Author: Donnie Sewell

Seven Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts student musicians earned recognition at recent All-State competitions.

Five members of ASMSA’s band program and two choir members received recognition at All-State Qualifications that were held February 3 in Russellville. Students who were recognized include:

• Alex Back, principal horn, All-State Symphony Orchestra;
• Shea Stabila, second flute, All-State Symphony Orchestra;
• Anna Le, second violin, ninth chair, All-State Symphony Orchestra;
• Grace Adams, string bass, second chair, All-State Symphonic Band;
• Landon Samples, tuba, fifth chair, All-State Symphonic Band;
• Grace Moody, soprano II, fourth chair, All-State SATB Choir; and
• Taraji Kiyumbi, tenor I, alternate (who was later chosen to participate),All-State TTBB Choir.

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were named National STEM Challenge Finalists.

The 2024 National STEM Challenge is a competition for students in the sixth through 12^th grades presented by the U.S. Department of Education and EXPLR, an organization focused on providing middle and high school students virtual and hands-on learning resources. The National STEM Challenge encourages students to design a STEM project using scientific method or engineering design processes.

ASMSA students who were selected as Finalists included:

• Gisselle Ellington, a senior from North Little Rock;
• Shelby Norris, a junior from Alma; and
• Aarohi Sonputri, a senior from Little Rock.

Nasya Choy of Conway and Rene Ramirez of Pearcy, seniors at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, have been recognized as U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidates.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars program is considered one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students. It was established in 1964 by executive order of the president to recognize and honor some of the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will hold a free event to prepare the public for the upcoming total solar eclipse.

“The Path of Totality: Preparing for the 2024 Eclipse” is a free event open to the community that will provide information about total solar eclipse that will take place on April 8, 2024. The event will focus on the science behind eclipses as well as information on how to safely view it.

The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. on February 13 in the ASMSA Creativity and Innovation Complex at 200 Whittington Ave. Free parking is available next to the building.

Participants at the event will have an opportunity to build pinhole projectors for eclipse viewing, and each attendee will also receive a pair of eclipse-viewing glasses. For more information, email outreach@asmsa.org, call 501-622-5147 or visit https://asmsa.me/fbeclipseevent24.

Drs. Whitney Holden and Patrycja Krakowiak, both Instructors of Excellence in life sciences at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, have published an article in the Journal of STEM Research.

Titled “Arkansas Summer Research Institute: The Evolution of an Engaging Online Training Program in Data Analytics and Research Targeting Underrepresented Students in STEM,” the article examines the effectiveness of the Arkansas Summer Research Institute.

Nineteen Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were selected as members of the Region 2 All-Region Band recently.

Among the students who received recognition were nine selected for first band while 10 earned second band honors. Two students were also selected as alternates for all-region. Seven of the students qualified to participate in the upcoming all-state auditions.

Students who were recognized included:

• Shea Stabila, flute, first band, first chair, all-state qualifier;
• Miranda Lee, flute, second band, second chair;
• Emily Xiong, clarinet, first band, 16^th chair, all-state qualifier;
• Faith Wesley, clarinet, first band, 21^st chair;
• Matthew Carter, clarinet, 1st band, 24th chair;
• Gage Carr, clarinet, 2nd band ,11th chair;
• James Mathis, alto saxophone, 2nd band, 3rd chair;
• Zeke Summers, tenor saxophone, 2nd band, 1st chair;
• Saylor Ross, trumpet, 2nd band, 12th chair;
• Alex Back, Horn in F, 1st band, 2nd chair, all-state qualifier;
• Padraigh Easley, horn in F, 2nd band, 5th chair;
• Quinn Corp, trombone, 1st band, 7th chair, all-state qualifier;
• Nathan Grady, trombone, 2nd band, 2nd chair;
• Claira Hartig, trombone, 2nd band, 3rd chair;
• Alex Caldwell, trombone, 2nd band, 7th chair;
• Jena Brown, euphonium, 1st band, 4th chair, all-state qualifier;
• Landon Samples, tuba, 1st band, 1st chair, all-state qualifier;
• Grace Adams, string bass, 1st band, 1st chair, all-state qualifier;
• Elizabeth Show, percussion, 2nd band, 7th chair;
• Quade Martin, baritone saxophone, 1st alternate; and
• Cora Breshears, horn in F, 2nd alternate.

The All-Region Clinic was held Jan. 27. All-State Band auditions will be held Feb. 3 in Russellville.

Parents want their children to get the best education available. In most cases, it would be hard to argue that’s not a given. What often leads to more discussion and debate is how best to provide that education.

As parents have these kinds of discussions not only among themselves but also with education and government leaders, the choice on where to educate their children to school has become an important topic. In 2023, 20 states enacted a school choice program, according to information from the National School Choice Week website.

Arkansas is among those states, adopting the Arkansas LEARNS Act in 2023. Included in the legislation was the creation of a program that expanded parents’ access to a variety of institutions such as charter, independent and online schools that they feel would be best for their child.  Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a proclamation designating National School Choice Week as Arkansas Parental Choice Week.

According to a 2022 Niche.com parent survey, 79 percent of families said the quality of local public schools was a factor when deciding where to live. Campus safety (73 percent), teacher qualifications (71 percent) and type of school (70 percent) were also deciding factors in choosing a school, according to the survey.

Parents of Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students take many of those factors into consideration as well when they are deciding whether to apply to and then enroll at the school.

Avery Binuya, a senior at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, won third place in the Visual Arts category of the 2023/2024 Thea Foundation Scholarship Competition.

Binuya of Lamar was awarded an $8,000 scholarship for her piece titled “Reflections.” The piece is two identically intricate wheel-thrown teapots, but one is shattered. Binuya used a gold picture frame to mimic a mirror’s reflection to fit the category them of “Individual and Beautiful.”

Aarohi Sonputri, a student at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, has been selected as a semifinalist in the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

The Regeneron STS is the nation’s most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. The program is sponsored by the Society for Science. Each year, 300 Regeneron STS scholars are selected as semifinalists. A pool of 40 finalists are later invited to participate in final judging, display their work publicly, meet with notable scientists and compete for awards, including the contest’s top award of $250,000.

Sonputri is the only semifinalist from Arkansas. This year’s semifinalists were selected from 2,162 entrants from 712 high schools in 46 states, Puerto Rico and 10 other countries — the highest number of entrants since 1969, according to a press release on the Society for Science website.

Fourteen Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned the Arkansas Seal of Bilteracy for the Fall 2023 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. More than 400 students across the state earned the seal this fall.