Mena School District

Mena High School Senior Chloe Hooper officially signed her letter of intent to play volleyball at John Brown University on Friday at the Union Bank Center!

We are so proud of Chloe’s hard work, dedication, and commitment both on and off the court. This is an incredible achievement and a testament to the countless hours she’s put into her sport.

Join us in congratulating Chloe as she takes this exciting next step in her volleyball career!

MHS Theatre students performed "The Odyssey" for 9th Literacy Classes on Friday!

At Holly Harshman Elementary School, the Library celebrated a week of Valentine Mystery Books! Students had the opportunity to choose a wrapped book to check out—without knowing the title, author, or genre inside. This fun surprise encouraged many readers to step outside their comfort zones and possibly discover a new favorite author or genre.

Mrs. Cox challenged students to read at least one chapter and give their mystery book a fair chance. We’re so proud of our students for embracing the adventure and trying something new. Who knows? Their next favorite book might have been hidden inside that wrapping!

Mena Middle School has been participating in the Reading Fair for the past two days at the Dequeen/Mena Co-Op. They came home with a lot of bling.
Reading Fair winners for the middle school:
6th grade:
Kashlynn -1st place fiction technology
Malikai and Nikko -3rd place fiction tech
Zoey and partner -1st Fiction board
Gwen and Willow-2nd place Fiction board
7th grade:
Azellia and Meggy - 1st place fiction board
Hadara-2nd place fiction board
Ailyah and Ashton -2nd place Fiction board
Cisley and Addelyn - First place Fiction board
8th grade:
Brady and Easton-First place fiction technology
Darcie -1st place fiction board
Makaylee and Lorelai -3rd place fiction board

The Mena Bearcat boys basketball Seniors each dedicate their jersey to one Mena Public Schools faculty member each year during their senior night. This dedication of their jersey is a show of appreciation for all of the hard work and dedication our staff has for our students and shows the impact educators have on students throughout their time as a student.

Eli Swall selected Mr. Rodney Dominguez, of Mena High School.

Jackson Thompson Selected Mrs. Amy Scott from Holly Harshman Elementry.

Hayden Mrugula Selected Mrs. Christal Titsworth, of Mena High School.

Tyler Cox Selected Mrs. Amber Labertew of Mena High School.

Congratulations to Mena High School’s Vaughn Vacca for making the Arkansas All-State Concert Band. This is the highest honor that a student can receive for band. Vaughn will participate in the All-State Music Conference next week in Hot Springs.

It’s been a fun two days in 4th/5th grade GT! Students have learned and tested Bernoulli’s Principles with ping pong balls, hair dryers, balloons, and bubbles. As well as observe and test how the air molecules change when heated with trash bags and toasters! I love seeing the excitement on their faces!

There’s nothing better than finding your next favorite book—especially when it comes highly recommended by a friend! That’s what makes We Recommend Wednesday so much fun at LD! 📚✨
This week, we’re shining the spotlight on our First Grade Battle of the Books team and what they think is a must read!❤️ 📚
The teams top pick? Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin!
They shared, “ We love Click Clack Moo because the animals were so funny and we couldn’t wait to find out what happened at the end!”
If you’re ready for giggles and great stories, swing by the LD Library to check out this great story—and while you’re there, you just might discover your next favorite book too!

3rd grader, Chase Henry, made the 100 point club! We are so proud of him!

Congratulations to these two Mena High School students who earned a spot on the All State Choir
!
Bailey Benner- soprano 2, 12th chair!!!
Anna Burt- alto 1, 43rd Chair!!!

Both of these girls are so talented and worked very hard to able to reach this achievement!

Mena Bearcats competed at the 4A South Regional Tournament today and did awesome!
We had 10 young men punch their ticket to the State Tournament and we finished Regional Runner-Up!
So incredibly proud of these boys and now we turn our sights to State!
Jobs not finished!
Braxton Barker 🥇
Tycen Baber 🥇
Wyatt Head 🥈
Auden Woods 🥉
Tripp Hensley 🥇
Chance Hughes 🥉
Andrew Threlkeld 🥉
Jace Hankammer 🥈
Hollis Anderson 🥉
Guice Anderson 🥇

📚 Battle of the Books 2026 📚 Congratulations to our First and Second Grade students who were selected to represent our school on this year’s Louise Durham Battle of the Books teams! 🎉 Battle of the Books is a reading competition where teams of students answer questions based on a pre-selected list of books they’ve read. Sponsored by the DeQueen–Mena Educational Co-Op, this program promotes reading comprehension, teamwork, and a love for literature. During the competition, teams face off by answering trivia-style questions about the books’ characters, themes, and events. It’s a fun and engaging way to build literacy skills and foster a strong sense of community around reading. Our first and second grade teams will compete against other area schools this March, and we couldn’t be more proud of their dedication and hard work! 📖✨ 📚 Way to go, readers! We are so excited about all the books you’ve read and can’t wait to cheer you on! ❤️

The 2026 Mena High School King of Hearts was crowned at a pep rally on Thursday.
This year's court included.Adam Hughes, Max Rocha, Grayson Farringer, Tripp Hensley, Guice Anderson, Ryder House, Levi Neufeld, Tucker Stricklin, Jackson Thompson, and Beck Vacca
The 2026 Prince Charming is RYDER HOUSE !
The 2026 King of Hearts is BECK VACCA !

Mena Middle School FBLA attended the District I Spring Leadership Conference on Wednesday in Fort Smith and represented Mena well! All of the students attending were 1st year competitors competing against junior high students. They all worked hard to prepare for their competitions. The following students were recognized on stage and advanced to state.

Avori Gortemiller - 1st place in Exploring Business Communication
Brent Epperson - 1st place in Exploring FBLA
Lauryn Tolleson and Maggie Morris - 1st place in Exploring Management and Entrepreneurship
Addison Emmitte - 3rd place in Career Research
Joshua Gibson - 3rd place in Exploring Customer Service

These students qualified to compete at the State conference that will be held in April. Congratulations to all!

Mena Jr. High and 7th Grade Basketball played Clarksville on Wednesday at the Union Bank Center. 7th A Ladycats-7 Clarksville-13 7th B Ladycats-2 Clarksville-20 Jr. Ladycats-28 Clarksville-27 7th A Bearcats-15 Clarksville-10 7th B Bearcats-7 Clarksville-26 Jr. Bearcats-22 Clarksville-38 The Jr. High teams are back in action on Friday @ Dardanelle.

The Mena Ladycats competed at the 5A South Regional Wrestling Tournament on Wednesday and punched many tickets to State.





This year we sent the most girls to state that Mena ever has!





Finished 3rd as a team just missing some hardware.





Individual results are as follows:





Gracie Deramus 100 lbs. 3rd



Lanie Taylor 105 lbs. 3rd



Paisley Burger 115 lbs. 2nd



Averi Ortiz 155 lbs. 4th



Evergrace Anderson 170 lbs. 1st



Ailiyah McEntire 235 lbs. 2nd





Great job Ladies!!

Congratulations to the Mena students who placed in the Polk County Spelling Bee at UARM's Ouachita Center on Wednesday.
1st Grade - 2nd Place Kendal Hurst
2nd Grade - 2nd Place Annie Cannon
3rd Grade - 1st Place Sam Myers
5th Grade - 2nd Place Julia Henry
6th Grade - 3rd place Aaron Erickson
7th Grade - 3rd Place Lucas McQuerrie
8th Grade - 1st Place Braylon Brandenburg
3rd Place Brady Jones
OVERALL WINNER - BRAYLON BRANDENBURG

Wrestling athletes were recognized at the Sr. Night ceremony on Tuesday at Jim Rackley Gymnasium.

Mena High School Senior Pascha Wistrand signed her letter of intent to play college volleyball for Lyon College in Batesville on Friday in the Union Bank Center.
Congratulations Pascha!

4A Dual State @ Jim Rackley Gymnasium 1/22/26!

The Mena Bearcats went against Gravette in the first round &
lost a nail biter 36-37.