Ouachita River School District

Congratulations to the Acorn Jr. High Quiz Bowl team for competing in the State Quiz Bowl tournament. They have competed hard in several tournaments this season and were able to come away with a 2nd place finish at Regionals. This qualified them for today’s State tournament in Conway where they won 2 out of 3 of their round-robin games. This placed them as a number 4 seed in the single elimination tournament play. They came up just a little short in the first round, but were extremely tough competitors. We are very proud of their job well done this season!

Congratulations to the Acorn Jr. High Quiz Bowl team for competing in the State Quiz Bowl tournament. They have competed hard in several tournaments this season and were able to come away with a 2nd place finish at Regionals. This qualified them for today’s State tournament in Conway where they won 2 out of 3 of their round-robin games. This placed them as a number 4 seed in the single elimination tournament play. They came up just a little short in the first round, but were extremely tough competitors. We are very proud of their job well done this season!

Acorn Wrestlers Statebound Acorn High School Wrestling Team members and Coach Andy Arnold are headed to the State Wrestling Tournament at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. The tournament starts February 24, 2023. Athletes representing Acorn High School for the tournament include: Shay Allen, Emery Jai Anderson, Zachary Cline and Emma Arnold. Students in Acorn Elementary School and Acorn High School participated in a congratulatory parade for the athletes and Coach Arnold for the State send-off. Congratulations, AHS Wrestling Team! We are proud of you! #orsdlifeprep

ODEN CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENT: The Oden campus is looking for community members interested in becoming substitute teachers. Please contact William Edwards at 479-216-2251 if you would like to become a sub for the Oden campus.

Acorn E.A.S.T. Students Putting Skills To Task Acorn High School E.A.S.T. students; Braylan Bohlman, Noah Holland, Elijah Badger and Luis Basilio have started a project that goes back to our "reduce, reuse, recycle" roots! Badger originally had the idea of fixing some things that were in need of repair and began searching around and found some electronic devices that were in need of minor or major repair. Soon, Bohlman, Holland and Basilio got on board with the project and have all put their skills to the tasks at hand. Thus far, they have repaired an Alienware computer that was disposed of and an Oculus Virtual Reality headset, both of which were in need of repair. Currently, the students are looking for other electronic devices to repair and repurpose. If you have any computers/game consoles or electronics to be disposed of and can donate, contact Scott Bohlman, Acorn High School E.A.S.T. Instructor. The mission of E.A.S.T. Initiative in partnership with Acorn High School is “to provide an environment that fosters relevant, individualized life-changing experiences through service and technology”. Through this partnership, the vision is also realized - “to transform the educational experience so innovative thinkers can drive positive change for their future, community, and world”. Great work, Acorn High School E.A.S.T. Students! #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!

Attention Acorn Elementary parents and students: Baseball and softball sign up time is here. Deadline is next Friday, March 3. Get a form from the elementary office or from Mena City park. You can also register online. Please put Acorn on the sign up if you want your child to play on an Acorn team.

February is CTE Month CTE Spotlight: STEM Education: Programming & Software Development Oden High School CTE Instructor Stephanie Olmstead Programming &Software Development: Computer Science Courses Offered at Oden High School: - Programming I - Programming II - Independent Study Additional course offerings: Keyboarding/Business Applications, Career Development/Coding, Journalism, Jobs for Arkansas Graduates (JAG) and JAG Work-Based Learning Student organization students can join & compete in skills learned: SkillsUSA Certification students can obtain: NCRC, Microsoft Office Students enrolled at Ouachita River School District gain valuable work-ready and life skills in CTE programs from highly trained and industry-knowledgeable instructors. ORSD CTE...preparing students for life! #orsdlifeprep

Attention Acorn Tiger Fans!!! Ticket information for tonight's game at Fordyce https://gofan.co/app/events/909301?schoolId=AR18619

Reminder: Acorns fans please use the following to purchase tickets for Day 1 Regional games at Fordyce. Fordyce High School Address: 100 Redbug Blvd, Fordyce, AR 71742

ORSD Students Participate in Non-Trad Careers Event On February 16th, Ouachita River School District - Acorn High School and Oden High School students participated in the Non-Traditional Career Day “Girl Power” Event hosted by DeQueen/Mena Education Service Cooperative and the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain on the UARM main campus in Mena. Non-Traditional careers highlighted in the event included: welding, machine tool, truck driving (CDL), and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Students participated in each of the non-traditional careers through a rotation. The event also included door prizes, tshirts, and lunch. Students and staff in group photos participating in the event included: Oden High School: (l to r) Caroline Lloyd, Isabella Rivera-Kline Acorn High School: (l to r, back row) Tara Hart, Kolbi McCourtney, Harlei McCourtney, Ericka Holliday, Megan Armijo, Acorn High School Counselor Tammy Young. (l to r, front row) Reba Willeford, Kailee Branson Thank you to Stacey Southerland, DMESC CTE Coordinator and UA Rich Mountain Staff for a wonderful experience and opportunity for our students! #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!

Members of Acorn FCCLA participated in a Keep Arkansas Beautiful Clean Up Project as a part of their FCCLA State Project. Members of their officer team read Otto the Otter to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes. They also passed out Otto the Otter bookmarks and color books. Other FCCLA members stayed after school to pickup trash across the high school and elementary campuses.

February is CTE Month CTE Spotlight: Trade & Industry Education: Architecture and Construction Acorn High School CTE Instructor Ricky Dollar Trade & Industry Education: Construction Technology Courses Offered at Acorn High School: - Skilled Trades Construction - Carpentry - Electricity - Plumbing Student organization students can join & compete in skills learned: SkillsUSA Certification students can obtain: OSHA 10 Students enrolled at Ouachita River School District gain valuable work-ready and life skills in CTE programs from highly trained and industry-knowledgeable instructors. ORSD CTE...preparing students for life! #orsdlifeprep

AHS Senior Reed McGee 2nd Place DAR Essay Contest Winner Reed McGee, senior at Acorn High School competed in the 2022-2023 James K. Polk NSDAR Good Citizens Essay Contest and placed 2nd in the contest among the competitors from Polk County high schools. The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest, created in 1934, is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. On Thursday, February 16th, McGee was recognized and honored for his accomplishments with the Good Citizens Award certificate and pin at the James K. Polk Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution meeting. The National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) developed the Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest. The award recognizes and rewards high school seniors who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. These students are selected by their teachers and peers because they demonstrate these qualities to an outstanding degree. Congratulations, Reed! We are proud of you! #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!

Ticket information for Lady Tigers Regional game Wednesday. https://gofan.co/app/events/909300?schoolId=AAA

In recognition of National School Resource Officer Appreciation, Ouachita River School District expresses our gratitude for your leadership and service to Acorn and Oden campuses! Officer Duane Harvey Acorn campus Officer Josh Hackney Oden campus Referencing the National Association of School Resource Officers, "The SRO assignment is unique within the law enforcement profession. These officers fill a three-part role, serving as informal mentors or counselors, law educators and law enforcement officers to support the students and communities they serve. They are valuable and essential members of the education community who deserve unwavering respect and support from the public in the pursuit of keeping schools and students safe." Officer Harvey and Officer Hackney, you are appreciated and valued! Thank you for serving the Ouachita River School District!

February is CTE Month CTE Spotlight: Family Consumer Sciences Education: Human & Social Services Oden High School CTE Instructor Sydney Strother Human Services Education: Human & Social Services Courses Offered at Oden High School: - Family & Consumer Sciences - Child Growth & Development - Dynamics of Human Relationships Student organization students can join & compete in skills learned: FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) Certification students can obtain: ServSafe Food Handler Students enrolled at Ouachita River School District gain valuable work-ready and life skills in CTE programs from highly trained and industry-knowledgeable instructors. ORSD CTE...preparing students for life! #orsdlifeprep

Oden students Lainey, Adam and Amos received positive referrals for showing great kindness to others! Way to go! 🧡🖤🐺

February 15th is National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day. Thank you for protecting all of us here on the Acorn Campus, you really are appreciated!

Acorn Elementary would like to announce our January Students of the Month. Mrs. Wilson- Axton Priddy Mrs. Chaney – Novalea Warren Mrs. Powell - Jase Cooke Mrs. Bohlman - Zaydyn Woody Mrs. Priddy – Aviea Daniels Mrs. Willborg – Collier Sams Mrs. Howard – Jentry Burger Mrs. Dutton- Nayomi Clark Mrs. Myers – Kylee Horn Mrs. Morris – Truitt Strother Mrs. Conatser– Ethan Boyd Mrs. Roberts – Payton White Mrs. Kesterson – Cody Rusert Mrs. Tedder– Kamryn Decker Mrs. Pearson – Ciara Candelaria Mrs. Hollin - Kaidon McQueen Mrs. Goodner - Joseph Jones

Mrs. Wilson's Kindergarten January Readers! These students met their monthly reading goal in January. Remington Strother River Smith Jase Ryles Jaxen Robertson Axton Priddy Mary Nichols Browing Neal Snow Clemente Grady Bohlman Misael Elvir-Vallejo Way to go super readers!