Author: Donnie Sewell

Public performances are a staple of any school music program. It’s an opportunity for young musicians to display their talents and demonstrate what they have learned throughout the school year. But for more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented ASMSA’s musicians many opportunities to rehearse together much less perform publicly.

But over the next two weeks, ASMSA music students will hold several spring concerts. The performances will be open to small audiences of performers’ immediate family members, students and ASMSA staff — about 100 people for each indoor performance. The concerts will also be streamed live on the school’s Facebook page — facebook.com/armathsciarts — for those who can’t attend in person.

Fifteen Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students 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.

There were 456 high school students from 27 Arkansas school districts and charter, private or virtual schools and home schoolers who earned the recognition in the spring.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts won its ninth consecutive school title in the recent Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair.

Three ASMSA students also qualified as finalists for the 2021 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair based on state science fair results. Chloe Kirk of Eureka Springs, Soumya Chauhan of Bentonville and Lawson Smith of Jonesboro qualified for the international competition that will be held virtually in May. They join three other ASMSA students who earned ISEF eligibility at the West Central Regional Science Fair that was held in February at ASMSA.

Two teams from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned recognition in the 2021 Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan competition, including being the first high school team to place in the top three in a division.

Apollo, a team comprised of juniors Andreas Bradley of Jacksonville and Isaiah Jellenik of Conway, won third place overall in the Small Business Division. This was the first time that a high school team placed in one of the top three spots of the competition. ASMSA has had teams qualify for the finals in the previous three years, but none of them placed in the top three.

A team from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts won the David Ricardo Division of the Arkansas Economics Challenge held April 8.

The team of seniors Alec Gatewood of Smackover and Bryson Austin of Little Rock and junior Pierce Hickey of Sherwood competed in a division named for the famous British economist. The division is for first-time competitors who have taken no more than one economics course.

Eleven Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned recognition at the Arkansas State Future Business Leaders of America Leadership Awards.

The awards were announced during the organization’s virtual state conference on March 29-30. The top four competitors in each category qualified for the FBLA National Conference, which will be held virtually later this year. ASMSA students who qualified for the national event include:

Carl Frank, a computer science instructor at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the arts, has been named a finalist for the 2021 Arkansas Computer Science Educator of the Year Award.

The Arkansas Department of Education recently announced the five finalists for the award. This is the third year that the department is giving the award, and it is the second time that Frank has been selected as a finalist. He was a finalist in the inaugural awards in 2019.

Five Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned top honors at the Arkansas Junior Sciences and Humanities Symposium poster competition.

The symposium features original science, technology, engineering and mathematics research conducted by students in the ninth through 12^th grade. The competition is sponsored by the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. The Arkansas JSHS was hosted virtually by Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. Students prepared up to a 5-minute recorded presentation and submitted a PDF of their poster.

Aly Navarro, a senior from Hot Springs, won the competition’s Top Overall award, leading ASMSA to sweep all of the 11^th- and 12^th- grade awards. Other ASMSA students who placed included:

• First place— Junior Cameryn Berryhill of Evening Shade;
• Second place — Senior Annabel Spayde of Conway; and
• Third Place — Tie between juniors Lauralee Jarrett of Brinkley and Jayita Ujjaini of Jonesboro.

Navarro and Berryhill were mentored by Dr. Whitney Holden, a life sciences specialist at ASMSA. Spayde was mentored by Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak, who is also a life sciences specialist at ASMSA. Holden and Krakowiak also worked with Jarrett and Ujiaini.

Holden  said the symposium is a good program to evaluate their research abilities.

“The students are excited to participate each year in JSHS,” Holden said. “It’s a valuable step in their progression as student researchers, where they get the opportunity to demonstrate their passion and communicate their findings with a broader audience.”

Krakowiak said the symposium provides another avenue to share their research with an audience.

“JSHS is a great opportunity for our students to practice presenting their research data, boost their confidence and expand their opportunities beyond science fair. Many of our past participants have not only won in their categories but also went on to compete at the national level,” she said.

Navarro received a $1,500 scholarship from Arkansas Tech, which would be renewable for a second year, and qualified for the national JSHS poster competition.

Rising sophomores across Arkansas are encouraged to apply for Summer at ASMSA — a set of free summer camps that will be held on the campus of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts.

This year’s camps will be held Sunday, June 27 through Friday, July 2. Current ninth-graders who are members of the Class of 2024 and Arkansas residents are invited to apply. All camp activities — including tuition, housing, meals and class supplies — are free. Selection for all camps is competitive. Priority deadline for applications is April 9, but applications will be accepted until all spots are filled.

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were selected to participate in the 2021 Governor’s Young Artist Competition exhibit at the Governor’s Mansion.

Seniors Catherine Kwon of Little Rock and Nina Thomas of Hot Springs and junior Danielle Luyet of Conway were chosen to participate in this year’s exhibit of artwork by ninth- through 12^th-grade students from across the state. The exhibit will begin April 1, and an awards and recognition reception will be held at the Governor’s Mansion on April 24.