Author: Donnie Sewell

Twelve Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy for the Fall 2024 semester.

The Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy is awarded each spring and fall to students in ninth through 12th grades who demonstrate a proficiency in English and at least one other language before graduating high school.

The program is sponsored by the Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association and the Arkansas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. The Arkansas Department of Education officially endorsed the seal in June 2018. The Seal of Biliteracy program is recognized in 49 states and Washington, D.C.

ASMSA students who earned the seal this fall include:

• Morgan Broadway, a senior from Mablevale, Spanish;
• Alice Dong, a senior from Arkadelphia, Chinese;
• Madeline Liachenko, a senior from Benton, Russian;
• Emily Lin, a junior from Little Rock, Chinese;
• Preston Lowe, a senior from Mayflower, Spanish;
• Kelvin Orduna, a senior from Huntsville, French;
• Yongjun Park, a junior from Maumelle, Korean;
• Meera Patel, a senior from Hot Springs, French;
• Sage Torres, a senior from Fairfield Bay, Spanish;
• Kris Torres, a senior from Fairfield Bay, Spanish;
• Jonathan Tucker, a senior from Batesville, Spanish; and
• Luis Vidal Jr., a junior from Fort Smith, Spanish.

Since the 2017 pilot year in Arkansas, a total of 6,017 students from 108 high schools around the state have attained this certification across 32 languages other than English, according to a release from the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy Committee.

Six Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts seniors received full-ride scholarship offers in the 2024 QuestBridge National College Match Program.

The students who received matches include:

• Jaime Hernandez Perez of Decatur, Brown University;
• Hailey Judkins of Benton, College of the Holy Cross;
• Sarah Pham of Hot Springs, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT);
• Katherine Quintanilla of Nashville, University of Pennsylvania;
• Ezekiel Summers of Paragould, Johns Hopkins University; and
• Plinio Tola of Little Rock, Wesleyan University.

QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization that connects exceptional low-income youth with leading institutions of higher education. QuestBridge works with top universities across the country to offer four-year, full scholarships to deserving students who may otherwise be unable to afford to attend those institutions. The organization partnered this year with 52 colleges and universities to offer scholarships at institutions such as Duke University, Columbia University, Yale and others.

CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs held a special ceremony Wednesday to open a time capsule that was placed in 1927 in the cornerstone of the former St. Joseph's Infirmary that is now a part of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts campus. The treasures inside included a letter written in Latin, several coins and medallions, a 1923 $1 Silver Certificate, a program from the cornerstone ceremony held in March 1927, a list of the Sister of Mercy nuns who were then serving at the hospital, a list of the hospital's student nurses, a 1927 Hot Springs telephone book, two newspapers with articles about the hospital, a copy of the deed and mortgage for the hospital, a bill for the air ventilation system, a postcard featuring the previous hospital, and other items.

The time capsule and the cornerstone in which it was held were recently removed from the former hospital in preparation for its demolition. ASMSA plans to return possession of the main hospital as well as the Pine Street and Cedar Street wings to the City of Hot Springs in early 2025. Once that process has been completed, the city will begin the demolition process. Once demolition is complete, the city will return the property to ASMSA for redevelopment.

What is now known as as CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs was formerly known as St. Joseph's Hospital, among other iterations. After St. Joseph's moved to its current location in 1991, the city purchased the former hospital to use as a proposed location as part of its bidding proposal to land what was then the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences, which was created by the State of Arkansas in 1991. The school used the main building as well as the Pine Street wing for student residential space until 2012, when students were relocated to the new ASMSA Student Center. The Pine Street wing continued to be used for faculty and staff offices as well as classroom space until May 2024.

The Diamond Lakes Area Master Naturalists recently awarded the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts a grant to benefit the school’s Native Pollinator Garden.

Students in the Senior Research in the Park course will use the $1,120 grant to improve the sloped portion of the garden that is located in front of the ASMSA Student Center. Planned improvements include terracing and adding stone steps to the garden slope to help prevent erosion and increase accessibility to the plants on the upper portion of the slope.

Students in the course will plan and execute the improvements, said Dr. Lindsey Waddell, an instructor of excellence geoscience and chemistry. She serves as a co-instructor in the course along with Dr. Allyn Dodd, an instructor of distinction in biology.

Six Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were selected for the 2024 South All-Region Orchestra.

Students who were selected for the orchestra include

• Anna Le, a junior from Fort Smith, first violin, third chair;
• Kalyn You, a senior from Everton, first violin, 10^th chair;
• Annette Ha, a senior from Benton, first violin, 11^th chair;
• Paul Murphy, a senior from Conway, cello, 11^th chair;
• Alex Ulmer, a senior from Conway, cello, 12^th chair; and
• Jacob Lewis, a junior from Clinton, flute, second chair.

The South All-Region Orchestra Clinic will be held Nov. 8-9 at Conway High School. The students auditioned for the orchestra on Oct. 12 at Little Rock Mills High School.

It’s not unusual for old buildings to have ghostly accounts attached to them. How many of us don’t remember a house, a cemetery, a lonely stretch of road or even a railroad track in your hometown about which you heard tales?

So, it’s not surprising that a few haunting stories exist about the former St. Joseph’s Hospital on the campus of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts. Portions of the hospital once served as residential living space for students and later as classrooms and faculty offices after 2012 when the Student Center, the current residential space, opened.

Dr. Jack Waddell, a physics Instructor of Excellence and a member of the Class of 1999, had heard plenty of the stories, both as a student and faculty member. He’s now collecting stories from alumni and employees for a booklet. He has received just over 40 so far, he said.

“I’ve had this idea for a while now, usually each October,” Waddell said. “I know when I was a student there were always ghost stories and alleged sightings. I think of ghost stories as a kind of communal folklore. All of us who have lived and worked here have a throughline of shared experiences with this special place, and ghost stories are a fun way to connect us to it.

“To me, it’s not important whether the ghosts are real. The stories are real, and they serve as a purpose to our community.”

One of the stories that stands out to him that has been shared by several staff members is about a figure they call the Tall Man. The figure is a tall man in a black coat and a wide black hat who carries a bag or briefcase. Most of the reports about the Tall Man have been second-hand stories, but one alumna shared a first-hand experience with Waddell.

“An alumna from one of the first years of the school reported a story of her climbing the stairs and suddenly feeling a spike of fear,” he said. “As she started running up the stairs, she saw in the corner of her eye a tall man wearing black with a black hat. It struck me that she used the same description as the staff members’ story, even though none of the staff were even here at the same time as the alumna.”

Waddell is still collecting stories, which can be sent to him via email at waddellj@asmsa.org. He said he’ll also accept audio recordings of ghostly accounts if the person doesn’t want to type a long story. He wants to capture as much as possible of each person’s story.

He hopes to at least have a rough draft of the booklet completed in PDF form by Halloween, but he plans to continue collecting stories to have a more complete set of stories by October 2025. He may print a few copies for people who want a hard copy, either at cost or with proceeds going to the ASMSA Foundation, he said.

When asked if he had any ghostly interactions of his own as a student, he said, “I did! But you’ll have to read the booklet to find out.”

Eleven students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Scienes and the Arts have been named 2024 QuestBridge National College Match Finalists.

QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization that connects exceptional low-income youth with leading institutions of higher education. QuestBridge works with top universities across the country to offer four-year, full scholarships to deserving students who may otherwise be unable to afford to attend those institutions.

ASMSA seniors selected as Finalists include:

• Ezekiel Summers of Paragould;
• Sarah Pham of Hot Springs;
• Karilynn Arellano of Mineral Springs;
• Morgan Broadway of Mablevale;
• Katherine Quintanilla of Nashville;
• Hailey Judkins of Benton;
• Maddox Jessup of Stuttgart;
• Rowan Stewart of Sherwood;
• Plinio Tola of Little Rock;
• Jaime Hernandez Perez of Decatur; and
• Damian Biggs of Washington County.

QuestBridge partnered this year with 52 colleges and universities to offer scholarships at institutions such as Duke University, Rice University, Stanford University, Yale University and others.

Students apply for the scholarships through QuestBridge’s free National College Match application. They may list up to 15 of the partner schools at which they would like to be considered for admission.

Finalists who receive a match will be notified on Dec. 1. Finalists who do not receive a match for a scholarship will still be eligible to be considered for regular admission to partner schools and may still receive financial aid in the future.

Match Scholarship recipients are granted early admission to one of QuestBridge's college partners with a full four-year scholarship that includes tuition and fees, housing and food, books and travel expenses, worth more than $200,000. The Match Scholarship is offered as part of a generous financial aid package provided by the college that covers the cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and travel expenses. All Match Scholarship packages have no parental contribution or student loans.

Seven Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned Arkansas Choral Directors Association Region 3 Senior High All-Region Choir recognition, including two who earned eligibility to audition for All-State Choir.

Region 3 All-Region Choir auditions were held Oct. 5 at Bryant High School. Students who earned All-Region recognition include:

• Tatum Polzin, a junior from Little Rock, 33^rd chair, Soprano I, Soprano/Soprano/Alto/Alto Choir;
• Taraji Kiyumbi, a junior from Palestine, 13^th chair, Tenor I, Mixed Chorus;
• Mason Sims, a junior from Compton, 24^th chair, Tenor I, Tenor/Tenor/Bass/Bass Choir;
• Beau Goldthorpe, a junior from Benton, 35^th chair, Tenor II, Tenor/Tenor/Bass/Bass Choir;
• Errol Nagy, a junior from Little Rock, 30^th chair, Bass I, Tenor/Tenor/Bass/Bass Choir;
• Kemdi Ekeanyanwu, a sophomore from Little Rock, 9^th chair, Bass II, Mixed Chorus; and
• Asher Rivera, a junior from Hot Springs, 30^th chair, Bass II, Tenor/Tenor/Bass/Bass Choir.

The Region 3 Senior High All-Region Choir Clinic and concert will be held Nov. 9 at First Baptist Church in Benton.

Kiyumbi and Ekeanyanwu are both eligible to audition for the All-State Honor Choir. Students who placed in the top 20 chairs of their respective parts are eligible to audition for the choir. All-State auditions will be held in Jonesboro in February.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts has opened the application process for the Classes of 2027 and 2028, and the school will offer a new music-focused pathway in Fall 2025.

The Music Program of Distinction (POD) will build on ASMSA’s existing music curriculum to offer a focused experience for students’ talents. It will allow students with a deep passion for music to explore fundamental principles while also focusing on studio time, private lessons and performances that reflect their own personal interests. Music POD students would spend approximately half their time and coursework on music-related activities.

The creation of the Music POD comes a year after ASMSA’s Wind Ensemble and choir earned top honors in Class 3A state competitions as well as the String Ensemble earning state honors for the first time in its history. It also follows the school’s introduction of the Visual Arts and Design Program of Distinction (POD) in 2022. The Art POD provides students with opportunities to take immersive courses in 2D, 3D and other traditional arts topics. The Music POD will follow a similar track for music courses.

“Our experienced and highly credentialed faculty coupled with a well-trained and innovative Student Life staff provide the resources and support needed to prepare all students for success,” said Jason Hudnell, director of admissions. “The expansion of the arts to include our new Music POD that complements our commitment to STEM education opens even more opportunities for students to thrive in our community of learning."

ASMSA is a public residential high school serving academically and artistically motivated students of all backgrounds from throughout the state of Arkansas. More than 250 students in 10^th, 11^th and 12^th grades attend classes and live on the Hot Springs campus in a community of learning unlike any other in the state.

The school was recently named the top public high school in Arkansas for the third straight year and No. 31 in the nation by Niche.com, a website that provides in-depth profiles on thousands of colleges, school districts and individual K-12 schools across the nation. ASMSA was also named the best public high school for college prep as well as STEM education in the state.

For students interested in STEM subjects or other humanities topics, ASMSA offers a broad range of courses that are all taught at the college level, including 70 courses for college credit. Most students earn an average of 50 hours of college credit by the time they graduate with all students, including those in the Art and Music PODs, earning at least 30 hours — or a full year of credit. Housing, meals and books are provided to all students at no cost with support from the state.

“ASMSA empowers families of high-achieving as well as aspirational and motivated students all across Arkansas to choose a high school that best meets the needs of their students no matter their ZIP code or socioeconomic status," Hudnell said.

Students apply to ASMSA through a competitive admissions process that evaluates high school coursework, ACT/SAT scores, responses to essay questions, recommendation forms and other accomplishments. Finalist candidates are invited to attend Interview Weekends in April. The process is similar to application to selective colleges and universities.

The rigorous applications process assists ASMSA in identifying for admission well-rounded young Arkansans who possess a strong sense of character, actively contribute to their communities and seek out the most challenging coursework available to them. Students must submit their completed application no later than March 1, 2025. To learn more about ASMSA’s application process and the requirements for admission, visit asmsa.org/admissions, email admissions@asmsa.org or call/text 501.622.5235.