The Counseling Department is accepting Upper School students for next year’s Wingman mentoring program. Returning Wingmen need only inform Senior Counselor Candy Harris of their planned return via email. New volunteers can sign up here before Friday, May 23.
The 2025-26 fall musical will be “Shrek the Musical” with auditions in Hyde Chapel on May 5, 7, 8. Actors and actresses should come ready to sing and read script excerpts provided – no need to prepare.
Civic Service Organization will cook hamburgers and hot dogs and serve Mother’s Day lunch Sunday, May 11, 10 a.m. to noon for The Salvation Army Purdue Center of Hope (696 Jackson Avenue) residents.
May is jumping with exams, half-day dismissals, and holidays. See the study calendar Upper School Owls have been given for optimal exam preparation. Bookmark the Academic Calendar for a quick reference to exams, study sessions, half days, and holidays!
Evening Study Sessions are also available in Hyde Library to help students prepare in a quiet, supervised environment.
Chi Alpha Mu, the national junior mathematics club for middle and junior high school students, inducted 19 new members. The club, named for Creative Adventures in Mathematics, was founded in 1967 and reactivated by the high school math society, Mu Alpha Theta, in 2008 to promote enjoyment and understanding of mathematics by middle school students.
The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has designated Memphis University School senior Kushal Patel as a Coke Scholar-Select. As one of 150 high school students chosen from among 105,000 applicants nationwide, he receives a $20,000 merit-based scholarship and joins over 7,000 distinguished alumni recipients. The process involves several selection rounds, essay composition, and personal interviews.
Faculty and families celebrated eight eighth-grade Springfield Scholars inductees during a banquet May 1. These students are in the top 10% of their class and demonstrate character consistent with the high standards of the school’s Honor Code and Community Creed.
Exam season is here! The College Counseling Department has sent an important email reminder for AP exams. Read it HEREor find it on the Email Archive Resource Board in OwlHub.
Band and orchestra students traveled to St. Louis to compete in the Music in the Parks Festival at Six Flags April 25. The Owls performed first and ended up with the highest score of any instrumental group in the competition.
Alan Chung ’25 experienced Massachusetts Institute of Technology Instructor Christian Cardozo’s teaching at the Beaver Works Summer Institute at MIT and thought he would make a great chapel speaker. Fellow AI and Ethics Club members Patrick Burke ’25 and Paxton Silver ’25 agreed, and with the help of Student Council funds, they brought him from Boston to the Hyde Chapel stage April 25.
Juniors Albert Ding and Ari Thiyagarajaa advanced to the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida, April 26-29 after their performance at the state-level competition.
It’s time to consign those outgrown blazers for the Parents’ Association Blazer Consignment Sale. Blazers must be on hangers in good, gently used condition (no rips, stains, or snags) with all buttons attached.
CSO is holding a Special Olympics Festival on campus Saturday, April 26, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers will host and officiate games of spikeball, cornhole, soccer, kickball, and relay races for the athletes.
It is time for the Class of 2026 to schedule senior portraits. These photos are used for The Owl yearbook, the class composite that will hang permanently in the halls of MUS, and many other news and social media posts. Families can also order portrait copies.
Wills Frazer ’25 took the Hyde Chapel stage to present his work through an independent study titled “Math and Art: Parametric Cycloids, Polar Rose Curves, and Tessellations.”
At the Special Awards and Honor Societies Induction ceremony in Hyde Chapel April 16, seven Owls received college book awards, and 38 students received the President’s Volunteer Service Award. In addition, Upper School scholars were inducted into the Department of Classical and Modern Languages honor societies, International Thespian Society, the Quill and Scroll Society (for high school journalists), Mu Alpha Theta (for math scholars), and Societas Caritas (for community service).
Why would high school students form a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation to organize Tennessee students for math competitions? Why would they select student officers, solicit donations, develop a website, and plan and run the first Tennessee Math Tournament?
Nineteen Owls earned the Seal of Biliteracy, a program recognizing students who have achieved proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation.
We will take a group picture of seniors with their college T-shirts Friday, May 9, in Thomas Amphitheater immediately following the headmaster’s lunch, which begins at 11:30 a.m.
Rising seniors can practice their interviewing skills with alumni this summer. The sessions will be virtual, so students can participate even if they are out of town. Each student will need to commit an hour, completing two 20-minute interviews and receiving feedback from each interviewer.
Now that all college admission decisions are released, seniors will receive a calendar invite for meetings with their college counselors to discuss their options and next steps.
For the 16th consecutive year, the Bubones secured the Tennessee Junior Classical League championship. A total of 43 Upper School and Lower School Latin students traveled to the state convention at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville March 28 and 29 and amassed a combined score of 1,802 total points to top the competition.
L. Edwin Eleazer III Chair of Excellence in Teaching and Honor Council Advisor Norman Thompson spoke to Lower School boys about the value of the Honor System at the March 28 Manhood Breakfast. Upper School Director of Student Life Stephond Allmond ’10 organizes these monthly events to highlight the values of the Community Creed. Mr. Thompson focused upon the first two tenets: Truth and Honor.
The team of seniors Alan Cheng (captain), Joephen Chen, Rushil Komeravelli, Michael Liu, and junior Albert Ding finished as semifinalists in the MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge.
The Upper School cross-country team is open to all rising Grade 9-12 students. Over the past several years, we have built a strong program that competes with top teams across the state - and we are excited about maintaining that tradition in the new school year.
Recounting various theories on documenting history, senior Rushil Komeravelli examined the quest for historical objectivity. Speaking of the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, he described the tale of the Reconstruction-era South that glorifies the KKK and its mission to protect white citizens.
Mark your calendars for the Free Upper School Physicals Night on Monday, May 12, at Zupmed in the Laurelwood Shopping Center. Available for all rising MUS Upper School students, physicals will be conducted in this order: rising seniors will begin at 5:30 p.m.; rising juniors, 5:45 p.m.; rising sophomores, 6 p.m.; rising freshmen, 6:15 p.m.
Graduation supplies are arriving! A Jostens representative will be in Morgan Foyer to deliver graduation orders (announcements and accessories) Thursday, April 3, 10:20 a.m. Families who have placed orders should also receive an email from Jostens about their orders and instructions. Payment in full is required to pick up your order - CASH ONLY. To pay by credit card, call them or go to jostens.com by April 2.
The Memphis University School chapter of the Cum Laude Society inducted 20 members from the classes of 2025 and 2026 during a ceremony March 21. Membership in the Cum Laude Society is the highest academic honor students in a secondary school can receive. The MUS chapter, modeled on Phi Beta Kappa, was chartered on December 14, 1967.
Memphis University School Athletic Director Thad McCracken announced the appointment of Mr. Chip Campbell ’99 as the school’s varsity golf coach. He assumes the role immediately, following the retirement of Coach Cliff Frisby this winter.
Mr. Norman Thompson is the guest speaker at the next Lower School Manhood Breakfast on Friday, March 28. Upper School English instructor and Honor Council and The Owl’s Hoot advisor, Thompson will speak on Truth and Honor.
Two Owls robotics squads competed in the 2025 Tennessee VEX Robotics State Championship at Austin Peay State University where the middle school team, Team 99331S, was awarded the Judges’ Award for their dedication and perseverance.
In the National Junior Classical League’s Latin League competition, the team of seniors Joephen Chen, Kushal Patel, Rushil Komeravelli, Michael Liu, and Kip Stalls won the South One regional bracket with an undefeated regular season and finished the competition tied for 13th place out of 159 varsity teams nationwide.
Senior Christon King presented a chapel on The Black Experience at MUS, a report based on a survey he sent to roughly 200 Black alumni, for which he received 37 responses, and conducted 12 follow-up interviews.
Eighteen Owls traveled to Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport for the Mu Alpha Theta State Convention and came away the Overall Sweepstakes and Interschool Competition winners for the third straight year.
Ten students participated in the 2025 WordSmith Olympics February 16 at the University of Memphis, led by Instructor in English Eric Dalle ’93. The Owls earned a variety of individual awards and two second-place trophies.
Dr. Robert J. Marks II, the director of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Discovery Institute and a distinguished professor of engineering at Baylor University, was the featured guest for the 26th annual Robert M. Metcalf Symposium. In chapel February 28, he explored the questions, “Is Your Mind the Same as Your Brain? Are You a Computer Made Out of Meat?” His talk was based on the book he authored with Angus Menuge and Brian Krouse, Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science (Discovery Press).
Starting after Spring Break and running through May 1 (the National Candidate Reply Date), seniors can opt in to share their college decisions via the MUS Seniors Instagram account.
Three Owls received honors for their submissions to Daughters of the American Revolution essay contests. Representatives of the DAR Watauga Chapter, Mrs. Maria Burke (former MUS math teacher) and Mrs. Jean McSwain, came to campus to make the presentations.
Congratulations to MUS Tennis Coach and Director of the Dunavant-Wellford Tennis Center Phil Chamberlain who was honored with the Billy J. Murphy Award at the University of Memphis M Club banquet Saturday. The award is presented to a former student-athlete who excelled in his/her profession since leaving the University of Memphis.
Henry Wise spoke in chapel about his winding path in becoming a successful author and lessons learned along the way. He came to MUS at the invitation of Director of Hyde Library Wendy Trenthem, and his visit included a book signing and lunch with students and faculty.
Urgent notifications and weather closings are sent to families via an opt-in texting system. If you get text messages from 79041 already, you do not need to do anything.
MUS is hosting the second annual MUS VRS Winter Tournament on Saturday, February 22. Thirty-six teams will compete to qualify for state. Check in for competitors opens at 7:30 a.m. in the Campus Center near No. 1 on our campus map.
David Magee spoke in chapel about a subject he knows all too well: the pain and destruction caused by substance abuse and mental health issues but also the joy of recovery. An accidental overdose killed his older son and nearly took his second son. His daughter struggled with an eating disorder, and Magee battled alcohol and prescription drug addiction.
Parents of seniors, if your son applied to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, you must file the FAFSA by Friday, March 3, 2025, UT's priority filing date, to determine eligibility for aid and scholarships.
MUS and Hutchison parents are invited to a parent workshop with Mr. David Magee, Wednesday, March 5, 5:30 p.m., in the Wiener Theatre of Hutchison School.
Sophomore Carson Alexander spoke in chapel about whitewashing, blackwashing, and the representation of race in the media. He described whitewashing as an alteration of a character’s skin color from black/brown to white. As an example, he cited the decision in the movie Bullet Train to cast white actors instead of the Asian characters from the novel.
Ten Owls received honors for their writing in the regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Ike Emmert ’27 earned one Gold Key, one Silver Key, and two Honorable Mentions for his work across three categories.
The Owl robotics team (99331M) were tournament champions and earned the Sportsmanship Award at the 2025 Brighton High VEX High Stakes Robotics Tournament February 1 -- despite missing three of five members.
Thank you for entrusting us with the education of your sons. Your support of our teachers, coaches, and programs helps us uphold a liberal arts tradition designed to meet the needs of boys as they grow into young men of character, service, and leadership.
As you previously signed a contract, you need only complete a few steps and pay the deposit by February 7, 2025, to reserve your spot(s) for next year.
Watts Liebenow ’26 guided fellow students through his faith journey from the Hyde Chapel stage January 29.
Liebenow described his lack of faith during a period of personal struggle. A late-night moment of clarity where he “encountered God” pushed him toward belief and changed his life. “I cannot explain to you how God has impacted my life. He has helped me in so many ways. He gave me the power to help people and spread his word.”
Twenty-seven musicians earned chairs in All-West Tennessee Bands and Orchestras, and three received alternate status. In addition, five students qualified for All-State honors with three others reaching All-State alternate status.
Chuck Smith ’66, chairman of the board of Ducks Unlimited, returned to the Hyde Chapel stage for the first time since his graduation to teach Owls about Ducks Unlimited and their conservation efforts throughout the country.
George Willmott ’26 didn’t originally plan to write a book about former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, he explained during a chapel talk about his biographical work The Intellectual Maturation and Ideological Legacy of William Rehnquist (Archway Publishing, May 2024).
For our third Memphis Day, we celebrated Memphis music heritage and explored the impact that our hip-hop, blues, rock, and soul sounds have had on the world.
A morning panel, moderated by Instructor in Music Matt Tutor ’91, featured heavy hitters on the Memphis music scene, including Memphis-born rapper Al Kapone (Alphonzo Bailey), Memphis-born producer, performer, and innovator IMAKEMADBEATS (James Dukes), and two-time Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, arranger, and artist Kurt “KC” Clayton. The panelists then participated in a Memphis recording industry panel facilitated by Music Director Chris Piecuch.
Elizabeth Cawein, the founder of Music Export Memphis, says the “magic is in the middle” for the local music industry. She spoke in Hyde Chapel about focusing on the “music middle class” – 60% of local musicians who would like to remain in the area and support themselves through music. Music Export Memphis creates opportunities for and subsidizes working musicians, allowing them to tour, build audiences outside the city, and sustain their careers while remaining rooted in the Mid-South.