Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science
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| Established | 1987 |
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| Type | Residential public high school |
| Director | Charles Brown |
| Students | 220 (approx.) |
| Grades | 11–12 |
| Location | Columbus, Mississippi, USA |
| Colors | Blue and White |
| Mascot | Blue Waves |
| Website | www.msms.k12.ms.us |
The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) is a public residential high school for academically gifted students located in Columbus, Mississippi on the campus of the Mississippi University for Women. A member of the NCSSSMST, it is a state-wide magnet school that is free of tuition, but as of 2008, required by state legislature to charge room and board costs. The mandatory room and board fee for MSMS students is $500 per semester, hence $2,000 for your junior and senior year. Each year, the school graduates over 100 students. The main focus of MSMS is mathematics and science, but humanities, particularly history, literature, and art, are also emphasized.
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[edit] History
MSMS was founded in 1987 by appropriations from the Mississippi Legislature and is the fourth public, residential high school for academically gifted students in the United States.[1] The school only enrolls students in the last two years of high school. Tenth grade students from across the state apply and are selected to attend.
[edit] Student Activities
[edit] Clubs and Organizations
Student Life at MSMS involves many different clubs in which students can get involved. Students are also offered the opportunity, if enough interest is shown, to organize their own club.
Mu Alpha Theta (MAΘ) is the school's math club and chapter of the national math honors society of the same name. The members of this club do ACT practice, participate in the High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM), and compete in the statewide Mu Alpha Theta State Convention. MSMS has placed in the MAΘ Convention at least the past five years, earning 1st place in 2004 and 2005, 2nd place in 2006 and 2007, and 1st place again in 2008.
Beta Club is an academic honors society encouraging leadership, service, and academic excellence.
Fellowship of Christian Anybodies (FCA) is a Christian based organization. Taken from the nationally known Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the name has been changed to include anyone at MSMS because of the low number of athletes and to support the general spirit of not being exclusive.
The Chess Club is a group of the best chess players in the school. It competes annually in many competitions. In 2008 the chess club trashed the Columbus High School team, beating them 43-0.
Quiz Bowl is an academic team that participates in tournaments in the region. It is sponsored by Dr. Nancy MacNeill.
Numerous other clubs have come and gone, and it is a generally accepted tradition amongst students to found new clubs each year. In the past, such clubs have included fans of fencing, Anime, and writing/poetry.
[edit] Publications
Southern Voices is a literary magazine and contest orchestrated by the members of the Creative Writing class. All students at MSMS are invited to submit works of poetry, short story, essay, and all types of visual art. The commonly accepted works of art have a slant on the culture of the south.
The Vision is the school newspaper and the Innovator is the school yearbook.
[edit] Sports
Due to the constantly changing student body and more rigorous academic life, sports do not have the emphasis that is generally placed at a high school. However, many students still participate in sports and enjoy them. The following are a few of the organized sports teams: Basketball, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Judo, Cheerleading, and Dance Team. Of the sports, tennis is the most successful. The tennis team has a long tradition of excellence, and won its division title in 2008. MSMS's singles player placed #2 in the state, and the #1 doubles team won the state championship. The team is currently winless in division play for 2009. [2]
[edit] SLAMMT
SLAMMT is an annual sports competition between other Math and Science Schools. The acronym, SLAMMT, represents the various schools participating in the competition, including the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA), the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts (ASMSA), Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics and Computing (MASMC), and the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS). The tournament generally includes matches of ultimate frisbee, basketball, soccer, tennis, table tennis, billiards, volleyball, golf, chess, and a duathlon.
[edit] Outreach
One of MSMS's main goals is to provide educational opportunities to communities throughout Mississippi. Students, staff, and faculty at MSMS work together each year with MSMS's Partners in Progress to provide a number of resources for students and teachers throughout the state. These programs include an annual science carnival, teaching Spanish to elementary students throughout the state, and the CHAMPS Project.
[edit] Awards
Throughout the years, several prestigious awards have arisen from MSMS in memory of notable administrators, teachers, and students that have worked to cultivate education and equality throughout the world. Some of these very selective honors include: the MSMS Spirit Award, the Vel Anthony Award, the Chris Read Award for Fiction, the Shellie McKnight Music Leadership Award, the Abernathy Award, the Jack and Harweda Johnson Scholarship, the H. Butler Memorial History Award, the Carl H. Butler Community Service Award, and the Joseph A. Portera Leadership Award.
[edit] Annual Events
MSMS has unique events that take place every year. They include:
The Ceremony of Lights is an induction for new juniors of MSMS in which a pledge is signed. This ritual is repeated at class reunions. This ceremony is one of the most serious for MSMS students and faculty, and requires "Sunday" dress.
Winter Formal is the annual winter dance, taking place sometime in December. A queen and king are crowned.
Tales from the Crypt is a multi-genre history project done by the Junior US History class of the same name. In the first half of the year, members of the class select a person buried in local historic Friendship Cemetery, built by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and research that person using primary document sources from the archives at Columbus-Lowndes County Library in Historic Downtown Columbus. In January, students write three- to five-minute monologues based on their research and audition in front of a panel of judges who, in the past, have been their classmates. Six to ten people are selected to perform individually during the Tales event during Columbus's Spring Pilgrimage, and the other students work as guides, escorting audiences through the cemetery. Each year features a performance by "The Four Decoration Day Ladies", four women who gained fame by decorating the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers. This action would later be known as Memorial Day. The project was originated by the late Mr. Carl Butler, and the class is taught by Mr. Chuck Yarborough. Each class chooses a public service in which to invest the proceeds from admission. [3]
Prom, in April is held in typical Prom fashion. A Prom King, Queen, Prince, and Princess are crowned.
[edit] Recent Statistics
The MSMS Class of 2005 graduated May 27, 2005, with a total of 106 students. Most of the class of 2005 is attending college, the majority at institutions in the state, including the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and Millsaps College.
The MSMS Class of 2006 graduated on May 26, 2006, with a total of 114 students. The ceremony took place at 1:00pm at Humphrey Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi State University.
The average ACT composite score for the MSMS Class of 2009 was 28.
The average SAT Reasoning score for the MSMS Class of 2009 was 1925.
[edit] External links
- MSMS homepage
- MSMS Employment Opportunities
- MSMS CHAMPS Project
- MSMS Alumni Association
- MSMS Informational Video
