Author: Donnie Sewell

Five students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned eligibility for the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair at the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair held April 1-2 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

The team of seniors Sheridan Dethrow of Jonesboro and Gwen Keith-Powell of North Little Rock won fourth place in the ISEF Finalists category. Senior Emma Cavaneau of Benton won fifth place while the team of seniors Spencer Lile of Benton and Paul Massey of Conway finished sixth in the category, all qualifying for international fair.

A team from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts was named a finalist in the Sixth Annual All-State Coding Competition.

ASMSA’s team is comprised of seniors Trey Clark of Harrison and Josh Stallings of Little Rock and junior Robert Boerwinkle of El Dorado.  The team is sponsored by computer science instructor Nicholas Seward. It will be one of 17 teams competing for the state title.

The teams qualified for the state final by participating in the All-Region Coding Competition that was held as a digital even on Feb. 25. More than 150 teams participated in the regional event and were scored by the Arkansas Department of Education Office of Computer Science team using a common rubric and process. That process determined the top 16 teams to be invited to participate in the state-level event. The school that produced the first place team in the state competition in 2021 — Don Tyson School of Innovation in Springdale — received an automatic invitation to send a team to this year’s state competition.

Other schools chosen to compete for the state title are Arkansas High School in Texarkana, Bentonville High School, Bentonville West High School, Cabot High School, Conway High School, Fayetteville High School, Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville, Haas Hall Academy in Rogers, Har-Ber High School in Springdale, Hot Springs World Class High School, Lisa Academy West High School in Little Rock, Little Rock Central High School, Mountain Home High School, Rogers High School and Star City High School.

Each member of the first-place team will receive a $2,000 award that will be deposited into a 529 College Savings Plan. Each member of the second-place team will receive a $1,000 award deposited into a 529 College Savings Plan, with each member of the third-place team receiving a $500 award deposited into a 529 College Savings Plan. In addition, the schools that register/sponsor the first-place, second-place, and third-place teams will receive $10,000, $6,000, and $4,000, respectively, to support their computer science programs. The prizes and competition expenses are provided by a grant from ARCodeKids.

Included among the Special Awards at the recent West Central Regional Science Fair was a new award that recognize a student who conducted outstanding research in microbiology.

The inaugural award for “An Outstanding Microbiology Project that Seeks to Improve Human Health” was sponsored by Precision Analytical Laboratories of Northwest Arkansas. Lauralee Jarrett, a senior from Brinkley, was the recipient of the new award, which included a $100 prize.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra recently debuted a new work by Dr. Thomas Dempster, a music instructor at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts.

Members of the ASO performed “Canticle of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini” during the March 1 River Rhapsodies concert at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. The series presents collections of chamber pieces that demonstrate the versatility of the performers beyond the orchestral stage. The piece was composed for a septet consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola and cello, Dempster said.

Four Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students have been chosen to participate in  the 2022 Governor’s Young Artist Exhibit.

The Governor’s Young Artist Exhibit features works by Arkansas high school students who entered the Governor’s Young Artist Competition. Students’ works selected for recognition in the competition will be on exhibit at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion in April. Almost 300 pieces were entered in the competition, and around 60 were selected for the exhibition. An awards reception at the Governor’s Mansion is set for April 23.

Alyx Allred, a senior at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, won a $3,000 scholarship in the Thea Foundation Scholarship Competition.

Allred placed seventh in the Creative Writing category for her short story “Universal List” and received the Rebsamen Fund Scholarship. The theme of this year’s competition was “Reflection/Refraction.” Thea Foundation awarded $219,000 in scholarships to 36 students in five categories: Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Creative Writing, Film and Fashion.

Several Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned recognition at the 2022 FBLA District IV Spring Conference and advancing to the upcoming state competition.

The district conference was held on Feb. 2 at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope/Texarkana in Hope. Students who placed in the top six of their event qualified to compete at the state FBLA conference that will be held April 4-5 in Little Rock.

Several Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students recently earned recognition from the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association.

Seven students placed in the ASBOA Region II All-Region Concert Band on Jan. 22 at Lake Hamilton High School in Royal. It was the second year in a row where every ASMSA student musician who auditioned for the band earned a place in the Region II All-Region Concert Band.

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned a trip to the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair after being named overall winners in the annual West Central Regional Science Fair recently held at the school.

Senior Abby Berger of Jonesboro won first place overall in the regional science fair competition hosted by ASMSA on Feb. 24-25 followed by senior Claire Green of North Little Rock in second place overall and senior Danielle Luyet of Conway in third place. The students are eligible to compete in the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair that will be held in Atlanta in May.