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.
Students in grades 5-8 and their families can take USN Evening Class 702: Mah and Pah Jong and Me to learn to play a board game together while benefiting USN's need-based scholarship endowment.
The Helen Meador Summer International Fellowship funded a summer of professional development in South America for Lower School Naturalist Carrie Riley. Through this profound experience, she said she plans to bring these lessons into her teaching, grounding her voice in wonder, joy, and a commitment to protecting the natural world, which she loves.
The impact of USN’s Art Department is not confined to art studios in the Christine Slayden Tibbott Center. Students often engage with art in ways that transcend traditional classroom learning, such as at the opening reception for artist Yanira Vissepó's “Fantastical Views.”
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.
Middle School volleyball and tennis teams are nearing the final games of their seasons, with the competition heating up while the Tigers play to determine their HVAC rankings. Cross country was finally able to race at the River Campus despite the heat, and our mountain biking team traveled to Oakfield, Tennessee, for a high-temperature race weekend.
The MTB team returned to the the twisty trails of tranquil Oakfield, TN on Sept 13th to take part in the second race of the season, as part of the 5-race series hosted by the NICA/TICL League.
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.