Author: Donnie Sewell

Students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts took the top two places in the 2022 Congressional App Challenge sponsored by Forth Congressional District Rep. Bruce Westerman.

The Congressional App Challenge is an annual event in which middle and high school students across the country design and code their own original apps. It is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where members of Congress host contests in their districts, encouraging students to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. Each participating member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during the annual #HouseofCode festival.

Senior Vicky Zhu won first place for her app called StreBit. The app helps a user determine how flexible they are. The camera-based app allows the user to keep track of their progress. The app is a result of Zhu’s Capstone project.

Taking second place was the team of juniors Geoffrey Williams, Jayden Patel, James Mathis and Zechariah Cleaver for their app Study Farm, a study aid designed to help users stay focused on their work. The app has a timer that allows a student to play a simple farm-themed game every 30 minutes as a break from studying. After five minutes of break time, the game stops for the student to return to their schoolwork. The cycle repeats itself until the designated study time has passed.

Westerman announced the winners at an event on Nov. 30. There were 21 apps submitted for the competition from ASMSA, Dardanelle High School, Lakeside High School and Lake Hamilton High School.

Five Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students received matches, including three with Ivy League schools, for the 2022 QuestBridge National College Scholarship Match.

Kacie Koen of Benton, Alex Pearson of Lincoln, Alyssa Thomas of El Dorado, Ai’Yanna Tombs of North Little Rock and John Tucker of Bald Knob each matched with a QuestBridge partner institution and will receive a four-year full scholarship to attend those institutions.

Koen matched with Columbia University in New York City; Pearson with Brown University in Providence, R.I.; Thomas with the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; Tombs with Northwestern in Evaston, Ill.; and Tucker with Rice University in Houston.

Students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned recognition at the 57^th Arkansas Model United Nations Conference held recently at the University of Central Arkansas.

Among the recognition the students earned were awards for Best Position Papers two nations ASMSA students represented — Brazil and Italy.

Students who represented Brazil as a nation and on various committees were junior Melike Senlicki of Fayettville, sophomore Hailey Judkins of Benton, sophomore Karilynn Arellano of Mineral Springs, senior Pallas Bennett of Dover, senior Lydia Krebs of Maumelle and junior Stella Bentley of Eureka Springs. Italy was represented by sophomore Meera Patel of Hot Springs, junior Avery Binuya of Lamar and junior Pixie Rodgers of Hot Springs.

Twelve students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy by demonstrating proficiency in English and at least one other language before graduating high school.

The Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy is awarded each spring and fall to students in ninth through 12th grades and 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. There were 340 students from Arkansas 38 high schools who earned the seal this fall. More than 3,600 students have attained certification across 22 languages other than English since 2017, the pilot year in Arkansas, according to a press release.

Corey Alderdice, director of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, will serve as President-Elect of the 2022-23 National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools Board of Directors.

Alderdice was installed as President-Elect during the NCSSS Professional Conference that was held Nov. 2-5 in Atlanta. Officers are elected by the Board of Directors upon a consideration of a slate of nominees presented by the Nominating Committee. He has served as a director on the NCSSS Board of Directors since November 2019.

Nicholas Seward, a computer science instructor at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, has been selected to receive the University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award.

The university asks students in each year’s incoming class to nominate an educator whose guidance has helped them along the path toward intellectual growth and made a positive impact in their lives.

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts student musicians were named to the Arkansas South Region Orchestra.

Senior Amanda Navarro of Hot Springs and juniors Alex Hernandez of Conway and Gisselle Ellington of North Little Rock auditioned for the band on Oct. 29 at Mills High School in Little Rock. They participated in the South Region Orchestra Clinic on Nov. 4-5 at Conway High School. Navarro and Hernandez both performed violin in the orchestra while Ellington was a member of the cello section.

For a second year in a row, the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts STEM Pathways initiative has set an enrollment record.

The initiative is serving 3,315 students across the state through its Computer Science Plus, Advanced Biology Plus and Advanced Statistics Plus cohorts. The program set a record last year with 2,117 students enrolled in Computer Science Plus and Advanced Biology Plus cohorts.

Seven Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts seniors have been selected as 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.