Ouachita River School District

Weddle & Neufeld to Attend AR Governor's Scholastic Honors Day Acorn High School has announced that two of its seniors have been given the honor of attending the 2022 Arkansas Governor’s Scholastic Honors Day. Raeghan Weddle, daughter of Charlotte Weddle, and Justice Neufeld, son of Jeff and Jerusha Neufeld, have been selected to attend this annual prestigious event in May at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock. Weddle and Neufeld will represent Acorn High School along with other top, high-achieving and outstanding seniors represented from high schools in Arkansas. A video highlighting seniors represented will be available at a later date this spring and a link will be provided and shared. Congratulations, Raeghan & Justice! We are proud of you! #orsdlifeprep

Oden Parents and Community, ACT Aspire testing is here! We are excited to see our student's growth! Oden High School will test April 26-28 and Ode Maddox Elementary will test May 2-5. High School students need to make sure chromebooks are charged nightly for testing. Good attendance is a key factor in your child's success. Please encourage your child to do their best and get a good nights sleep. Let's rock the test this year! Go Wolves!

ORSD Educators Join DKG The Alpha Kappa Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International inducted new members for the current year. Two of the inductees included educators from Ouachita River School District; Tammy Young, Acorn High School Counselor in the fall 2021 and Mindy Lyle, Acorn High School FACS Teacher in the spring 2022. The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International’s mission and vision includes; “promoting professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education and leading women educators impacting education worldwide. You can be a part of this great future for education.” The local DKG Chapter supports reading/literacy programs and an annual scholarship for graduating senior pursuing a career in education. As educators, both Young and Lyle help students find their career pathway through Student Success Plans with career assessments, practicum experience, career and college fairs, and postsecondary planning, internship, pre-apprenticeship, and apprenticeship opportunities, just to name a few. “Supporting students beyond high school to pursue a career in education through DKG Society is another way we, as educators, can help serve our students and their families.”, stated Lyle and Young. #orsdlifeprep

AHS Names Delegates for AR Boys State & Girls State Each year, representatives from around Arkansas serve as delegates for Arkansas American Legion Boys State and Arkansas American Legion Auxiliary Girls State. The transformative programs engage high school juniors in civics education through mock governmental processes and develop leaders through civic responsibility. This year, representing Acorn High School for each program include: AHS Junior Paige Parnell has been named to Arkansas Girls State and AHS Junior Reed McGee has been named to Arkansas Boys State. Reed will attend AR Boys State on the University of Central Arkansas campus in Conway, Arkansas. Paige will attend AR Girls State on the Harding University campus in Searcy, Arkansas. Congratulations, Paige and Reed! We are proud of you! #orsdlifeprep

Acorn High School Senior Spotlight - Jacob Cottman Congratulations and our best to you! Proud of you, Jacob! Acorn High School Graduation Thursday, May 19, 2022 7:00 PM Acorn Gymnasium #orsdlifeprep

Ode Maddox Elementary’s K-2 enjoyed an egg hunt on Thursday afternoon. Thank you to all the teachers, parents, students and PTO for this fun event! Happy Easter!

Acorn Baseball and Softball games at Mansfield tonight will start at 4:30 instead of 4:00.

Carter Selected for RYLA Kora Carter, sophomore at Acorn High School was chosen among applicants by the Polk County-Mena Rotary Club to attend the 2022 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Camp. The camp is hosted and organized by Rotary District #6170 and was held April 7th - 10th at the Arkansas 4-H Center in Ferndale, Arkansas. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where youth develop skills as a leader through a host of fun, engaging experiences and making connections with peers and leaders. “RYLA camp was fun, I met a lot of new people and did a lot of fun things. I even step outside my comfort zone!”, stated Carter.

Oden K-2 went to Dardanelle State Park on a science field trip this week. Students learned about the park and the animals that live there. Science is fun! 🧡🖤🐺

Oden's Skills USA class went and toured Nidec today, learning about the day to day opertion on building electric motors.

Acorn High School Senior Spotlight - Cierra Burdess Congratulations and our best to you! Proud of you, Cierra! Acorn High School Graduation Thursday, May 19, 2022 7:00 PM Acorn Gymnasium #orsdlifeprep

ORSD Campuses Closed - 4/15/2022

Attention Acorn Elementary Parents!! There will be no after-school tutoring April 26, 2022. The LAST day of after-school tutoring is April 28, 2022.

All remaining Geraniums that Acorn Athletics Booster has for sale will be marked down to $20. If you would like one, two, or even three, stop by the Acorn High School Office:)

Attention Acorn Tiger Fans: All sports activities for today have been canceled due to weather. Baseball, Softball, and Track for today have been canceled.

Don't miss Donkey Basketball this Friday at the Acorn High School Gym!!!!!!

ORSD Community, Severe weather is in the forecast for our area today through Wednesday. Please know we are monitoring and working with local authorities in case of any potential weather outbreaks. We are asking you to monitor the weather as you travel to and from the ORSD Campuses. All campus activities are still on scheduled and we will keep you updated if anything changes. If you have any questions please reach out to your child's respective campus. Thank you for all of your support! Jerrall A. Strasner Superintendent

AHS Students Earn Ag Certification Acorn High School Animal Science students recently completed the Beef Quality Assurance Certification for Cow/Calf Operations. Certifications are important components in Arkansas Career and Technical Education programs and prepare students for career opportunities in high school and for postsecondary. James Pennington is the Acorn High School Agri Teacher and FFA Advisor. Congratulations, AHS Ag Students! Photo, l to r: Harlei McCourtney, Sarah Sullivan, Jordyn Prewett, Shay Allen, Payton Davis, Bella Tedder, Nicholas McCourtney, Colton Cox, and Coy Brumbelow. Not pictured: Sean Rios and Trinity Staggs #orsdlifeprep Ouachita River School District Through a safe, caring, and serving environment, students learn, grow, excel, and succeed...this is our mission in preparing students for LIFE!

Acorn Baseball and Softball games today at Magazine have been pushed back to 4:30 today.

Congratulations to Oden High School’s Elliannna Johnson, who is one of four high school juniors from across the country to earn one of the first class of 2023 $40,000 BigFuture Scholarships! Ellianna earned a chance for the $40,000 scholarship by completing at least one of the key steps to plan, prepare and pay for college through BigFuture, the College Board’s free online guide that helps students plan for life after high school. Ellianna is a Junior at Oden High School. Ellianna is interested in pursuing art or music after high school. Ellianna has played the flute for about ten years and the clarinet for about 3 years. Ellianna also enjoys game design and traditional art. Ellianna is the daughter of James and Sarah Johnson of Oden, Arkansas. We are proud of you Ellianna! 🐺🧡🖤