quarterfinalist, Sophie Oliver '26 and Mary Kate Adler '28 finished as state semifinalists, and Veer Kodali '29 and Max Parker '29 finished as state champions. Meanwhile, eight runners competed at the state track and field meet in Knoxville, where Griffin Davidson '27, Caleb Freifeld '28, Drew Zwerner '28, and Jack Fruin '27, sprinted to first in the 4x800m relay and Jack also placed first in the 800m dash.
    Read More
  • Interim Director Juliet Douglas roars with laughter as students hold photos of her on sticks during the High School Awards Assembly on Friday, May 8 in Durnan Auditorium.

    USN creates the Juliet Douglas Endowed Fund for Student Success

    For the entire USN community: an invitation to give in gratitude, in celebration, and in honor of the woman who has given so much to our school. Make a gift at usn.org/giving to support students with needs beyond tuition and honor Interim Director Juliet Douglas.
    Read More
  • The team poses for a photo after competing in the Middle School Quiz Bowl National Championships.

    Middle School Quiz Bowl competes at national championship

    The Middle School Quiz Bowl finished off another successful season with a trip to the Middle School National Championship Tournament in Chicago. The team fought hard and ended the season as a top-100 program in the country, finishing 75th overall. Congratulations to the team on a great performance and to Lucas Lupu ’31, named an All Star for being the fifth-highest scorer nationwide.
    Read More
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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.