Mena Middle School

Mena Middle School has been participating in the Reading Fair for the past two days at the Dequeen/Mena Co-Op. They came home with a lot of bling.
Reading Fair winners for the middle school:
6th grade:
Kashlynn -1st place fiction technology
Malikai and Nikko -3rd place fiction tech
Zoey and partner -1st Fiction board
Gwen and Willow-2nd place Fiction board
7th grade:
Azellia and Meggy - 1st place fiction board
Hadara-2nd place fiction board
Ailyah and Ashton -2nd place Fiction board
Cisley and Addelyn - First place Fiction board
8th grade:
Brady and Easton-First place fiction technology
Darcie -1st place fiction board
Makaylee and Lorelai -3rd place fiction board

Mena Middle School FBLA attended the District I Spring Leadership Conference on Wednesday in Fort Smith and represented Mena well! All of the students attending were 1st year competitors competing against junior high students. They all worked hard to prepare for their competitions. The following students were recognized on stage and advanced to state.

Avori Gortemiller - 1st place in Exploring Business Communication
Brent Epperson - 1st place in Exploring FBLA
Lauryn Tolleson and Maggie Morris - 1st place in Exploring Management and Entrepreneurship
Addison Emmitte - 3rd place in Career Research
Joshua Gibson - 3rd place in Exploring Customer Service

These students qualified to compete at the State conference that will be held in April. Congratulations to all!

Congratulations to the Mena students who placed in the Polk County Spelling Bee at UARM's Ouachita Center on Wednesday.
1st Grade - 2nd Place Kendal Hurst
2nd Grade - 2nd Place Annie Cannon
3rd Grade - 1st Place Sam Myers
5th Grade - 2nd Place Julia Henry
6th Grade - 3rd place Aaron Erickson
7th Grade - 3rd Place Lucas McQuerrie
8th Grade - 1st Place Braylon Brandenburg
3rd Place Brady Jones
OVERALL WINNER - BRAYLON BRANDENBURG

Mena FCCLA attended Region 5 STAR Events and Leadership Conference in Hope, AR.
Students Advancing to FCCLA State STAR Events Are:
MMS CHAPTER: Level 1
Raul Toribio - Career Investigations
Cord Gibbs - Entrepreneurship
Prachi Desai, Zallie Evans, & Shaelynn Manning - Event Management
Averie Martin & Jenna Williams - Focus on Children
Harper Bentley & Macy Herod - Food Innovations
Macy Flores & Avori Gortemiller - Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation
Brent Epperson - Leadership
Alida Newbolt & Remi Olsen - National Programs in Action
Addison Emmitte - Public Policy Advocate
Camilla Ashcraft, Hollie Hamilton & Briggs Robertson - Repurpose and Redesign
Emma Butterfield - Say Yes to FCS
Paul Holliday, Easton Johnson & Brady Jones - Sports Nutrition
Melanie Cude, Serenity Hogan & Dane Palmer - Sustainability Challenge
MHS CHAPTER: Level 2
Raelynn Ashcraft, Kenley Cochran & Brandi Miller - Chapter Service Portfolio
Lainey Smart - Food Innovation
Lily Kate Doughty, Sophia Cummings & Zahra Sofi - Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation
Barrett Frost - Repurpose & Redesign
Kinsey Mullen - Public Policy Advocate
Mckenna Nottke & Camryn Stepp - Professional Presentation
Please congratulate these students on their achievements if you see them this week around campus! We are so proud of them and their accomplishments!

Mena Computer Science Students participated in a Capture The Flag event on Thursday at the DeQueen Mena Education Service Cooperative. CTF events are cybersecurity competitions where participants solve challenges in areas like web security, cryptography, and reverse engineering to find hidden "flags" for points.
Congratulations to MMS students Jocelyn Bates, Zach Horn, Levi Lawrence, and Jack Parsons, who placed 3rd overall! We are proud of your hard work and problem-solving skills.

Battle at the Hensley Activity Center!

We recommend Wednesday: Brantley, one of our 6th grade students, likes romance, but she also likes a little bit of sport related books. This book, Takedown, is her favorite. It includes wrestling and a little bit of a love hate relationship. Come check it out!

Ms. Kropp's theatre students performed "A Christmas Carol" for 7th Grade English Students on Tuesday.

795 students auditioned for a spot in the all region band at Van Buren Freshman Academy on Saturday. Congratulations to the following Mena students for making all region honors.

Mena Middle School FBLA, FCCLA, FFA, Project Prevent and Yearbook students volunteered to ring the bell for the Salvation Army at Wal-Mart and Harps today.

Mena Middle School Project Prevent Team members Katy Goodnight, Annabelle Sprague and Melanie Cude attended the Rotary Club meeting today. The ladies shared about all the activities the MMS Project Prevent Team is involved in and learned about what the Rotary Club is about. Thank you Rotary for the opportunity to practice our public speaking and for lunch!

Congratulations to our 5th/6th grade Quiz Bowl Team! They fought hard and won 2nd place today at the Ashdown Invitational. It was a fun day watching these students shine!

"Attention Mena Middle School Parents and Students!
Yearbooks are now on sale for $40 until December 26th. You can purchase yours by bringing cash or check to Mrs. Billings, or by ordering online at jostens.com. After December 26th the new price will be $42. They are selling fast so don't miss your opportunity to reserve your copy today!"

Jenna Williams and Averie Martin from the Mena Middle School FCCLA made a presentation about making healthy choices to students at Louise Durham on Thursday! They did a great job and the students loved it!

MMS Project Prevent Team was very busy this week. Members challenged their peers to pledge to be nicotine free and thankful with a cornucopia Thanksgiving activity. Today members helped at Louise Durham and MMS Thanksgiving Lunches, hosted tobacco prevention informational booths at MMS lunch and parent teacher conferences as well as serving popcorn to families. Happy Thanksgiving from MMS Project Prevent Team! #projectpreventar

The 2025-2026 Mena Basketball season began on Monday and the 7th grade and Jr. High teams were in action.

7th Ladycats-17
Cossatot-15

7th Bearcats-22
Cossatot-20

Jr. Ladycats-13
Cossatot-43

Jr. Bearcats-35
Cossatot-18

The Sr. teams will play Hackett on Tuesday at 6:00pm in the Union Bank Center.

Mena High School and Mena Middle School FCCLA attended the FCCLA Leadership in Action Hands that Serve - Hearts That Lead Community Service Event at Acorn High School. They listened to Region V, State, and National officers speak about running for office and community service. Students also had the opportunity to hear from Cynthia Martin, the executive director of the Ouachita Children’s Coalition and pack toiletry items into duffel bags to donate to families in need. Mena Middle School won the Community Service Award for donating the largest amount of toiletries.

Mena Middle & High School FCCLA Officers recently attended Chapter Officer Leader Academy. The officers attended workshops on membership engagement, chapter plan of work, recruitment and leadership. Students also had an insider campus tour and lunch in the campus cafe!

MMS Red Ribbon Week: “Piece” out to drugs ✌️☮️