Mena High School

Rich Mountain seems to be smiling about the sunny skies in this picture from the Mena Schools Weather Camera on Thursday. We're sure the crew working on the turf at Bob Carver Bearcat Stadium are pleased as well... Remember that BCBS remains closed to the public for the next several weeks. Follow the link to the weather cam 24 hours a day. https://www.weatherbug.com/weather-camera/?cam=MNHCK

The Whitt & Watkins Basketball Academy began on Thursday at the Union Bank Center. The morning session is for 1st-8th grades & the afternoon session is for 9th-12th grades. It continues on Friday & Saturday. GO BEARCATS !!!

Mena Ladycat KENSEY ROSSON has been named to the SBLive All-State Softball Team. Rosson will be a Jr. in 2022/2023 & had .618 batting average with 1 homerun last season. Read the article at the link below https://news.scorebooklive.com/arkansas/2022/06/09/sblive-arkansas-all-state-softball-teams-benton-pitcher-allyssa-houston-is-player-of-the-year?fs=e&s=cl&fbclid=IwAR1U4mFVz0FCbqbnqhEA3hLWKnX6NSRItUHhZrQD0JJek6jPxw8Qov9_TDk

The Senior High Bearcats went to Ouachita Baptist University today for a team camp! Great reps , great work and should have some great film to learn off of! Go Bearcats and thanks to OBU for hosting and feeding our boys!

Mena leaders are attending training with the DeQueen Mena Education Service Cooperative at Degray State Park this week. Administrators from schools across the DMESC area are attending.

Mena teachers are already learning new skills to help with engaging lessons. Tuesday at HHE they were participating in Summer PD learning how to use new technology… BenQ interactive panels have been installed & will help teachers interact with students.

Cox & Fletcher headed to Orlando for Special Olympic USA Games. Check them out on the cover of the Polk County Pulse this week !!! https://mypulsenews.com/polk-county-pulse-june-8-2022/?fbclid=IwAR2ltZl1HnWqD42YTcCiCEWt8y1Uh4vbKPvcB7v5HNIKEWTE-h7lM-jnEGQ

The history of Mena Public Schools! Part 2: In 1901 the schools were under the supervision of S. H. Allen a graduate of Ouachita College. Mena had made such rapid progress by this time that they had built and furnished three buildings containing eight large rooms of the common school grades. Central School was built in 1904. This two story red brick building was erected on the site where the First Baptist Church is now located. There were eight classrooms and one teacher for each grade first through eighth. There were times when enrollment in each room might reach 55 or 60 students for each teacher. A high wire fence was stretched from the front porch to Port Arthur Avenue to separate the girls on one side toward the library and the boys on the ninth street side. In each room was a large stove. The custodian really had to get up early to start eight separate fires and keep two full coal buckets in each of the rooms. He would go around sometimes three times a day to put the coal in the stoves. Only occasionally did the teacher have to perform this task. All the school children were suppose to bring a cup from home since the Janssen Park Spring was the only source of drinking water. Paper cups had not been introduced as yet. Teachers had spring duty in those days. The children went by rooms to the park to get water three times a day. The children did not take the drinking cups home. It was thought that the construction of the Central School would accommodate the school population for some time to come, but by 1905 it was necessary to provide other facilities as those housing the school population of the new boom-town of Mena were greatly over-worked. The first buildings that had been erected for school purposes were bulging with children. To provide further housing facilities, the Southside Ward School was built. This was a neat frame building of two rooms. At this time the late and much beloved Prof. W. T. Adams had supervision of the schools. He was untiring in his efforts to build up the city schools. Mrs. Ruby Grant was the first principal of the new school. Miss Mable Adams, now Mrs. John Mershon, was the primary teacher. Mrs. John Mershon had a room enrollment of 113 pupils. The town of Mena continued to grow rapidly and by 1907 it was necessary to add another room to the Ward building. Check bac next Wednesday for part 3!

Work continues on the turf project at Bob Carver Bearcat Stadium. When completed it will be followed by an extensive paving project as well. The stadium and track will remain closed to the public until those projects are both completed.

The Mena Jr. Bearcats had a great time at the Harding Camp !

This past Friday the Mena FFA Jr. Trap team competed in the state tournament in Jacksonville! Team members competed in the second flight of the morning. However, the other squad in our bracket had our number on Friday and the team was knocked out in the first round. For first year shooters this was a great first year! These five will be able to compete in the fall at the FFA shoot in November and in the spring they will move to the senior division. Congratulations on a great first year! Team Members: Drake Dollar-Captain Dax McMellon Grayson Farringer Sean Maechler Waylon Head

Mena Senior High Cheer team attended a National Cheer Association team camp at Hendrix College in Conway this past week! They received many team and individual awards and recognitions including: Sharp for Sophia Award SAFE Stunting Award 2nd Place in Cheer Competition Qualification for Nationals Kiylee Hughes & Shantal Tecson were named NCA All American Cheerleaders. Patience Ferguson was selected by NCA staff to tryout to teach for them next summer. Cheerleaders selected by NCA staff to tryout for All American Cheerleaders: Joey Decker Hailey Emerson Patience Ferguson Amy Gragg Kiylee Hughes Cloey Massey Shantal Tecson Sophia Vacca

The Mena Jr. High Cheerleaders attended camp at Hendrix this week. They worked on many skills and made many improvements. They have worked so hard and it has paid off! Five girls were nominated for All American Cheerleader: Chloe Cossey Bre Crider Rayleigh Goodnight Trinity Aviles Lily Kate Doughty. As a team Mena earned most improved, a stunt safe award, a bid to Nationals, a spirit stick, and 1st place for the Jr High Band Chant!

Out with the old & in with the new! Bob Carver Bearcat Stadium is closed to the public till further notice.

Mena Public Schools will offer breakfast and/or lunch to anyone 18 and under free of charge beginning June 6th,2022 through June 30th 2022. Locations are: Louise Durham Elementary 106 N. Reine in Mena on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mena Middle School, 700 S Morrow St. Monday -Thursday. Times are 8:00am to 8:30am for breakfast, 12:00pm to 12:30pm for lunch.

The Mena Public Schools Year End Celebration was held on Tuesday in the Performing Arts Center. A number of employees were recognized for their years of service. 1 YEAR MADYSON BIRTCHER JAMIE GROGAN WANALYNN ALEXANDER JORDAN BAILEY REAGAN BLACK ALEXA BREWER BRIANNE BURFORD CHRISTIE CHANDLER VINCENT COLEMAN LANA COOGAN HANNAH CRAFTON SHANDA CRAIG CARRI CRANFORD AUDRA CUMMINGS SHELBY GARCIA ERIN GRANT LEANNA HARPER JESSICA HUGHES AMBER LABERTEW SHANNON LYLE KRISTEN MANASCO MALLORY MCCONNELL CHERISH MICHAEL ABBY MINTON ISAAC MINTON REAGAN PETERS ASHLKEY PREGON JAQUELINE REDFEARN LISA ROBERTS KRISTI SCHULLER AILEEN SIRKIS KATHRYN SMITH ABIGAIL TILLEY TIMOTHY WALSTON COURTNEY WARREN ERIKA WILLIAMS BRIANNA PETERS LIBERTY JACOT 5 YEAR SARAH BILLINGS RACHEL CARTER DANIEL HENDRIX ALYSSA HOSTETLER CHARMAINE MARTIN KENNEDY MCCORMICK JILL NEWBOLT CYNTIA STANDRIDGE LEAH TAYLOR 10 YEAR KRYSTAL BOYD PEGGY FOSTER LORRIE HENRY TIFFANY LUTTMER AMY MONTGOMERY LINDA SHELLEY TERESA TORIX SCOTT WRIGHT 15 YEARS CE;ESTE ASHCRAFT DIANNE HUNTER MITCH MILNE SHERMA PETERS DEE SMITH HEATHER GOSS 25 YEARS STACI BROOKS DALYNNE RANDOLPH NATHAN STONE 30+ YEARS LEO BARGE TODD COOGAN TERESA CLARK BECKY RICHARDSON MEGAN TIBBS BRYAN MAYE PATTY OGLESBY ANNITA HENDRIX RETIREES RODNEY PURVIS LINDA COLLINS JIMMA HOLDER KAREN PURVIS

Several Family and Consumer Science students at Mena High School have completed the training and passed the exam to earn the ServSafe Food Handler Certification. Those students include: Gabe Corcoran Joseph McLellan Dennison Reed Ashlyn Seaton Logan Shone Kenny Smudrick Londyn Wagner Caroline Cannon (Pictured) Lukas Charbonnier (Pictured) Eisayah Day (Pictured) Connor Efird Abigail Felix (Pictured) Isaiah Renard Ashlynne Self (Pictured) Shantal Tecson (Pictured) Marixa Delgado Addi Dollar Oliviana Ortiz Elizabeth Williams Haylie Harmon Lilian Kaliwoda Vanessa Ludlow Jessica Nicholson Brooklyn Pennington Richard Sanchez Summer Venable

The Mena High School Class of 2022 graduated in front of a packed house at the Union Bank Center on Saturday. Good luck graduates. You will be missed !

Graduation practice was held Friday morning at Mena High School. Don't forget that commencement will be Saturday at 10:00am in the Union Bank Center. Doors will open at 9:30am & overflow will be in the Performing Arts Center if necessary.

The Mena High School Senior Success Assembly was held on Wednesday to celebrate seniors who have made their decisions on college, trade school, military or work force. THOSE WHO PLAN TO ATTEND COLLEGE. Morgan Caldwell Jeremiah Kelley Cadence Barnes Danielle Hill Annika Thompson Austin Rose Angel Rodriguez Taylor Thacker Karlie Bailey Grayson Fairless Alexis Williams Cassidy Ashcraft Allison Bates Miranda Bump Katie Benefield Jaimeson Biard Christina Gragg Alexyss Hilderbrand Samuel Cross Rachel Wilson Sarah Grenier Amanda Booth Travis Thrailkill Avery Powell Vanessa Vue Brenna Smith Bethany Godwin Sarah Simmons Navya Morris Liberty Sharp Caleb Peters Olivia Betz Jett Baber Allison Ogden Carleigh Smart Ian Hughes Luke Montgomery Breanna Hall Brenden Brown Jaiden Milam Blake Brown Jacob Deramus Caleb Jones Lexi Dilbeck Antoni Sobolesky Abri Evangelista Jake Brotherton William Davis THOSE CHOOSING A MILITARY CAREER Nathaniel Jewell Michael Auces Zackery Grafton William White Gage Gorden THOSE WITH PLANS TO ENTER THE TRADES Billy Kirkendoll Mathew Grossman Noah Snider Christina Ortiz Brice Metrejean Caitlyn Rode Adrian Perez