Author: Donnie Sewell

Seven Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students have been selected to participate in the 5^th Annual Arkansas High School Artists Competition and Exhibition sponsored by Historic Cane Hill and the University of Arkansas School of Art.

Students who had artwork selected for the exhibition include:

• Yared Belete, a senior from Marion, “Self portrait as a villain,” acrylic painting;
• Avery Binuya, a senior from Lamar, “Lavender Spring Ware Rice Bowl and Saucer,” two wheel-thrown ceramic pieces;
• Lilly Hardin, a senior from Hot Springs, “Individuals,” pen and ink drawing;
• Lyla Hill, a senior from Hot Springs, “Lazy Clown,” digital painting;
• Natyleigh Jenkins, a senior from Benton, “Moth,” charcoal portrait;
• Gwen Oliver, a senior from Jonesboro and Oxford, Miss.; “Reflection,” sculpture, and “You’re So Beautiful,” oil painting; and
• Ciara Stephens, a senior from Cherry Valley, “North Winds,” acrylic painting.

Five students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned All-Region recognition at the recent Arkansas Choral Directors Association Region 3 Senior High auditions.

Four of those students qualified to participate in the Region 3 Senior High All-Region Choir clinic that will be held at Bryant High School on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Regional auditions were held Oct. 7 at Bryant Junior High. ASMSA students who earned recognition include:

• Grace Moody, a senior from Little Rock, first chair, Soprano 2, Mixed Choir;
• Taraji Kiyumbi, a sophomore from Palestine, 19^th chair, Tenor 1, Mixed Choir;
• Layla Hoskins, a senior from Rison, 50^th chair, Soprano 2, Soprano/Soprano/Alto/Alto Choir;
• Claira Hartig, a sophomore from Greenbrier, 59^th Chair, Alto 1, Soprano/Soprano/Alto/Alto Choir; and
• Julie Morse, a senior from Mayflower, third alternate, Soprano 2, Soprano/Soprano/Alto/Alto Choir.

A free concert featuring both choirs that is open to the public will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Bryant High School Performing Arts Center. Students who placed in the top 20 chairs of their respective parts are eligible to audition for the All-State Honor Choir. The date for those auditions are to be determined.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts is offering online workshops for Arkansas educators on how to lead a safe and effective eclipse viewing session of the 2024 solar eclipse for their students.

Portions of Arkansas will be in the viewing path for the April 8, 2024, total eclipse. To help teachers prepare for the event, ASMSA physics and astronomy instructors will lead the workshop. Any public, private or charter school educator in Arkansas. Home school educators are also invited. All grade levels are welcome, and each workshop is limited to 20 educators. The sessions are not open to students.

Sessions are set for Dec. 2, 2023; Jan. 20, 2024, and March 9, 2024.

Topics include:

• When to schedule your viewing session;
• How to choose a viewing site;
• Constructing safe viewing devices for the partial phase of the eclipse;
• Sources for safe solar viewing glasses for the partial phase of the eclipse; and
• Citizen science projects your students can participate in during the eclipse.

Every educator who attends a session will be given access to training materials to use in their classes and will be mailed a starter pack of 20 eclipse glasses.

For more information or to register for a workshop, visit https://asmsa.me/eclipsepd.

Eight Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned South All-Region Orchestra honors during recent auditions, qualifying to participate in the South Region Orchestra Clinic on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3-4.

The South Region Clinic is sponsored by the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association. It will be held at Conway High School.

ASMSA students who were selected for the orchestra include:

• Anna Le, a sophomore from Fort Smith, violin 1, fifth chair;
• Annette Hall, a junior from Benton, violin 1, 15^th chair;
• Aubrey McGarrah, a senior from Searcy, viola, eighth chair;
• Gisselle Ellington, a senior from North Little Rock, cello, fourth chair;
• Daniel Lee, a senior from Russellville, cello, ninth chair;
• Paul Murphy, a junior from Conway, cello, 10^th chair;
• Grace Adams, a senior from Lamar, bass, third chair; and
• Alex Back, a senior from Benton, horn in F, third chair.

Students who play string instruments auditioned for the South Region Orchestra on Oct. 14 at Little Rock Mills High School. Auditions for South Region Orchestra wind instruments were held on Oct. 23 at Conway Junior High.

Student musicians will participate in a music clinic at Conway High School on Friday and Saturday. A concert featuring both the junior high and the senior high South Region Orchestras will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday in the James H. Clark Auditorium at Conway High School.

Six seniors at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts have been named 2023 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 students selected as a Finalist include Parker Hance of Conway, Elizabeth Show of Bismarck, Tim Palmer of Mena, Ivy Hong of North Little Rock, Xander Napier of Lamar and Shea Stabila of Pangburn.

QuestBridge partnered this year with 50 colleges and universities to offer scholarships at institutions such as Duke University, Rice University, Stanford 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. In 2022, more than 1,700 Finalists were matched with a participating institution.

Match Scholarship recipients are granted early admission to one of QuestBridge's college partners with a full four-year scholarship, 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.

Five students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts recently received honors in the College Board National Recognition Programs.

The programs celebrate students’ hard work and academic performance. Recognition programs include the National African American Recognition Award (NAARA), National Hispanic Recognition Award (NHRA) and the National Rural and Small Town Award (NRSTA).

ASMSA students earning recognition include:

• Kaiden Daniels of Dumas (NAARA);
• Bryce Snider of Hoxie (NAARA);
• Annalise Stanford of Paris (NAARA);
• Katelyn Torres of Fairfield Bay (NHRA); and
• Kalyn You of Everton (NRSTA).

Seven students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts have been named Commended Students in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The students are:

• Pragya Chauhan of Bentonville;
• Gavin Chen of Benton;
• Parker Hance of Conway;
• James Mathis of Russellville;
• Julie Morse of Mayflower;
• Brent Orlina of Little Rock; and
• Michaela Stevens of Hot Springs.

About 34,000 Commended Students were recognized across the nation. Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 students in the 69^th annual National Merit Scholarship Competition but were not chosen among the finalists. Students take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as a junior to qualify for the competition.