Upper School: 9-12

No two students leave NSU University School’s Upper School having traveled the same path. We encourage each student to rise and meet his or her own standards of excellence. What our students share, in the process, is an experience of intellectual challenge and curiosity.

As thinkers and problem solvers, students are asked to stretch beyond their strengths and wrestle with challenging real world problems that do not have easy answers. Upper School students craft individualized academic programs through which they discover their passions as learners and develop their voices as leaders. Our faculty are committed to supporting our students through this discovery process, fostering an experiential, collaborative, and supportive classroom environment in which students shine on intellectual, social, and emotional levels.

Working with teachers who are both accomplished in their fields and student-centered in their approach, Upper School students participate enthusiastically in the classroom environment. In any given day, students explore labs, participate in deep and probing discussions, write critically and creatively, refine their thinking, and learn to solve cutting-edge problems. In fact, students engage in conversations you might hear in college seminars. For example, they don’t just learn the process of protein synthesis; they invent their own systems for modeling the process.

NSU University School’s connection with Nova Southeastern University, Florida’s largest private university, serves as an added educational benefit for our students. This unique affiliation provides students with exceptional academic opportunities and access to world-class NSU scientists, researchers, and distinguished professors, giving students an advantage as they prepare for college and beyond.

Faculty Highlight

Peter Musso

Peter Musso is a dedicated Upper School teacher who has spent the last 20 years looking at each new day as an opportunity to make a positive impact on his students at NSU University School. What brings him the greatest satisfaction is witnessing his students' development, their ability to achieve their aspirations, and encounter authentic happiness along their educational journey.

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Upper School News

Peter Musso

Peter Musso is a dedicated Upper School teacher who has spent the last 20 years looking at each new day as an opportunity to make a positive impact on his students at NSU University School. What brings him the greatest satisfaction is witnessing his students' development, their ability to achieve their aspirations, and encounter authentic happiness along their educational journey.

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Evan Grosz

Relationships children establish with their parents influence and shape the relationships they form in the future, which proves true for Upper School English teacher Evan Grosz whose decades-long ties with USchool stem from his parents’ longstanding connection to the Nova Southeastern University community. As the son of two beloved teachers, a USchool faculty member for the past 28 years, and now a USchool parent, both education and Shark pride run deep in his family. For most of his life, Grosz felt driven to pursue a career in teaching, having witnessed the happiness his parents experienced in their educator roles and the bonds they formed with students that became family.

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Sarah Guttman

NSU University School Lifer Sarah Guttman is culminating her 14-year educational journey at USchool as the Class of 2023 valedictorian. Since she first started at USchool in junior kindergarten, Guttman has worked hard her entire Lower, Middle, and Upper School career to achieve this high honor and has excelled academically and in extracurricular involvements and service. 

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Leah Kuker

Students that have an early start at NSU University School benefit greatly from our innovative, inclusive, and personalized learning environment, which is evident with Class of 2023 salutatorian and USchool Lifer Leah Kuker. Since the age of five, Kuker has embraced the USchool experience and taken ownership of her learning. She participated in a range of enrichment programs throughout her academic journey that not only helped her discover her passion for math and science but also gain the knowledge and skills she will need as a student at the University of Miami where she will pursue her goal of becoming a pediatric dentist.

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Computer Science Interns and Robotics Students Participate in HPCC Systems Code Sharks Event

HPCC Systems presented an inaugural event called Code Sharks that introduced Middle and Upper School students in our Computer Science internship and robotics programs to the HPCC Systems Big Data platform and the supporting Big Data Language, ECL (Enterprise Control Language). Students were introduced to three public music datasets, and a series of challenge questions were posed for each one. In a 7-hour workshop session, students split into teams and answered as many questions as possible using ECL.

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Sophomores Volunteer on Week-Long Dental Mission Trip

Sophomores Alejandra Coletti and Annie Schulze volunteered on a week-long dental mission trip to Vietnam where they assisted a team of dentists as they cared for more than 30 local patients. They also visited an orphanage and delivered goodies, including bracelets provided by members of our Operation Smile club, which supports and increases awareness of one of the world’s largest volunteer-based organizations with a global network of professionals who deliver surgical care to children born with a cleft lip or cleft palate in low- and middle-income countries.

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Junior Develops Screening Measure to Identify Students at Risk for Reading Difficulties

Junior Benny Kuttler has been collaborating on a project to develop RIFS-Reading, a new screening measure used to identify kindergarten and first grade students at risk for reading difficulties. This tool provides a low-cost, time efficient method to identify students who would benefit from early intervention.

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Upper School Students Earn Top Honors in Various Categories at Florida State Thespian Festival

Nineteen Upper School students attended the Florida State Thespian Festival, the biggest high school festival in the world with more than 12,000 attendees, where they earned top honors in various categories for their Thespy pieces and participated in workshops with industry professionals, auditioned for colleges, and competed in individual categories. 

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Founder and CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade Mikaila Ulmer Visits USchool to Share Entrepreneurial Journey

Mikaila Ulmer, founder and CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade, inspired, encouraged, and empowered our future social entrepreneurs by sharing her entrepreneurial journey and how her passion for bees drove her to create a successful business with a purpose-based brand. A former Shark Tank contestant, Mikaila is a dynamic leader, businesswoman, and published author who is committed to biological diversity and the ability to make a positive impact on a local and global scale.

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Middle and Upper School Students Win Numerous Awards at Florida State French Competition

More than 30 Middle and Upper School French students competed in the annual Congrès de la Culture Française en Floride and brought home numerous awards for their individual and group competitions in the following categories: poetry recitation, impromptu speaking, reading comprehension, project, singing, and short skit.

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Psychology Interns Dissect Sheep Brain to Identify Brain Structures and Functions

Students in our Psychology Internship visited Nova Southeastern University's Neuroscience Laboratory in the Center for Collaborative Research where they dissected a sheep brain. Led by NSU neuroscience faculty member Dr. James Muñoz, students learned how remarkably similar the anatomy of a sheep brain is to the human brain.

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USchool Robotics Teams Named Tournament Champions

Our award-winning robotics teams at all three levels earned the title of tournament champions and will go on to compete at the worlds championship event. The Lower, Middle, and Upper School teams brought home several championship banners, trophies, and awards including the Excellence Award (the highest award presented), Skills Champion Award, Amaze Award, Design Award, and Innovate Award.

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Upper School Students Earn 17 Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and National Silver Medal

Five Upper School students earned a combined total of 17 regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Out of more than 300,000 works of visual and literary arts, one USchool student earned a National Silver Medal for her writing piece that exemplified originality, technical skills, and the personal voice.

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Sharon Smith

Upper School math teacher Sharon Smith is a long-time member of the NSU University School community. Her immersion into our community first began as the daughter of an NSU alumna and sibling of a USchool graduate. Fast forward to today, Smith has been an advocate of our programs, mission, and students as both a USchool educator for the past 35 years and parent to two Lifers, also known as students who begin their journey at USchool in Preschool and remain with the school for 13+ consecutive years.  

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International Students Participate in Mentorship Experience with NSU Graduate Students

Through our Razor's Edge Global program, a mentorship experience for international students in the Upper School, students have had the opportunity to connect with international graduate students from Nova Southeastern University who provided information about their college journey and helpful tips for how to be successful.

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