Ouachita River School District

The Acorn 2026 Yearbook is now available to order for delivery in May 2026. Best Price Special is $48 for a plain book and $56 for a personalized with up to 4 free icons until October 3rd. Orders will be accepted after this date, but the price will increase. Order online at JostensYearbooks.com, pick up an order form at Elementary or High School office, call Glynda Pearce at 394-5544 ext. 106, or text 479-234-0614 for more information.

Acorn Anglers 3rd Fishing Tournament at DeQueen Lake

The Acorn Anglers Bass Fishing Team is excited to share the results of their THIRD tournament from last Saturday, September 20th at DeQueen Lake. We had a total of 12 boats participating, and it was a gorgeous day with every boat weighing in with a 10 inch, 5 fish limit. Their hard work is paying off!

For our junior anglers, there were four teams competing:

First place: AbiGail and Elijah Slaten 4.5 lbs
Second place: Chisum and Addis Myers 2.21 lbs
Trash Fish: Jozie Daniels
Jr Big Bass goes to Justis Wray at 2.09 lbs!

In the senior division, the stakes were a little higher with some big fish being weighed in among eight competing boats:

First place: Braxton Hemund and Kortsen Edwards 11.27 lbs! Way to go, boys!
Second place: JJ Bass and Cooper Strother 7 lbs!
Big Bass goes to Korsten with 4.13 lbs!

Again, a huge thank you to our sponsors who enable us to reward these anglers with some awesome prizes at each tournament. We appreciate the Hollin Family for donating lures and fishing gear for this event, and two outstanding mommas who hooked up all our anglers and boat captains with breakfast at 6:30 AM! Thank you, Mrs. Kristina Johnson and Mrs. Kala Strother. Always, thank you BOAT CAPTAINS! Without you, we couldn’t do this thing we love!

If you would like to donate lures/plastics/fishing merch of any kind for us to give to these kids and their boat captains, we would appreciate it so much! If you fish, you know we lose a lot of good lures every time we hit the water–occupational hazard!

We are looking forward to our fourth qualifying tournament on Saturday, October 4th, at Lake Hinkle in Waldron, AR. This tournament is special as we will be participating in the 6th Annual Chase Hale Memorial Fishing Tournament. It is open to the public, contact Mrs. Kelly Slaten at kslaten@orsd.k12.ar.us or Mrs. Toby Hollin at thollin@orsd.k12.ar.us to let us know if you would like more information about this event.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Acorn Anglers on a job well done! We are proud of you!

#AHStigersSERVE

Ouachita River School District…preparing students for life! #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!

AHS Tigers Golf Team 7 2A District Runners-Up

The Acorn High School Tigers Golf Team members Braxton Hemund, Beau Rodgers, Caiden Hicks and Asher Cook placed runner-up in the 7 2A District Golf Tournament on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. The tournament was held at the Glenwood Country Club.

AHS Golf Team Coach is Dewayne Taylor

Congratulations, AHS Tigers Golf Team and Coach Taylor! We are proud of you!

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See You at the Pole! This morning at 7 am at the Acorn High School Flag Pole!

AHS Senior High Takes 2nd Place Mena Quiz Bowl Invitational

The Acorn High School Senior High Quiz Bowl Team competed in the Mena Quiz Bowl Invitational on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at the Ouachita Center on the UA Rich Mountain Community College campus.

AHS Senior Quiz Bowl Team members competing included the following:

Front row (l to r): Jaycelin Gardner, Matilda Grant, Zane Newton, Kira Dejarlo, Cadince Onstott

2nd row (l to r): Andrea Wagner, Jordan Lyle, Kimberly Cline, Brooke Osufsen, Lauren Cruz, Jaylen McQueen

3rd row: Eilam Holland

Acorn High School Quiz Bowl Coach: Amy Slater

Congratulations on an outstanding achievement! We are proud of you!

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See You at the Pole will be held on the Acorn campus on Wednesday, September 24th, beginning at 7:00 a.m. by the High School flagpole. We encourage anyone who would like to join us to come and take part. This will be a student-led time of prayer for our students, our schools, and our nation.

🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️ Acorn Cross Country Announcement 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️
The Acorn Cross Country Teams will be hitting the track on Tuesday, September 23rd at 3:30 PM. Come out, cheer loudly, and show your support for our hardworking runners! 💙💛

On Friday, September 19th, the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain Financial Aid and Recruitment Staff presented important information to the Acorn High School Class of 2026. Information included: Arkansas A2A and Achievement scholarships, University of Arkansas Rich Mountain institutional, leadership, academic and foundation scholarships; financial aid process, and transfer scholarship opportunities!

Thank you to UA Rich Mountain - Mike, Lauren, Lindsey and Irvin for helping our seniors be better prepared for life after high school!

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ORSD 2025 School Report Card Ratings

This past week, the Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education released the results for the 2025 school report cards.

Ouachita River School District is proud to announce that our Oden K-12 Schools received an A rating, our Acorn Elementary School received a B rating and our Acorn High School received a B rating!

The success of our school district is a direct result of the hard work, commitment and dedication of our students, teachers, staff, parents, families, community and school board!

CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU to all who S.E.R.V.E.! It is a great day to be a TIMBERWOLF and TIGER!

See
Everyone
Receive
Victory
Everyday

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#OHSwolvesSERVE
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AHS Published Poets Recognized in the American Library of Poetry National Poetry Contest

In April 2025, over 50 of our AHS 7th-12th grade students from Mrs. Slater and Mrs. Slaten's English classes submitted original poems to the The American Library of Poetry national poetry contest. Many of our students were selected for publication in their 2025 poetry collection entitled "EXCELLENCE." Their picture will appear in this year's Acorn Yearbook. We are so proud of these writers; it is so exciting to see your own work in print! Congratulations, AHS poets!

Congratulations, AHS Published Poets!

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Acorn Students Earn Top AP Exam Scores

Ouachita River School District - Acorn High School students earned top AP (Advanced Placement) exam scores on the May 2025 AP exams. AP courses are offered in the disciplines of arts, English, history and social science, math and computer science, the sciences, and world languages and culture. Students earning AP qualifying scores may also be eligible to earn college credit and can be used for placement in college courses.

Ouachita River School District - Acorn High School AP Coordinator is Lisa Daniels.

The students listed earned AP credit in the following courses from the May 2025 AP exams with scores of 3 or higher:

Acorn High School:

AP Biology - Instructor: Michelle McGee
Damon Cruz

AP English Language & Composition - Instructor: Amy Slater
Chris Conatser, II
Lauren Cruz
Kira Dejarlo
Isabella Fowler
Irene Gilhousen
Tazanna Haggard
Chloe Kelley
Ty Kesterson
KaitLynn Ledbetter
Lacy McEntire
Macy McEntire
Zane Newton
Summer Nix
Brooke Osufsen
Lyndsey Powell

CONGRATULATIONS! We are proud of you!
#AHStigersSERVE

Ouachita River School District…preparing students for life! #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 High School Tennis @ ATU vs Lifeway Christian - Monday, September 15, 2025

Acorn Lady Tigers Tennis

Doubles:
KaitLynn Ledbetter/Lanee Shaddon W 8-4, W 8-5
Addisyn Ledbetter/Adalyn Bohlman W 8-3, W 8-1

Singles:
Josey Dollar L 4-6, W 6-1

Acorn Tigers Tennis

Doubles:
Eilam Holland/Kaden Carter L 1-8, L 1-8, W 6-5

Singles:
Tyler Riggins L 4-6, L 0-6

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Happy National IT Professionals Day to ORSD Technology Coordinator, Sherri Powell!

We appreciate ALL you do to support students, staff and the ORSD community!

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The Importance of Attendance
Thank you, parents and families, for getting your students to school by 7:45 each morning and leaving them at school to complete the instructional day until 4:10. I appreciate all of your efforts in rescheduling appointments to Mondays, so your children will not miss out on instruction. If your child is sick or has to be absent, please contact the office so we can document the reason for the absence. Also, please send any medical notes so these can be filed. Good attendance is critical in helping your child learn and grow. Thank you so much for all of support!

Acorn Elementary has voted, and the results are in! 🎉
We are excited to announce our Class Favorites for the 2025–2026 school year. Congratulations to all who were voted for.

ATTN: Acorn High School Senior Class of 2026 and Parents

Please mark your calendar for an important meeting!

Monday, October 6, 2025
6:00 PM
Acorn Cafeteria

- Obtain FSA ID's (Federal Student Aid ID) for seniors and parents
- Learn more about and apply for state scholarships
- Updates on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and how to be prepared to file FAFSA

Seniors, bring your Chromebook fully charged and charger to the meeting!

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Acorn High School Class Elections 2025-2026

Congratulations to AHS Class Officers, Class Favorites and Student Council Representatives for grades 7th - 12th!

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ORSD Acorn campus Due to staff meetings, the Monday Program will not be available for Acorn Elementary School and Acorn High School on: Monday, September 15, 2025 Please contact your child's building office if you have questions.

Local Schools Compete at Tom Stuthard Stampede

Acorn Cross Country Course — Tuesday, September 9, 2025

The Tom Stuthard Stampede 2025 drew more than 500 runners to the trails around Acorn High School, and three area programs — Acorn, Mena, and Cossatot River — left their mark with determined performances across junior and senior divisions.

Acorn High School

For the host Tigers and Lady Tigers, the Junior Girls turned in a strong showing led by Geneieve Simborio, who ran to a 5th-place finish in 11:23.6. She was followed by teammates Kylie Ezell (24th, 12:24.2), Breezie Harris (48th, 13:47.9), Anastasia Bohlman (75th, 14:55.4), and Ryder Taylor (80th, 15:15.9). Additional finishers included Kaelyn Bridges (83rd), Lacelynn Southern (84th), Evie Norris, Emma Gray, Justice Wray, Raylin Sharp, Brylin Clark, and Rory Pearson.

In the Junior Boys’ 1.5-mile, Cy Young paced Acorn with an 11:05.4 (46th). The Tigers packed in a large squad including Timber Gordon (86th), Trent Phillips (88th), Ryder Laughlin (95th), Koy Long (125th), Kooper Hollin (129th), and Pierse Slater (131st). Depth carried through with Aaron Belcher, Brody Murray, Cody Rusert, Brayden Bowles, and Holden Frick all finishing.

On the varsity side, Acorn placed three in the Senior Boys 5K. Zane Newton led the way in 21:28.6 (34th), while Ayvaan Flores (77th) and Caston Horn (99th) rounded out the team’s effort.

Mena High School

Mena’s Junior Boys put together an impressive day, led by Kameron McDaniel in 10:23.1 (21st). He was supported by Braden Barton (33rd), Easton Johnson (49th), Evan Everitt (58th), Nate Fields (62nd), Grant Thompson (96th), and Barrett Frost (108th).

The Senior Girls’ 5K saw steady performances from the Ladycats. Jasmine Parker was the top finisher, clocking 25:22.7 (13th). She was joined by Ava Fields (25th), Chandle Hendrickson (39th), and Allison Howard (67th).

In the Senior Boys’ race, Mena’s depth stood out as seven runners crossed the line. Zane McMellon (51st, 23:12.3), Austin Fields (53rd), and Auden Woods (56th) were tightly grouped in the top 60. The pack also included Mason Gortermiller (76th), Ryan Walston (86th), Caden Land (88th), Owen Simpson (89th), and Caleb Seitz (111th).

Cossatot River High School

The Junior Boys of Cossatot River brought strong numbers to the line. Alex Sherrouse (55th) and Jesus Ruiz (56th) ran side by side, while Kevin Marufo (65th), Tony Flores (70th), Hector Marrufo (99th), Joseph Dosch (106th), and Dylan Ortiz (119th) rounded out the core. Isaac Gonzales (166th) and Darvin Rojas (171st) pushed through to finish the grueling race.

In the Senior Girls’ 5K, Kinzy Hernandez (50th), Abby Tomblin (53rd), Vanessa Flores (70th), and Yarel Ortiz (71st) represented the Eagles with grit and consistency.

The Senior Boys were anchored by Anthony Johnson, who clocked 23:32.0 for 59th. He was followed by Fernando Cortes (68th), Santos Salinas (96th), and Emmanuel Albiter (97th).

While DeQueen, Lakeside, and Poteau claimed the team titles at this year’s Stampede, Acorn, Mena, and Cossatot River each showed depth and determination that will fuel their seasons ahead. From Simborio’s top-five finish for Acorn, to McDaniel’s junior leadership for Mena, and Cossatot River’s large turnout across both junior and senior races, the local schools proved they can compete against some of the region’s strongest programs.

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