After nine rounds of tough competition, a group of USN sixth graders took home the title during this year's Battle of the Books competition. Congratulations to Adelaide Dervan ‘32, Emily Nicholson ‘32, Indy O’Hare ‘32, Eliana Wolf ‘32, and Mila Kennedy ‘32.
By Courtney Brown, MS/HS Librarian
On Saturday, May 9, middle school teams from University School of Nashville, Harpeth Hall, Franklin Road Academy, and Ensworth met at USN to battle knowledge of the 20 Volunteer State Book Award nominees at the Battle of the Books. Students formed teams, read as many VSBA books as they could, and then studied trivia about the books to compete against each other. This year was the biggest yet, with 15 teams and 66 students competing.
The tournament is set up with five rounds of back-to-back competition, with the three highest-scoring teams advancing to the finals. One USN team, one Harpeth Hall team, and one Ensworth team battled it out in the finals, and ultimately, USN walked away victorious. The members of the winning team were Adelaide Dervan ‘32, Emily Nicholson ‘32, Indy O’Hare ‘32, Eliana Wolf ‘32, and Mila Kennedy ‘32. Congratulations to the team for their impressive performance!
Adelaide Dervan ‘32, Emily Nicholson ‘32, Indy O’Hare ‘32, Eliana Wolf ‘32, and Mila Kennedy ‘32 pose with their certificates after winning the Battle of the Books.
Allison Van Konynenburg returns to USN as Interim HS Dean of Teaching and Learning. Taking on additional responsibilities this academic year, Justin Fitzpatrick is now Interim HS Dean for Academic Affairs and Laura Snow is the High School Academic Operations Manager.
Please join us in welcoming to USN: LS Spanish Teacher Connor Mitchell, LS Music Teacher Marisa Frank, LS Learning Support Specialist MacKenzie Grant, Fourth Grade Teacher Alexis Novotny, Second Grade Teachers Cara Bishop and Lindsay Moates, First Grade Teachers Marisa Depke and Molly Roth '10, and Kindergarten Teacher Ellen Haber '00. Also, Naturalist Carrie Riley transitions to LS from the HS Science Department.
Learning Specialist Rachel Harley has over a decade in middle school education. Her office is located in room 1171 on the first floor of the Gordon Wing, in the former Middle School conference room.
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.