Mena 7th, Jr JV & Jr. Varsity play at Lake Hamilton today at 4:30pm. GO LADYCATS!!!
Announcements for Tuesday, August 25th
Everyone did very well yesterday in following the safety guidelines that have been put in place. Please remember that this is a learning process for all of us and we will likely be adjusting a few things in the next several days as we discover what is working, what isn’t working, and what improvements we can make.
The bus drivers are reporting that they are seeing several students not wearing their masks on the bus. You must follow all safety guidelines in order to attend school. You must have a mask on from the time you get on the bus until you arrive at school and are in an area where you are social distanced.
Turn all of your signed paper work in to your 1st period teacher asap. These forms are required as a part of your enrollment.
Please remember to charge your chromebooks at home every evening.
If you think your schedule is incorrect or if you need to discuss a schedule change, you need to check your school email. Our Counselor, Mrs. Rose, has emailed a form for you to fill out.
Reminder about the water bottle filling stations. Please arrive at school with a full bottle and refill as needed.
Remember to walk on the right-hand side of the hallways during class change.
When you are at lunch, do not put your chewing gum on your tray and leave it there. Throw your gum away.
Please remember whether you are eating inside or outside, you are allowed to sit where there is no Bearcat paw sticker.
Lunchtime Weather:
Lunch Menu:
BBQ Chicken, Cheeseburger, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Taco Bar, PB&J Sandwich,
Cobb Salad, Turkey Croissant Sandwich
Club / Group Meetings: None today.
Greenwood defeated the Jr. & Jr. JV teams 2-0 Monday night at the Union Bank Center. The Jr. High is back in action on Tuesday at Lake Hamilton. https://www.menaschools.org/o/athletics/athletics?filter=20083
The math department finished a great first day at MMS!
Virtual & blended students will have to sign up for meals every week.
Meals may be picked up at Louise Durham or High School on Fridays between 1 and 2 pm
We are no longer allowed to serve on the SSO option so meals will be charged to the student’s account, as though the student was in school, based on their Free/Reduced/Paid status.
The form will need to be filled out by 2 pm Thursday for meal pick up on Friday. Follow the link to fill out the form.
https://forms.gle/P8bqh6gf8vvJd39i9
Announcements for Monday, August 24 th
I. If you think your schedule is incorrect or if you need to discuss a schedule change, you
need to check your school email. Our Counselor, Mrs. Rose, has emailed a form for you to
fill out.
II. Reminder about the water bottle filling stations. Please arrive at school with a full bottle
and refill as needed. The school does not supply empty water bottles to students.
III. At some point fairly soon, all 6 th graders and all new students will receive an MMS ID card.
Sometime after that, the 7 th & 8 th grade students will be able to request a replacement card.
The first replacement card is free. Any replacement card after that will cost $3.
If you do not have an ID card and you don’t have your ID number memorized, write it down
somewhere so that you will know it when you go through the lunch line. 6 th graders that
have their ID cards from HHE can use those at the cafeteria scanner until you receive your
new one.
IV. Reminder: If you are going to ride a bus today but are not sure which bus you need to ride,
please let a teacher know so that they can contact the office. Someone will get with you
today to let you know.
V. After you eat lunch, throw your trash away before you begin any games or lunch activities.
VI. Lunchtime Weather:
VII. Lunch Menu:
Chicken Fried Steak, Bacon Cheeseburger, Chicken Sandwich, Waffle Bar, PB&J,
Turkey Sandwich, Chef Salad
VIII. Club / Group Meetings: None today.
First day photos are pouring in! Click the link & send us yours! https://forms.gle/Ag7xgSoEvmjwbNqP6
Jr. Volleyball starts at 4:30pm in the Union Bank Center. Golf begins at 3:30pm at the Nashville Country Club. GO BEARCATS!!
https://www.menaschools.org/o/athletics/athletics
Mena MIddle School students arrive for the first day of school. Spirits seemed high as we begin adjusting to the new normal.
https://www.menaschools.org/o/mena-middle-school
Send us your first day of school pictures!
Whether your student is traditional, blended or virtual. Just click the link to submit a photo.
https://forms.gle/Ag7xgSoEvmjwbNqP6
4,000 face masks for students and staff will be distributed for the 20/21 school year that begins on August 24th.
Each student, age 10 & above, will receive face masks for use on campus. These face masks will become the responsibility of the student.
The Centers for Disease Control has info on how to wear & care for masks. Just follow the link.
https://www.cdc.gov/…/prevent…/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
What a nice surprise from the Union Bank of Mena! Our staff has been working a huge amount of hours in preparation for the first day of school on Monday. We so appreciate your support. Pizza was delivered to all campuses for lunch today.
4,000 face masks arrived at Mena Public Schools on Friday. They will be distributed to students and staff for the 20/21 school year that begins on August 24th.
Each student, age 10 & above, will receive face masks for use on campus. These face masks will become the responsibility of the student.
The Centers for Disease Control has info on how to wear & care for masks. Just follow the link.
https://www.cdc.gov/…/prevent…/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
A message to all parents from our nursing staff.
We want your child(ren) to be able to fully participate in school safely and stay healthy. Here are a few guidelines that we ask you to follow before sending your child to school:
Please check your child's temperature each morning.
Keep your child home if they have a fever of 100 F or higher.
You should also keep your child home if they have other symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea,loss of taste or smell, sore throat, or persistent coughing. All students 10
years and older must wear a cloth face covering on our campuses and practice social distancing whenever possible.
If you know your child needs immunizations at this time, please make an appointment with their Primary Care Provider or the Health Department as soon as possible.
We strongly encourage everyone who can to get the flu shot this year.Opportunities for your child to receive a flu shot at school will be announced at a later date.
If you have any questions or concerns about your child's health at school please contact the school nurse. We look forward to getting this school year
started! See Less
ATTENTION PARENTS!
Please daily check your students for symptoms of Covid
1) Do they have a cough?
2) Any difficulty Breathing?
3) Sore throat?
4) A Loss of taste or smell?
5) Had contact with a positive Covid-19 person in the last 14 days?
6) A fever?
If any of these are a yes, please keep your child home, notify the school and monitor your child. They should be fever free for 48 hours before returning to school.
Please remember that traditional students can pick up schedules & blended students can pick up Chromebooks on Friday 8/21 from 8:30am-11:30am & 1:00pm-3:00pm at the Middle School Bus Loop..GO BEARCATS!!!!
Mena Public Schools—Ticket Sales for 2020-21
The Mena Public School District has announced plans for sales of tickets for athletic events for the 2020-21 school year. Due to Covid-19, the Governor and Arkansas Department of Health has put a limit on the number of people who can attend indoor and outdoor activities.
These restrictions are not the desire of anyone in the district. However, for the health and safety of our players, coaches and fans, we MUST adhere to the guidelines set by the ADH and Governor. We are fortunate, at this time, to be able to continue with our sporting events.
Mena Public Schools will adhere to the Indoor and Outdoor venue guidelines set forth by the Arkansas Department of Health. Anyone over 10 years of age must wear a face covering at all times. Single-household family groups can sit together but must be 6-feet apart from other groups or individuals. Seating areas will be marked such that every other row is unoccupied. Anyone found not to be in compliance with the regulations set forth by the ADH will be asked by an administrator or security officer to comply. Refusal to follow directives will result in removal from the premises.
Due to the new guidelines, MPS will no longer allow FREE ADMISSION passes other than those issued by the Arkansas Athletics Association.
Ticket Prices:
Per game admission is $5.00 per person.
Football Games: -Bearcat Stadium Capacity-680
Football Players, Band, and Cheer will be issued a certain number of redeemable tickets first. Then there will be a limited number of tickets available to the general public (no more than 2 tickets per person) that can be picked up at the Central Office the day of the event from (8:00am to 3:45pm).
Volleyball Games (7th-12th grade):--UBC Capacity-240
Volleyball players will be issued a certain number of redeemable tickets first. Then there will be a limited number of tickets available to the general public (no more than 2 tickets per person) that can be picked up at the Central Office the day of the event from (8:00am to 3:45pm).
Football and Volleyball Visitors: a limited number of tickets will be provided for the visiting team at the beginning of each week. State officials are not allowing band and cheer to attend away games. (The same will happen when the Bearcats/Ladycats go on the road—we will get the ticket information out ASAP for these events.)
Unfortunately, during this time, tailgating before athletic events is NOT ALLOWED. Attendees will NOT be allowed on the track, field, or court at any time before, during or after the event. Immediately after the event, fans need to exit the facility.
During multi-game nights, parents are encouraged to exit the facility when their child’s game is over to allow room for other parents/family the opportunity to watch their child’s game.
Hopefully, we can complete our seasons as scheduled and YOU can help by supporting our efforts. GO LADYCATS and BEARCATS!
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Mena Middle School & Holly Harshman Elementary Open House Videos are now available for you to watch. Just click on the link below to get started.
Mena High Schools video will be added as soon as it is available.
LDE has sent their videos to the individual students on SeeSaw & they will not be available online.
https://docs.google.com/…/2PACX-1vRxBBzTmS50mV_Kz9ceNv…/pub…
Joe Bunch & James Davis walk you through bus safety policies for the start of the 20/21 school year. The first day of school is Monday, August 24th.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sNMmvbQBiZu3Ru1mYSlLPeLNrIJCoY4K/view?usp=sharing
The Mena School Board conducted their August meeting on
Tuesday Evening in the Mena High School Library. The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the July meeting & a brief Superintendents Report.
In new business the board approved the 2019/2020 inventory
list.
Assistant Superintendent Lee Smith spoke on changes in the
District Policies Manual. A majority of the changes revolved
around recently released changes in Title IX requirements. The changes were accepted.
Administrators from LDE, HHE, MMS, MHS & PCVA then spoke on changes in the handbook as well as the reentry plan at each campus. All were minor & mostly related to Covid 19. The changes & re-entry plans were unanimously approved.
Little to no changes have been made to the
extracurricular/athletic handbook, coaches handbook & athletic administration guidebook. The few changes had to do with Covid policies & all were approved.
Mr. Shane Torix then presented point of contact information to
the board. He updated them on Covid policies & the reporting procedure. No action was required.
Mr. Danny Minton then gave an update on projects around the
district of which Included the installation of new equipment in
the kitchen at HHE, a walk in cooler at MMS, new track fencing at Bearcat Stadium and painting of faded red awnings at the high school. Minton also happily reported that the district has passed all inspections leading up to the school year.
The board approved a year end transfer of $362,767.22 to the
building fund. These funds were designated for projects in 19-
20. These funds will be transferred back as those projects are
completed.
Personnel was the final item on the agenda. The board
accepted the retirement of Tammy Taylor & the resignation of Terry Dino Cabello as well as Julie Gordon. The board also approved the hiring of Heather Catlett for MHS History & Kristi Cogburn for MHS/MMS Choir.
The next meeting of the Mena School Board will be held on
Tuesday, September 22nd
