EDUCATION NEWS
AWARDS
Ashdown High School students Kohl Kervin and Shakila Witherspoon received a Master Microsoft Office Specialist Certification in Mrs. Tipton’s and Mrs. Garrison’s Computerized Business Applications class. They join Carson Jefferies and six other students statewide to achieve the certification this year. In order to received this certification, they both passed a two-part Microsoft Word Expert exam, Excel exam and Powerpoint exam.
On March 16, Southern Arkansas
University hosted the Southwest Arkansas Regional Science Fair.
After participating in campus-level competitions, several students from College Hill Middle School and North Heights Junior High participated in the regional science fair.
The following College Hill
Middle School fifth-grade students placed in the competition: Celeste Williams placed first in Engineering, Joshua Sharpe placed second in Earth & Environmental Science and Luke Knudston placed first in Biological Science.
The following North Heights
Junior High seventh grade students also placed in the competition: Lawson Black placed third in Physical Science and Dalton Hagood placed second in Biological Science.
Texas Middle School STEM students Madelyn Bixler, Darbi Davis and Reagan Raney had a successful showing March 2 at the
East Texas Regional Science Fair
in Kilgore, Texas.
Madelyn Bixler placed second in the Junior Biological Science category for her project “Whose More Ambidextrous.” Darbi Davis placed fourth in Junior Biological Science for “Duckweed: Desirable or Deadly” and received a $100 monetary prize from the Water Environment Association. Reagan Raney placed fourth in Junior Biological Science for “The Effect of Rotational Grazing on Water Infiltration Rates.”
An estimated 80 students from the area participated.
Bixley, Davis and Raney will advance to the Exxon Mobil Texas Science & Engineering Fair from March 23-25 in San Antonio. They will also be able to enter their projects into the national middle school science and engineering fair competition, Broadcam MASTERS.
Texas High School’s Winter Guard finished the competition season with third place overall in the Scholastic AA Division of the North Texas Color Guard Association Championship on
March 9 in Azle, Texas.
Season competition highlights for the squad included two firstplace finishes at NTCA contests in January and February.
Members of the THS Winter Guard are Ayana Brayley-Cruz, Chloe Griffin, Anna Loanzon, Misty Lopez, Harmony Mothershed, Cymone Thomas, AnnMarie Vasquez, Alliyah Vayson and Lauryn Young. They are under the direction of Kara Compton, Texas Middle School band director and Texas High School Color Guard instructor.
Texas A&M University-Texarkana
students Roya Morakabian, Eddie Oviedo and Jessie Owens presented posters on their research at the South Central Regional Conference of the TriBeta National Biological Honor Society in Cedar Hill, Texas.
The first members of the A&MTexarkana chapter of Beta Beta Beta will go through an induction ceremony later this spring. The organization is an honor society for students, particularly undergraduates, dedicated to improving the understanding and appreciation of biological study and extending boundaries of human knowledge through scientific research.
Genoa Central High School students Elizabeth Ghio and Ainsley Lester have been selected to attend the 2018 Arkansas Governor ’s
School (AGS) at Hendrix College.
Selection for the six-week program is based on a combination of ability and interest. The program is for gifted and talented Arkansas students who are upcoming high school seniors. State funds provide tuition, room, board and instructional materials for each student who attends the program.
Forty students have been selected for inclusion in the 2018 edition of Who’s Who at Arkansas Tech University.
Selection is based upon academic achievement, service to the community while enrolled at ATU, leadership and involvement in co-curricular activities and the potential for continued success.
The following local students were selected:
Mount Pleasant, Texas— Lantwan Traylor
Texarkana, Ark.—Amanda
Condon
Southern Arkansas University’s Rankin College of Business students recently won more than 20 awards from the annual Phi Beta
Lambda Conference April 6 and 7 in Little Rock.
Students from this area include: Jay Beasley, Jaylon Christopher and David Edmondson of Prescott placed first in Strategic Analysis & Decision Making and second in Business Decision Making.
Kaitlin Kitchens of Dierks placed fourth in Financial Concepts and third in Local Chapter Business Report.
Micah Larey of Fouke was elected 2018-19 Phi Beta Lambda State President, placed fifth in Accounting Principles, fifth in Microeconomics and third in Local Chapter Annual Business Report.
David Park, of McNeil, Ark., a student in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditions (HVAC) program at University of Arkansas Hope
Texarkana, has been selected for the 2018
Malco Products
“Head of the
Class” Award.
The program awards a graduating student with a certificate, cap and
Malco toolkit.
Each school term, Malco Products recognizes outstanding students graduating from career education programs in HVAC, building-construction and auto body repair.
HONORS
Shelby Hunt of Pittsburg, Texas,
was inducted into the Honor
Society of Phi Kappa Phi at Texas Tech University.
Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.
Rebekah Leamons of Gurdon, Ark., and Alyssa Brown of Fordyce, Ark., were awarded the Southern Arkansas University Hallman Scholarship.
The Hallman Scholarship is funded through the SAU Foundation and provides scholarships for incoming freshmen women in the sciences. The scholarships are based on ACT scores and other aid.
Leamons is a graduate of Gurdon High School with a 4.15 GPA. She plans to obtain a degree in Computer Science (Game & Animation Design) from SAU.
Brown is a Fordyce High School class valedictorian with a 4.12 GPA. She plans to receive a biology degree from SAU and continue to a graduate degree in medicine, specializing in oncology.
Twenty-one Southern Arkansas
University
student-athletes earned recognition on the Great American Conference All-Academic Team for the fall semester.
Local students include football team member Sir Charles Perkins of Pittsburg, Texas, and women’s cross country team member Cassey Gay of Texarkana, Ark.
For student-athletes to be recognized on the Academic AllC-onference team, they must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing and must have completed at least one full academic year. In addition, their grade-point average must be a minimum of 3.30 based on the 4.0 system.
Texarkana Independent School District
A Honor Roll—Fifth Six Weeks Highland Park Elementary School
First Grade: Fernando Bustos, Milagros Casarrubias, Marbraiya Daniels, Cooper Faris, Kingston Gasca, Abby Gregory, Ava Gregory, Colton Helms, Oshei Jack, Oliver Labrada-Rosales, Jayden Luster, John Narro, Kali Saez, Lila Starnes and Cristofer Valle-Olalde
Second Grade: Anlia Valerio
Salais
Third Grade: Darren Hobbs, Aaliyah Sampson and Jeremy Saulsbury
Fourth Grade: Kimberly Hernandez-Valerio and Francisco Jinez-Sanchez
Fifth Grade: Tanisha Berry