May 24
Recent J.A. Fair graduate Chelsea Gillespie began the path toward academic excellence early in her school career and it has paid off in a big way. Gillespie was not only the Valedictorian of her high school class; she was a recipient of the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship. This honor allows her to attend any college or university in the U.S. at no cost. Gillespie is the only senior in LRSD to receive the honor this year and among only five selected in the entire state for 2012.
The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program selects 1,000 talented students each year to receive a good-through-graduation scholarship to use at any college or university of their choice. Recipients are also provided with personal and professional development through GMS leadership programs along with academic support throughout the students’ college career. The program, established in 1999, is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
May 17
The 2012 LRSD Middle School Quiz Bowl was a huge success! The annual Quiz Bowl competition for middle schools took place Friday, April 27 at Pulaski Tech South. A special thanks is extended to Quiz Bowl students, coaches, and parents who participated from six middle schools: Cloverdale, Dunbar, Henderson, Mabelvale, Mann, and Pulaski Heights.
Pulaski Heights I earned First Place, followed by Mann in Second Place, with Mabelvale I and Cloverdale coming in third. The top three finishers received individuals medals and a trophy. All participating schools received trophies recognizing the commitment, training, and participation required for Quiz Bowl.
Teams from Cloverdale, Dunbar, Henderson, Mabelvale, Mann, and Pulaski Heights Middle Schools, the coaches, and the parents are to be commended for making Quiz Bowl such a rewarding and valuable experience for students. The following District and community members also played significant roles in this year’s tournament: moderator, Jason Finney from Forest Park Elementary; score-keepers Teresa Carpenter from Williams Elementary and Colleen Pritz from Pulaski Heights MS; time-keeper Rhonda Adams from Gibbs Elementary; and judges Laura Beth Arnold, Social Studies Coordinator, Dr. C. Fred Williams (Ret.)from UALR’s History Department, and Beth Collins (Ret.). Collins’ work behind the scenes with Pulaski Tech and with tournament preparation also made the event a success.
May 3
Kouadio Kondo, 11, a student at Otter Creek Elementary, is the state winner in the "Doodle 4 Google" competition. The fifth-grader's art teacher urged him to enter the drawing contest, and his entry was selected from among 114,000 entries nationwide to be the winner for the state of Arkansas in his grade group.
At a special school event, Google representatives visited Otter Creek to Elementary to announce Kouadio as the state's winner and presented him with a custom t-shirt featuring his Google Doodle artwork. He was also given an all expense-paid trip to New York City May 16th - 18th, where he will learn the results of national voting on the different logos submitted.
Kouadio needs your help to win this contest. Click on the link below to post your vote for his Google entry.
Click here to vote for Kouadio's entry.
May 2
Congratulations to the recent LRSD students who are recipients of
the prestigious Stephens Award for 2012:
Muhammad Abu-Rmaileh, Central High School
Whitney Gao, Central High School
Aaron Yin, Central High School
Catie Edwards, Parkview Magnet High School
