LRSD Spotlight

     The EAST students at Henderson has partnered with the Ozark Water Project to collect shoes. Representatives from the Project came out and presented to all the social studies classes. The students were encouraged to bring their old shoes to donate. To date, the EAST students have collected over 500 pairs of shoes.  The donated shoes are revived by the Shoemaster and sold to vendors in developing countries. Funds from the export of the shoes are used to provide well drilling rigs, water purification systems, and hand pump repair micro businesses.

  Congratulations to Sakshi Garg from Williams Magnet Elementary for winning third place in the 2011 Stamp Out Smoking Essay and Poetry Contest in the Essay category Grades 4-6. Sakshi was selected out of 1,600 entries from across the State of Arkansas. Students were asked to write about their vision for a tobacco-free future and what they would do to make the world tobacco-free by 2030. The contest was sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) Stamp Out Smoking (SOS) office in coordination with the LRSD Office of Safe & Drug-Free Schools. The goal of the contest is to instill a healthier, cleaner future for youth and their communities by promoting youth tobacco prevention in schools and at home. For his work, Sakshi won an iPod Nano 8GB Graphite.

The 4th grade gifted and talented students at Bale Elementary were treated to a visit from Senator Joyce Elliott. The students were studying how the government works and how bills are passed through the legislature. The students also learned the bills being passed affect their education, family, health care, and their future. Senator Elliott shared with the students what life is like as a Senator and how she set goals for herself. The students really enjoyed meeting and learning from Senator Elliott.

Central students competed in the State Envirothon Competition on November 20 and 21 in Conway, AR. Teams compete in five natural resource areas: soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, and a current environmental issue.

Central won five of the six categories in the competition with our two teams taking first and second place.

Deepa Manjanatha, Aya Kantorovich, Carl Napolitano, Adil Khan, and Liston Barber took first place winning the categories of WILDLIFE, AQUATICS, FORESTRY, and ORAL PRESENTATION. They will represent the state of Arkansas in the 25th anniversary International Envirothon to take place in July in Pennsylvania. They will compete for scholarships that total up to $25,000.00 for each team. Our winning team members also received scholarship offers to the University of Arkansas.

Emily Hill, Jerry Melnyk, Cunal Shah, Alex Zhang, and Joseph Berleant took second place winning the category of SOILS in the competition. They are the alternate team to attend the international Envirothon. Congratulations to these students on an outstanding job!

Gibbs students have been celebrating International Education Week with visitors from many cultures and countries. To raise cultural awareness and improve geographic literacy, visitors have been sharing their cultures with students in second through fifth grades. Tuesday, November 15th, was the kick-off of International Education Week, and visitors from Japan and Saudi Arabia talked with second graders in Japan Class and Saudi Arabia class respectively. We have also had guests from Senegal, Vietnam, and Thailand.