Awards | University School of the Lowcountry

USL won all three divisions of the SCISA State Math Meet!

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This is quite a testament to our Math program at University School, and the credit goes to our Math teachers in all three divisions: Nikki Brockman, Tiffany Thompson, and Jody Lemmon. We also have a robust student mentoring and leadership program in Math that ranges from students serving as teaching assistants to our collective Math work (paired practice with math flash cards, math fluency games, etc) in Morning Meeting and other times. Our students also benefit from our individualized approach to the subject: students take classes at the level where they need to be. This includes students in the IS taking advanced math (Middle or High School level) when they are ready and US students taking classes beyond Calculus I at the College of Charleston. No other school in the state does this.

– The Elementary/Intermediate School claimed the championship in the inaugural year of competition in this division. We had 4 of the top 10 individuals.

– It was the Middle School’s 9th championship in 11 years! We had 5 of the top 10 individuals, including the top 2.

– With today’s victory, the Upper School has won twice and been Runners-Up four times in nine years! We had 5 of the top 10 individuals, including the top 3.

Intermediate / Elementary School Participants:
Charlotte Cochrane, Arjun Dembla, Michael Fitzgerald, Courtlandt Hirshorn, Everett Houlton, Ethan Howe,
John Ross Kreutner-Eady, Ethan Parham, Leah Parham, Judy Still, Monica Walker

Middle School Participants:
Seth Beutel-Green, Max Bluestein, Lainey Fosberry, Oliver Gramling, Mingus Gubbels, James Oliver, Grayson Leeke,
Rylan McCrae, Jamal McElveen, Gabrielle Nery, Eliza Thomason

Upper School Participants:
Massiel Acosta, Killian Fillippa, Andrew Fleming, Ben Flessas, Frank Gibbes, Charlie Gibson, Bennett Gilhuly,
Declan Hopkins, Milo Mair, Riley Ruppel, Luke Williams

Tiffany Thompson is USL’s 4th Teacher of the Year

Tiffany Thompson was honored as the 2022-2023 High School Teacher of the Year at the SC Independent School Association Awards Banquet in the Midlands this spring.

Tiffany is the 4th University School teacher to receive the esteemed award.

USL Head of School Jason Kreutner describes Mrs. Thompson as “optimistic, caring, and family-minded. She possesses an incredible ‘can do’ zeal, and she shares all of her gifts with University School of the Lowcountry. We are proud and excited for her for being recognized for her skill in inspiring and challenging students to great success in Math.”

There are over 8,500 teachers in South Carolina’s independent schools. This is a real testament to not only Tiffany’s skills and achievements but also the caliber of teachers that University School and its students are fortunate to have.

Congratulations to Mrs. Thompson!!

University School Honored with SCISA Head of School Award

usl kreutner wins scisa vol of year award

University School was honored at the South Carolina Independent School Association’s Fall Heads’ Conference last week!

Head of School Jason Kreutner was honored with the Charles J. Beach, Jr. Volunteer of the Year Award.

“The Charles J. Beach, Jr. Volunteer of the Year Award is presented each year to a South Carolina Independent School Association Head of School that exhibits leadership with respect to serving others. This year’s recipient is, without fail, the first to call our office to offer his services. During potentially hazardous weather, at the onset of Covid, at first mention of Dr. Jordan’s illness – the list is endless. His faculty boasts that he is a living example of putting service above self and sets that as the gold standard at his school and within our association. It was only yesterday that this individual was reaching out to our office to notify Mrs. Wannamaker of his availability and willingness to serve as an evaluator on upcoming accreditation visits, and he did so enthusiastically.”

In addition to receiving the 2022 Volunteer award, Mr. Kreutner was also honored as Rookie Head of School of the Year in 2008 and named Head of School of the Year in 2013 taking home the Dr. Charles S. Aimar Educational Leadership Award.

Join us in congratulating Mr. Kreutner!

USL Places in State Quiz Bowl Competitions

usl quiz bowl state championships oct 2022

USL attended three days of competitions in Columbia as part of the South Carolina Independent School Association’s (SCISA) Quiz Bowl State Championship.

The Intermediate School team went undefeated while the Upper and Middle school teams both placed 3rd all around.

The culture of University School plays a big part — civility and sportsmanship, holding learning dear, supporting teammates, love of knowledge and trivia, mentoring, and living up to the high standards of those older and before you.

Congrats to all the teams and the hardworking faculty who work throughout the year to instill a love of learning in their students.

Upper School: Charlotte Adragna, Ben Flessas, Frank Gibbes, and Kessler Kreutner-Eady

Middle School: Max Bluestein, Killian Fillippa, Waverly Lansford, Grayson Leeke, James Oliver, and Clay Slaughter

Intermediate School: Justin Baratta, Steven Chou, John Ross Kreutner-Eady, Ensley Lansford, Molly Wymore

USL Earns Top State Honors at SCISA Middle School Quiz Bowl Championship

Congratulations to the team: Killian Fillippa, Ben Flessas, Frank Gibbes, Oakley Halpern, Waverly Lansford, and Clay Slaughter. They went undefeated against Porter-Gaud, St. Anthony’s (Florence), and Wilson Hall (Sumter)!

This is our eighth year of competing in Middle School Quiz Bowl. This is our first State Championship. We’ve won six Region Championships and been State Runners-up twice.

Thanks to Mrs. Thompson for helping coach the team (on maternity leave), to all of the Upper School team members for leading and preparing them, and to US team member Leo Vaglienti for assisting as a mentor/coach at today’s competition. We also appreciate IS Lead Teacher Randy Straff for helping the team practice over the past week.

We are grateful to all of the faculty for instilling a broad array of knowledge in the students which was reflected in all of the games and our practices. The mentoring and empathetic culture of University School also meant a lot. There was a lot of help and effort from others over the past months and years to help refine the skills of the members of the Quiz Bowl team. The students also were good sports, thanked our hosts, thoroughly cleaned up our outside space and the competition room, and put everything away after arriving back on campus.

We appreciated the safety protocols that SCISA put in place to make the teams feel comfortable and able to focus on having a good time playing with other trivia-loving students.