Their bicycle wheels sculpted in tandem with Friends with intellectual and developmental disabilities will be on display 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1 at Main Street Gallery in East Nashville.
Earlier this fall, a class of seventh and eighth-grade multimedia art students began an artist collaboration with Friends Life Community, a day program for teenagers and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Friends and 20 USN students started a bicycle wheel design based on the tandem bike logo of Friends Life. Students sculpted using found objects, wires, and basket weaving materials from around USN’s midtown campus to sculpt life-size bicycle wheels and Friends did the same.
After three weeks, the wheels were exchanged and the partnership began. USN Middle School students learned a lot about collaboration and how to add to another’s work without losing the spirit of the original piece.
On Nov. 16, the class went on a field trip to meet the Friends and visit their art studio. During the studio visit, the Friends welcomed us with a round of introductions and our students did the same. Everyone was able to show the wheel they started and which one they enhanced. The excitement and joy of viewing each other’s work was inspirational and heartwarming.
All the wheels and more art work from the Friends will be on display for a one-night reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1 at Main Street Gallery, located at 625 Main Street. Please join us for an evening of art, live music, and light refreshments. The event is free and open to the public. Artwork and handcrafted merchandise will be available to purchase with proceeds benefiting the individual artists and Friends Life Community. All proceeds benefit Friends Life Community.
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.