Ouachita River School District

~Acorn Elementary~ Next week, April 27th-29th your child will be taking ACT® Aspire® assessments for 3rd-6th. The valuable data we gain from these assessments allows us to make evidence based decisions when addressing your child’s strengths, areas for improvement, and growth potential. This can give you an early indication of his or her likely readiness for the future, providing time to address areas where improvement is needed. Important things to remember for next week: • Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night before the tests. • Have your child at school on time. • Make sure your child has a nutritional breakfast. • Encourage your child not to stress about this test, but to try their hardest to show what they have learned this school year.

ODEN CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENT: Good luck 3-5 on today’s ACT ASPIE test! Check out these positive sidewalk messages from the Oden PTO on campus and our Facebook page.

ODEN CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENT: Two more days to go on the ACT ASPIRE. WEDNESDAY’s testing is for ON-SITE students GRADES 3-5 in Math. THURSDAY's testing is for ON-SITE students GRADES 3-5 in Writing and Science. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP YOUR STUDENT DO HIS/HER BEST ON THE ACT ASPIRE? 1. Make sure your student gets a good night's sleep. 2. A good breakfast on test day is fuel for the brain. 3. Arrive on time for the assessment. 4. Encourage our child to do his/her best.

ODEN CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENT: Our ACT Aspire testing continues this week. TUESDAY’s testing is for ON-SITE students GRADES 3-5 in English and Reading. WEDNESDAY’s testing is for ON-SITE students GRADES 3-5 in Math. THURSDAY's testing is for ON-SITE students GRADES 3-5 in Writing and Science. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP YOUR STUDENT DO HIS BEST ON THE ACT ASPIRE? 1. Make sure your student gets a good night's sleep. 2. A good breakfast on test day is fuel for the brain. 3. Arrive on time for the assessment. 4. Encourage our child to do his/her best.

ODEN CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENT: Our ACT Aspire testing continues next week APRIL 19-23. TUESDAY’s testing is for ON-SITE students GRADES 3-5 in English and Reading. WEDNESDAY’s testing is for ON-SITE students GRADES 3-5 in Math. THURSDAY's testing is for ON-SITE students GRADES 3-5 in Writing and Science.

Oden Preschool had an amazing week celebrating Arkansas Children's Week. This years theme was MATH...Make Amazing Things Happen!! Our students excelled in Making Amazing Things Happen! The bowls were representative of apples for the Dr Seuss book Ten Apple's on Top.

~Acorn Elementary~ February Students of the Month Kindergarten: Colt VanMeter, Kyndal Davis & Aaron Huff 1st Grade: Gabe Huff & Briella Johnson 2nd Grade: Rajesh Dandikar & Corbin Thacker 3rd Grade: Conner Roberts & Tinley Pearce 4th Grade: Kylie Ezell & Samuel Strasner 5th Grade: Adalyn Bohlman & Shawn Posey 6th Grade: Mylee Sharp & Bailey Andrews

~Acorn Elementary~ January Students of the Month Kindergarten: Millie Tedder, Emma Hulliberger, & Joey Foster 1st Grade: Ryleigh Lewis & Tessa Tunnel 2nd Grade: Braelyn Tarkinton & Brylin Clark 3rd Grade: Elizabeth McCandless & Braxton Harris 4th Grade: Bailey White & Ciara Candelaria 5th Grade: Nevaeh Daugherty & Jakob Hostetler 6th Grade: Clay McGee & Ben Kincaid

Acorn Preschool had a fun week celebrating Arkansas Children's Week!

Corrected Date: Starting May 4, 2021 the Arkansas State Police will be returning to Mena to administer the Written Driving Test. It will be administered every Tuesday. Location: Mena Fire Station Department #2 Time: 1 PM-4PM

Acorn High School Yearbook order deadline is today, April 15, 2021. Go to Josten’s.com and click on yearbooks, then enter Acorn High School. If you aren’t sure you have ordered your 2021 Yearbook, you can email gpearce@orsd.k12.ar.us or text 479-234-0614 and I will check the list for you! Hurry and place your order today for your memento of what Pre-K through 12th grades have been doing this year.

ORSD: CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) is launching a national communication initiative, “Protect Young People from E-Cigarettes,” to educate staff working in school settings about the risks of youth e-cigarette use. Youth e-cigarette use remains a public health concern. In 2020, nearly 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 20 middle school students reported current use of e-cigarettes. E-cigarette use among youth is unsafe. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development. E-cigarettes come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors, some of which are easy to hide. Visit cdc.gov/e-cigarettes for additional information and resources about youth e-cigarette use.

Baseball and Softball Games vs Mansfield for today have been rescheduled to play on Wednesday, April 21st @ 4:00.

School Choice Deadline is May 1st. Please follow the link to the school choice form or visit the ORSD Admin office for an application. http://adecm.arkansas.gov/Attachments/School_Choice_Form_and_FAQ_152003.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0iElOvilt4UZR2uggK6Old5g6wLnNgtT4rmLC22liTenY7kIr04cNhBYc

Thank you Mena Board of Realtors for the donations to the Acorn Backpack Program!!!

ODEN CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENT: The Oden Construction Team celebrated Spring with their annual cookout and bonfire. Mr. Barry Norman's students enjoyed burgers, chips, and drinks while they monitored the burning of their scrap pile.

Those traveling to Lavaca for the Baseball/Softball games this evening, here is the link to purchase tickets. Go Tigers!!!! https://lavaca-school-district.ticketleap.com/baseball--softball-vs-acorn-4-12/

Oden Campus Announcement: Thank you to our GRADE 6-10 STUDENTS for their effort on this week’s ACT ASPIRE testing. The Oden community is proud of you!

~Special Announcement from the Acorn Elementary Library~ Jaylen McQueen is the winner of the bookmark contest held for students in grades 4th-6th. Her air painted bookmark design quoted, "Your dreams go as far as you imagination." Congratulations Jaylen!!

This week is National Library Week! And there is no better way to celebrate than announcing these amazing readers! Ethan Boyd and Jordan Lyle were our top readers during our Read Across America celebration in March! Ethan earned 40.5 AR points making him top point earner in K-3. Jordan had 99.7 AR points making him top earner in 4th-6th grade. Our elementary students read over 3,892,569 words during a 3 week period trying to meet the goal!!