This past week, six MSMS students had their writing featured in one of America’s oldest publications, The Atlantic Monthly or simply, The Atlantic. After journalist and author Deb Fallows and her husband James Fallows were invited to MSMS by English teacher Thomas Easterling, D. Fallows has been publishing articles on MSMS, one of the many schools on their reporting trip “to smaller communities across the country that have been coping with economic, political or environmental challenges.”

On Feb. 11, recent alumnus Agrippa Kellum, current seniors Summar McGee and Makayla Raby were featured. Kellum’s essay “Fish” compares his “murky” experience growing up in Mississippi to fish swimming in the Tombigbee River. McGee’s poem “Pickin’ Day” gives the reader a perspective into okra picking on a scorching Mississippi afternoon. Raby’s poem “Trade” tells the story of a girl who “took a leap / into a bottomless unknown” and traded her rural home for city life.

The Feb. 19 follow up article featured current seniors Connor McNamee, Carly Sneed and Jenny Bobo. McNamee’s essay discusses his experience growing up as “Momma’s Boy” and how his mother influenced him to pursue academic excellence at MSMS. Sneed’s poem “Dancing on the Factory Floor” describes the everyday beats, rhythms and “meticulous motions” of her family’s T-shirt factory. Bobo’s personal narrative “Chiron” gives a heart-wrenching account of a “witch” who bought one of Bobo’s beloved horses, Chiron, only to return him, “not the same horse.”

Fallows also featured MSMS students’ writing back in her May 20, 2014 article “Students From Mississippi Write About Their State.” This feature included essays by students from the MSMS class of 2014: Kimberly Sanford, Rachel Jones, Brendan Ryan, Sabrina Moore and Joseph Messer.

By searching “The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science” on The Atlantic’s website, you can view several articles featuring MSMS by Deb Fallows and her husband James Fallows.

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