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.
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.