May Session

Because the Missouri Academy is considered a high school and Northwest is in school for fewer days than the regulation for Missouri high schools, the Academy has to hold classes during May, in what is aptly called May Session.

May sessions are generally considered some of the best times at the Academy. Since there is only one class to worry about, afternoons and evenings are largely free for students to pursue their own interests.

Academia

Historically, during May Session, there have been four classes offered. This may increase due to an expected growth of the student population, but as of May 2005, there are still only four. These classes are taken in the mornings from Monday to Thursday, generally starting at either 7:30 or 10:10, depending on the course load. As a general rule, a four credit-hour course will start at 7:30, and a three credit-hour course will start at 10:10. Note that Calculus II is a five day per week class.

The philosophy of May courses was once that students would be offered classes that wouldn't be available during the school year and would most likely be of interest to someone at a science, math, and computing school, but the trend recently has been to offer humanities courses because students are required to take at least one humanities course in order to graduate.

Previously, it was the custom to have a large number of departments to submit class proposals, and then allow the students to vote on them. It appears that now classes are selected with no student input. In 2004-2005, when this newer policy was first implemented, there was a popular reaction and a minor degree of choice was allowed. The system now in place is one where three classes appear to be set: Calculus II, General Microbiology, and Western Civilization II, with two others decided upon by vote among the students.

During May session, study hours are also different from usual. They only last one hour, rather than the traditional two, but this may start anywhere from eight to nine, depending on the year.

Classes of 2010's May Session

• General Microbiology
• History of Science and Technology
• Calculus II
• Programming I
• Intro. to American Gov. & Politics
• Reading and Writing the Natural World

Classes of 2009's May Session

• Please Update
• General Microbiology
• Comparative World Religions
• Programming I
• Calculus II
• Western Civilization II
• World Drama

Classes of 2008's May Session

• General Microbiology
• Calculus II
• Western Civilization II
• Medical Terminology
• History of Science and Technology

Classes of 2007's May Session

• General Microbiology
• Calculus II
• Western Civilization II
• Introduction to Guitar
• Number Theory

Classes of 2006's May Session

• Sign Language
• General Microbiology
• Comparative World Religions
• Calculus II
• History of Science and Technology

Earlier Years

In the past, students voted on a selection of four classes from a long list of choices. Among the classes chosen were:

• Quantum Mechanics
• Forensic DNA Science
• History of Science and Technology
• Islam and the World
• Comparative World Religions

Community Service

Community service is the more time consuming part of May session. Community service starts about 1 pm and lasts until 4 pm. Every student in the Academy is required to partake in a community service activity. The second half of colloquium is dedicated to second years figuring out which community service projects they want to head. However, any student can organize their own project.

Past Community Service Projects

• Crocheting for the Salvation Army
• Academy Clean up
• Maryville Clean up
• Helping elderly with outside jobs
• Humane Society
• Historical Museum
• Mozingo Lake
• Maryville Library
• Recruitment video
• Study guide for future classes
• Various physics projects
• Newman Center
• Maryville Aquatic Center

Food

In May session, meals are also rather different from the rest of the year. All food is served in JW's Grill in the Union, unless of course the Academy Student Government asks them to close because SGA is providing a voluntary meal and accordingly wants to remove all other options. During breakfast and lunch on weekdays, you order from a menu that wouldn't seem terribly out of place at a Hardee's (or Carl's Jr.), and pick from a wide array of chocolate and sugar for your deserts. For dinners and the poorly named weekend brunches, there is a buffet consisting of a grabbag of food available in the food court during the rest of the year. May Session's food is universally demeaned for its poor quality and many students joke about losing weight during this time of the year as a result.