Mrs. Teresa Torix and a group of her students are on their way to Chicago for the FBLA National Leadership Conference. Students from across Arkansas & around the country are attending.
https://fbla-nlc.org/
Mena Counselors Delivered over 300 pounds of can tabs to the Arkansas School Counselors Summer Conference today. Tabs were donated this past school year to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Thank you to all who helped by donating!
Congratulations to Mena High School 2010 alumnus RYAN MATEJEK !
Mr. Ryan Matejek, a graduate of Arkansas Tech University, will join ATU as instructor of tuba this fall. He is currently completing his course work for a Doctorate of Musical Arts in tuba performance at Arizona State University. He also holds a Masters Degree in tuba performance from the University of Missouri.
The Mena Little Cats Basketball Camp came to a close on Friday at the Union Bank Center. There were smiles all around as awards were given for their hard work this week. GO BEARCATS!!!
Day two was tough for the Mena Bass Cats at the13th annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship. Austin Rose & Jarett Burger weighed in one fish weighing 2 pounds 9 ounces for a two day total of 10 pounds 13 ounces.
https://highschoolfishing.org/13th-annual-hsfwfnc-home/
The THRIVE Academy launched this week with educators learning how to implement multi-tiered systems of support for behavior and mental health. The Mena Public Schools were well represented!
The Mena Basscats are in the hunt after day one of the High School National Championship Tournament. Jarrett Burger & Austin Rose weighed in a three fish limit that weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces. The tournament is at Lake Pickwick in Alabama & continues on Thursday & Friday. You can check the standings at the link below.
https://highschoolfishing.org/.../2022-HSFWF-Day-1...
The event is filmed for national television on the Pursuit Channel and other Networks. LIVE coverage will run daily on www.HighSchoolFishing.org and Facebook at Student Angler Federation (SAF) - High School Fishing
Wednesday was the first day of the Little Cats Basketball Camp at the Union Bank Center. Coach Randy Peters & the Bearcats put camper thru their paces. Those left handed layups were a challenge.. GO BEARCATS!!!
The Mena Public Schools are pleased to have ZEN VALENCIA join the staff in 2022/2023 !
Hello my name is Zen Valencia I went to high school at Hackett High school not too far from Mena. I graduated from Arkansas Tech with my Social Studies education degree. Spent a year in South West Arkansas coaching and Teaching at Lafayette County. This is my first year coaching Wrestling but I cannot express how excited I am to start this program. I am also an assistant football coach with the senior high football team, and Defensive Coordinator for the junior high. I Love being outdoors and am truly blessed to be apart of this district, community, and group of coaches! Go Bearcats!
The History of Mena Public Schools Part 4:
During the school years of 1907-1920 many changes were taking place in the history of education in Arkansas. The Uniform Text Book Law and the Compulsory School Attendance Law were passed by the Arkansas Legislature. Also measures for the protection of the health of small children were passed and the public drinking cup was banned. Compulsory vaccinations against smallpox was instituted. Another great step forward was the coming of the Free Textbook Law. Some of the money raising projects carried out to provide for the needs of the school included teas and plays. With the funds thus obtained many things were bought. Among these were a large Victrola for music appreciation, a suitable and large library for the children, a number of appropriate pictures by master artists, a large school bell, and a first aid cabinet. The community’s educational needs had increased so greatly that in 1922 the Central and High School buildings were added on to and a manual training building was erected. Furthermore, in the 1932-33 school year a model college for the home economics department was provided. Mr. J. E. Bishop, Superintendent of Mena Schools, said he had a faculty of twenty teachers as good as the best in the state. In 1926 the rating of the schools was raised from a “B” to an “A”. In 1927 the high school became a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. This was as high a rating as any school in Arkansas could achieve at the time. In 1934 school census showed 1,103 pupils attending the Mena Schools. All the pupils walked to school in those days. For many years about one fourth of the children brought their lunches to school in a sack or lunch pail. The rest of the pupils walked home for lunch. When the Junior High School was started they built a cafeteria for all the schools in Mena. Central pupils were transported by buses down there to eat every day. The transportation of Mena students by bus increased as consolidation proceeded in the county. Each time one of the outlying schools closed and sent its students to Mena, a new bus had to be added to the school’s growing fleet. By now each classroom had its own library in the room. In 1940 the Mena High School and its contents were destroyed by fire. Shortly thereafter a new high school was constructed on the corner of Mena Street and Church Avenue. In the spring of 1940, plans were made for a lighted athletic field. In the fall Mena defeated Hartford 27 to 12 in the first game to be played on the newly lighted field. The new high school was used for the first time in April 1943. On May 20, 1943, thirty-one seniors graduated.The Boyd Stadium was constructed on the athletic field in 1946. In 1947 a $40,000 bond issue for a new Southside School to be built in Stilwell Park was secured. This new building was scheduled for completion in the fall of 1948. The years 1950-1951 were busy building years for the district. A new home economics cottage was built, a band building was erected, remodeling took place for grades 6-8, and buildings acquired from the Fair Association were remodeled for vocational agriculture classes and shops.
Check back for part 5 next Wednesday!
Mena High School 2022 graduates Jarrett Burger & Austin Rose are competing in the High School National Championship at Lake Pickwick in Alabama.
The event is filmed for national television on the Pursuit Channel and other Networks. LIVE coverage will run daily on www.HighSchoolFishing.org and Facebook at www.facebook.com/hsfishing
Good Luck Austin and Jarrett!!
Go Basscats!!!!
Preparations for 2022/2023 are well underway & Mena librarians met today to discuss and share practices related to the library. Pictured are Holli Plunkett-MHS, Tiffany Williams-LDE, Staci Brooks-MMS & Paula Cox-HHE.
The Jr. Ladycats had a great first day at Morrilton Team Camp!
An extensive paving project began on Monday at Bob Carver Bearcat Stadium. BCBS will remain closed to the public until the project is completed.
Mena teachers enjoyed the recent workshop in DeQueen featuring Teacher/Comedian Gerry Brooks. Including Mena High School teachers Cindy Standridge, Bernice Philpot & Melissa Puckett.
https://www.youtube.com/c/GerryBrooks
The History of Mena Public Schools Part 3:
In September 1907, Louise Durham became principal of Southside School. The school population had continued to increase and Mrs. Mershon’s primary enrollment of 113 was exceeded by Miss Durham’s room enrollment of 125. Some years later, when Mrs. Mershon and Miss Durham were reflecting back on their years of heavy enrollment they asked, “How did we ever manage it?” One replied in the familiar saying of a Polk County pioneer, “If en we hatter… we hatter.” Fortunately the pupils seemed most eager to learn and there were very few distractions to interfere with the school life. The home, the school, and the church were the three institutions that most influenced a child’s life. Besides a place of learning, the school was also a place for satisfying their cravings for social life and recreation. The Southside School had a baseball team of which it was justly proud. The team sometimes played inter-school games with the fifth and sixth grades of Central School, the Lutheran School, and St. Joseph’s Academy. Usually the Southside team was the winning team. County school fairs were popular from 1907 until 1920. By 1908 there were 1200 school children in the three wards and it became necessary to plan for a separate building for high school students. In 1908 Mena graduated four students, all female. In 1909 the first unit of the high school building had been erected. It was built on the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Eleventh Street at a cost of $12,000. The superintendent was W. T. Adams. It was during this school year that the school paper, “The High School Yell” made its first appearance. Dorothy Shaver was editor-in-chief. The “Yell” was published for a number of years and often contained articles and poems of real merit and special interest to the student body. The class of 1909 was also all young ladies. The ten graduating members of the class received their diplomas at the Opera House. An admission of .25 cents was charged to attend the graduation exercises in order to help pay for class expenses. The first football game was played in 1912. In the game the Bearcats played DeQueen. DeQueen won by a score of 20-6. There were only thirteen boys on the Mena squad. Additionally, only two boys had ever even seen a game. One eyewitness said, “The small squad made up for lack of knowledge by rough play.” The high school did not have electric lights until the class of 1914 had lights installed as their graduation gift back to the school.
Check out Part 4 next Wednesday.
The Sr. Ladycats are headed home after three days at the Harding Team Camp.
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."
Keep the Mena Public Schools at your fingertips. Download the MPS APP.
