Daniel Gordon meets some of his new students on the first day of classes.

From the Director
by Vince Durnan

Welcome to USN’s E-News, our effort to share the sometimes boundless activities of the school community in a manageable weekly format. On this page, prepared with care to preview our upcoming week and celebrate our recent accomplishments, will be a combination of listings, updates, and some more reflective occasional pieces.

Successor to decades’ worth of print newsletters, sometimes mailed months apart, this publication aims to combine the best of the old with the possibilities of the new. Follow the links to pictures and longer articles, note the times for games and performances, and please appreciate our attempt to diminish the volume of email being sent your way in its various forms.

The success of this venture will come in direct proportion to our capacity to adopt regular reading habits. Every effort will be made on this end to be comprehensive, and we will learn as we go.

Admissions
by Juliet Douglas,
Director of Admissions

Who walked in our 19th, 21st, and Edgehill Avenue doors this morning?  We have 1,008 students, 82 in the class of 2008.  Coming from 43 zip codes and 8 counties (seemingly the new independent school measure of diversity), our students and families represent a wonderful cross-section of greater Nashville.  130 of 1,008 are new students—be sure to throw your arms around them in typical USN fashion. 

Our attrition was an historic low this year, which makes our admissions work so much easier, and which can only be interpreted as a huge compliment to our teachers.  Thanks for your faith in us.

The Buhl Collection

During the summer months, The Hassenfeld Library completed adding the Arthur “Mike” Buhl collection to its holdings. Mr. Buhl’s generous book donation included over 2,300 new titles covering wide interests from philosophy to world history. All of these books are available for general circulation to the USN community.

It’s Big News!

For the first time in the school’s history, USN’s Annual Fund has topped $1,000,000, a 12% increase over last year’s $896,000.

We attribute the success of the 2006-2007 Annual Fund to the fact that 100% of faculty and staff and The Board of Trustees, 90% of parents, and 23% of alumni contributed to it. 


New Teachers

Read about USN’s new teachers.

New Cafeteria Options for 2007/2008

Note from the Editor

This newsletter is a work in progress, and we are learning as we go. Please share your opinions of the new format by emailing Connie Culpepper (cculpepper@usn.org) and expect the newsletter to change slightly in weeks to come as we work to improve it.

 

Middle School students rehearsing for the musical.

School House Rock Live

The Middle School Musical, School House Rock Live, opens tomorrow, Thursday, August 16 at 7:00 in the evening. The show runs through Saturday evening at Ingram Hall of Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music.

This is the first production directed by Bakari King. The students have been rehearsing all day every day since the end of July.

USNA’s Fall Book Frenzy
Needs Your Books
by Jennifer Bostwick-Owens

Now that the kids are busy with school, head straight to your shelves jammed with books, CDs, DVDs and software, and pull off everything you don’t need anymore. USNA’s huge annual used-book sale, the Fall Book Frenzy, needs it all.

We’ll gratefully receive donations at morning hookup the week of September 24-28. We need lots of volunteers to sort the thousands of books we collect. To join in the fun, or to arrange for pickup of books before mid-September, please contact Jennifer Bostwick-Owens at jenn@bostwickowens.org

Attention Golfers

The 14th annual USNA golf tournament is September 9.
Click here for a registration form

Under the Stars at the
Fall Fest Outdoor Movie Night
Friday, September 28
at 6:00 p.m.

This year, Fall Fest moves to an evening time slot and hosts a free outdoor movie night for our USN community. Festivities will be held at the main campus and will begin at 6:00, after the 4:00 Fall Book Frenzy (used book sale) opens to USN families and teachers.

Middle School in China

A group of USN students, led by Middle School Head Jeff Greenfield and two teachers, traveled to China this summer.

Helping Hands

Helping Hands Classroom Coordinators are needed for the following classes:  Kim Avington-Scott (K), Marty Kennedy (1), Gail Ackerman (1), Debbie Roth (1), Kathryn Meeks (2), Molly Darr (2), Katherine Pitt (2), Sharon Blankenship (3), Lynn Noel (4), Nikki Hunt (4) and Karen Marler (4).  

As most of you know, Helping Hands are parent volunteers who assist teachers with tasks such as copying, laminating, and assembling classroom materials. The Helping Hands Classroom Coordinator serves as the link between these parent volunteers and the teacher.  

If you are interested in serving as the Coordinator for your child’s class or have any questions about this volunteer position, please contact Karyn Bryant, Lower School Helping Hands Coordinator. karyncbryant@gmail.com or 354-9327.

August 15
First day of classes

Kindergarten and first grade students dismissed at 11:30

Middle School Musical (School House Rock Live) dress rehearsal, 6:00 at Ingram Hall of Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt

August 16
Kindergarten and first grade students dismissed at 11:30

School House Rock Live, 7:00 at Ingram Hall of Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music

August 17
Kindergarten and first grade students dismissed at 11:30

School House Rock Live, 7:00 at Ingram Hall of Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music

August 18
School House Rock Live, 7:00 at Ingram Hall of Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music

August 21
HS volleyball vs. CPA, 4:30, away

HS girls’ soccer vs. Glencliff, 5:00, home

August 22
Senior Induction, noon, Belmont
University

USNA meeting, 1:00, Morris Conference Room

August 23
HS cross country meet, 4:00, home

HS volleyball vs. JPII, 4:30, away

HS soccer vs. Harpeth High, 5:00, home

Senior Parent Gathering, 7:00

3rd and 4th Grade Parents’ Night, 6:30,
in the classrooms

View complete Master Calendar