The Mena Jr. Girls wrapped up the Harding Team Camp on Tuesday. Coach Goss said, "I saw tons of improvement and I'm very proud of their effort these 3 days."

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Day 3 of Summer School & STEAM camp at Holly Harshman Elementary!!

The MMS STEM Daily Challenge Summer Camp is underway ! Todays Challenge: Up, Up, and Away! Students are challenged to create a hot air balloon using only a few resources. So far, they’re looking great!! But, our objective is to see if we can create a hot air balloon that will rise with less dense hot air. Tune in tomorrow to see our results!!

Day 1 of Creative Camp and our HEROES got to design and make their own keychains!

MENA GOLF,BASEBALL, SOFTBALL & TRACK ON THE MOVE FOR 22-24 CYCLE. Conference alignments have been approved by the Arkansas Activities Association board of directors for tennis, golf, baseball, softball, track & field and soccer for the 2022-24 competition cycle. Baseball, softball, soccer and track & field conferences are tentative as spring sports have until Dec. 1 to declare. It was announced previously that Mena basketball would be moving to the 4A-4 as well & Mena football will be moving to the 4A-7.... Schedules for 2022-2023 are available on the website https://www.menaschools.org/o/athletics/athletics

There has been a change in the schedule for the Tabletop Gaming Summer Camp sessions at Mena High School. This camp will only meet June 27th through June 30th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm at Mena High School. The June 20th-23rd dates have been cancelled. If you have questions please email deedra.hooker@menaschools.org.

GETTING CLOSER EVERY DAY !!! As of Monday morning the new turf project appears to be on schedule. Remember a paving project will follow & Bob Carver Bearcat Stadium will be open to the public at the conclusion of both projects. We will keep you posted on the progress..

The Arkansas Youth Fishing Federation has named Austin Rose and Jarrett Burger as the 2021-22 High School Anglers of the Year. This is two years in a row that Austin and Jarrett have taken the top honor. They will be competing in the High School National Championship on Lake Pickwick in Alabama June 22 - 25. Thanks to all the sponsors and all those that have supported and encouraged these young men.

The Mena Jr. and Sr. Girls are at the Harding Basketball Team Camp this week !!!

Friday is day two of the Whitt & Watkins Basketball Academy at the Union Bank Center !

Rich Mountain seems to be smiling about the sunny skies in this picture from the Mena Schools Weather Camera on Thursday. We're sure the crew working on the turf at Bob Carver Bearcat Stadium are pleased as well... Remember that BCBS remains closed to the public for the next several weeks. Follow the link to the weather cam 24 hours a day. https://www.weatherbug.com/weather-camera/?cam=MNHCK

The Whitt & Watkins Basketball Academy began on Thursday at the Union Bank Center. The morning session is for 1st-8th grades & the afternoon session is for 9th-12th grades. It continues on Friday & Saturday. GO BEARCATS !!!

Mena Ladycat KENSEY ROSSON has been named to the SBLive All-State Softball Team. Rosson will be a Jr. in 2022/2023 & had .618 batting average with 1 homerun last season. Read the article at the link below https://news.scorebooklive.com/arkansas/2022/06/09/sblive-arkansas-all-state-softball-teams-benton-pitcher-allyssa-houston-is-player-of-the-year?fs=e&s=cl&fbclid=IwAR1U4mFVz0FCbqbnqhEA3hLWKnX6NSRItUHhZrQD0JJek6jPxw8Qov9_TDk

The Senior High Bearcats went to Ouachita Baptist University today for a team camp! Great reps , great work and should have some great film to learn off of! Go Bearcats and thanks to OBU for hosting and feeding our boys!

Mena leaders are attending training with the DeQueen Mena Education Service Cooperative at Degray State Park this week. Administrators from schools across the DMESC area are attending.

These HEROES will be coding pros in no time! Coding Camp continues at Louise Durham Elementary.

Mena teachers are already learning new skills to help with engaging lessons. Tuesday at HHE they were participating in Summer PD learning how to use new technology… BenQ interactive panels have been installed & will help teachers interact with students.

Cox & Fletcher headed to Orlando for Special Olympic USA Games. Check them out on the cover of the Polk County Pulse this week !!! https://mypulsenews.com/polk-county-pulse-june-8-2022/?fbclid=IwAR2ltZl1HnWqD42YTcCiCEWt8y1Uh4vbKPvcB7v5HNIKEWTE-h7lM-jnEGQ

The history of Mena Public Schools! Part 2: In 1901 the schools were under the supervision of S. H. Allen a graduate of Ouachita College. Mena had made such rapid progress by this time that they had built and furnished three buildings containing eight large rooms of the common school grades. Central School was built in 1904. This two story red brick building was erected on the site where the First Baptist Church is now located. There were eight classrooms and one teacher for each grade first through eighth. There were times when enrollment in each room might reach 55 or 60 students for each teacher. A high wire fence was stretched from the front porch to Port Arthur Avenue to separate the girls on one side toward the library and the boys on the ninth street side. In each room was a large stove. The custodian really had to get up early to start eight separate fires and keep two full coal buckets in each of the rooms. He would go around sometimes three times a day to put the coal in the stoves. Only occasionally did the teacher have to perform this task. All the school children were suppose to bring a cup from home since the Janssen Park Spring was the only source of drinking water. Paper cups had not been introduced as yet. Teachers had spring duty in those days. The children went by rooms to the park to get water three times a day. The children did not take the drinking cups home. It was thought that the construction of the Central School would accommodate the school population for some time to come, but by 1905 it was necessary to provide other facilities as those housing the school population of the new boom-town of Mena were greatly over-worked. The first buildings that had been erected for school purposes were bulging with children. To provide further housing facilities, the Southside Ward School was built. This was a neat frame building of two rooms. At this time the late and much beloved Prof. W. T. Adams had supervision of the schools. He was untiring in his efforts to build up the city schools. Mrs. Ruby Grant was the first principal of the new school. Miss Mable Adams, now Mrs. John Mershon, was the primary teacher. Mrs. John Mershon had a room enrollment of 113 pupils. The town of Mena continued to grow rapidly and by 1907 it was necessary to add another room to the Ward building. Check bac next Wednesday for part 3!