Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science

Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science
MSMS Logo
Location
Columbus , Mississippi USA
Information
Type	Public Magnet
Established	1987
Director	Carol Alderman, Ph.D.
Grades	11–12
Number of students	200 (approx.)
Color(s)	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, room, and board costs. 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.

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. 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.

In the event of Hurricane Katrina, an exception was made for application. Shortly after the hurricane, several students were accepted in both the junior and senior classes. While a few students re-enrolled in their original high schools once classes resumed, most still continue at MSMS or graduated from MSMS.

Leon Lederman, a Nobel laureate in Physics, gave the keynote speech at the 2004 graduation.

Dr. Edith Eva Eger, Ph.D., a holocaust survior and highly sought-after clinical psychologist and lecturer, gave the keynote speech at the 2006 graduation.

Buildings

Hooper, the main academic building of MSMS

MSMS currently has seven buildings on the MUW campus for its exclusive use, which include two academic buildings, the two residence halls, two administrative offices, and the Activity Center. MSMS shares in the use of several buildings with MUW, including the student union, cafeteria, and auditorium.

Hooper Science Building is the main academic building. Its two floors house the majority of the classrooms used by the school. The first floor contains seven classrooms, a computer lab, an auditorium, a main lobby, and many administrative and faculty offices. The second floor contains two physics labs, two biology labs, two chemistry labs, and many more faculty offices. All of the labs are recently renovated with full amenities and state-of-the-art equipment.

Shackleford houses MSMS Computing Services and is used as the center for the school's computer network. Additionally, the building contains a second computer lab, several classrooms used primarily for history classes, and a large art studio which holds all of the fine arts classes. The building is going under renovations to improve safety and accessibility to this converted warehouse. The external staircases were replaced and an elevator was added.

Frazer Hall is the boys' residence hall. Frazer has only been in use by MSMS since 2002 after a tornado severely damaged Peyton Hall, the original boys' residence hall. Frazer's rooms are suite style, consisting of two rooms connected by a central bathroom. Each room is designed for double occupancy. Frazer has 5 floors with a north and south wing of both, although no rooms on the first or second floors are occupied. The girls are housed in Goen, sister hall to Frazier. Goen is newly renovated, receiving new carpet and paint. Goen was first used for the 2006-2007 school year. The Mississippi University for Women is using the previous female dorm, Fant Hall, for their own students. Both halls have a laundry room, lobbies on all floors, vending machines, computer labs, and a main office. The Activities Center, commonly called "The AC," is the main location for MSMS sports, recreation, and the music program. The first floor has a basketball court, a work-out room, a general recreation room, two offices for athletic administration, a pool, and a main lobby. Upstairs is a large music hall where all of the performing arts classes meet. In the basement is a Billiards room, which has recently been renovated.

Student Activities

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. 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 three years, earning 1st place in 2004 and 2005 and 2nd place in 2006.

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 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.

The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) is a student lead club focused on teaching MSMS students the importance of acceptance of their peers' differences - and those differences are not just limited to sexual orientation. It has been said that due to the rarity of blatant discrimination at MSMS, there is no need for the GSA. However, MSMS is a perfect place to have a GSA because the lessons learned here can be taken by the students back to their homes throughout the state. During the 2006-2007 academic year, the GSA was responsible for adding sexual orientation and gender identity to MSMS's non-discrimination policy.

Numerous other clubs have come and gone, and it is a generally accepted tradition amongst students to found new clubs each year.

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.

MSMS Vision is a student newspaper published regularly by the MSMS Newspaper Staff.

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.

SLAMT

SLAMT is an annual sports competition between other Math and Science Schools. The acronym, SLAAMT, 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), and the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS). The tournament generally includes matches of frisbee, basketball, soccer, tennis, table tennis, billiards, volleyball, golf, chess, and a duathlon.

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.

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.

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 and the students' eternal soul is taken. This ritual is repeated at class reunions. This ceremony is one of the most serious for MSMS students and faculty, and requires "Sunday" dress. Note: it is important not to disrupt this proceeding with holy water or some such implements as this will result in a failure to graduate.

"Junior Follies" is a program taking place the night that Seniors return to the MSMS campus at the beginning of each school year. Emissaries, Seniors who return to school early and perform duties to ease the transition for the new Juniors, write scripts mocking some aspect of the previous school year. The skits are primarily focused on the following: members of the previous graduating class, incidents that have received some infamy around school, or faculty/staff members. On the night of the Seniors' return, Juniors preform the skits for them and for their "grand-seniors" (members of the previous graduating class) who return to see themselves mocked. Traditionally, Junior Follies is followed by a party at the gazebo for all students past and present.

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 and research a person buried in local historic Friendship Cemetery using primary documents sources from the Columbus-Lowndes County Library in Historic Downtown Columbus. In January, students write three to five-minute scripts based on their research subject and audition in front of a panel of judges. 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.The class is taught by Mr. Chuck Yarborough.

Historic Blocks is a multi-genre history project done by the Junior US History class of the same name. In the first half of the year students choose and research a block in Historic Downtown Columbus using resources from the Columbus-Lowdes County Library. In the second semester, during Columbus's Spring Pilgrimage, students offer tours of their blocks for the price of a dollar.

Recent Statistics

The MSMS Class of 2005 graduated May 27th, 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.

Social Aspects

Students at MSMS move from their homes and spend a majority of their last two high school years in essentially a college environment. In this environment, students get to interact with students of all backgrounds and diversity from within Mississippi. They are further established in the connected group of academically accomplished Mississippi high school students. MSMS students end up having deep friendships with their fellow classmates, most likely because of the close quarters they reside together in. It is argued that both rules and the academic workload work together to form even closer bond between students under such pressure. However, the majority of students leave MSMS reflecting an on overall positive and memorable experience.

MSMS students often form close relationships with not only their peers, but also their professors, who serve as both teachers and mentors. The majority of the faculty go beyond their daily jobs of serving as educators by also volunteering to sponsor clubs and providing emotional support. As a result of MSMS's reputation for a transitory at best administrative staff and the also brief two years that students spend at the school, the faculty is the backbone of MSMS. With a few faculty teaching since the creation of the institution, most familiar with the school would agree that the faculty know the history and have the most knowledge on the needs of MSMS.

External links

• MSMS homepage
• MSMS Employment Opportunities
• MSMS CHAMPS Project
• MSMS Alumni Association
• THE MIND OF JACK L. CARTER (English Teacher)