Houses program transforms Wonder Jr. High

 

 

 

By Billy Woods

WM School District

In the fall of 2015, Wonder Junior High principal Dr. Palmer Quarrels and her leadership team made up of 15 faculty members attended an "out-of-the-box" education methods conference in Atlanta that has already made a huge difference at their school.

The Ron Clark Academy was recommended to Dr. Quarrels not long before that, and it stoked her interest enough to gather her cohorts for the three-day event.

The RCA is a highly-acclaimed, non-profit middle school in Atlanta that is noted for educating students with academic rigor, passion and creativity balanced by a strict code of discipline.

As soon as Dr. Quarrels walked through the door on Day One "I was absolutely sold on it."

"The very first person that shook my hand was a young man in the fourth grade and I was so struck by his firm handshake, the eye contact and his overall genuineness," Quarrels said. "He started asking me where I was from, what brought me here and what I wanted to gain from this visit. It was like a conversation with a senior in high school. I've never seen anything like it."

The methods the folks from Wonder learned at the RCA were all geared toward students taking ownership of their own learning. The methods were molded into some of the things Wonder was already doing as a priority school.

The name of the program at the junior high came from the history department. It's called The Houses Program  with students and teachers poured into six houses, basing all of the names from the school's mascot, the Lions.

The House names include Amani, which means peace; Aminci, which means brave; Amore', which means love; Maniwala, which means believe; Kuamua, which means determination; and Isibindi, which means courage.

After the first two months of the 2016-17 school year, Quarrels said she's seen a huge change in the school's culture.

"The halls are a lot quieter, the campus is a lot cleaner and the students often thank the cafeteria workers for what they do," Quarrels said. "There's been a lot more respect shown to teachers and administrators. The difference has been huge."

Much of the reason for that, according to Quarrels, is a key factor the Ron Clark program is based on.

Each team, or house, is in competition with each other in a point-based system. Points are earned from good behavior, random acts of kindness, participation in the classroom, community service, leadership and academic improvement.

Every nine weeks final-point totals are recognized and the winners are rewarded with things like a pizza party, field trips or no waiting in the cafeteria lunch line.

"It's amazing what the concept of competition has done in this program," Quarrels stated. "The students really want to win. And it's created a much stronger school spirit."

The program has also strengthened parental involvement.

"We focus in on the academic part, but academics are stronger when the culture is stronger," said Quarrels. "It has challenged the students, but it's also challenged the adults, both the teachers and the parents. Our main goal with this was to change our school's culture. It's done that."

Students aren't shy about candid personal assessments before the Houses program and after. Nicholas Hunter said, "Last year I wasn't proud of myself, behavior-wise. This year my grades have improved and gaining more respect for my own self."

Eighth-grader Jacoby White was even more outspoken.

"Leadership among the student body is the biggest difference I see," White stated. "We don't see near as many fights and the academic records are improving. It's a friendly competition, but no one wants to lose."

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WMSD's health and wellness program stands out

By Billy Woods

WM School District

The West Memphis elementary schools have continued to thrive in the areas of health and wellness.

The schools have qualified for the bronze membership for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, funded by the Clinton Foundation, for physical education and nutrition.

And they adhere and follow all federal and state rules and regulations in accordance to the nutritional and physical activity standards.

"We are trying to sponsor activities that will benefit a healthy and more productive adult life style," said Jody Fenter, physical education coordinator for the West Memphis School District. "Each elementary campus has a walking trail for the students and teachers. We have walked several thousand miles per year. Each elementary also has their own jump rope club and at the end of each year we have a sixth-grade track meet held at the high school."

Fenter has also set up a local wellness committee, which is required by the state. It includes representatives from the WMSD administrative office, the board of education, the district's director of food service and all district school nurses.

The committee includes Jim Robb, Jodie Walls, Amber Madison, D'James Rogers, Darrin McCollum, Patricia Weaver, Carol Gean, Madison Walls, Meredith Perry, Pam Capps and Connie Woods.

Other programs the health and wellness covers include a hand-washing/personal hygiene program, personal trainer fitness, tobacco awareness, dental and yoga routines.

In the near future, all seven West Memphis elementarys will have gymnasiums.

"Our goal is that the physical education program will make an impact on our students for the rest of their lives," Fenter added.

Richland robotics team thriving

By Billy Woods

WM School District

The Richland Elementary robotics team adopted Animal Allies as its theme for the First Lego League Challenge.

The Animal Allies Challenge is comprised of: The project, The Robot Game and Core Values. In The Project, students research an identify a problem that occurs when animals and people interact.

The Richland team recently invited local resident Kyler Reschke, who lost his eyesight when he was three and surgery due to cancer in his eyes. His dog, Beau, is now his eyes. His father, Paul, brought him to meet with the team during a meeting at the Academies of West Memphis.

Teams then identify a possible solution that improves that interaction in some way for the people, animals or both.

The team then shares its process and solution with a professional in the field.

The Robot Game is a field with 15 missions to be completed by a student-built autonomous robot. It is a smart robot that can be programmed through a computer. Some missions include transporting a shark to a destination without the shark touching the sides of its tank, bringing a pig without back legs back to a base where prosthetic legs are attached and then sending the pig to live in the farm.

Teams receive points for each mission successfully completed. Points accumulated  from the project, the robot game and core values displayed by the team determine which teams move from local to regional to national competitions.

Coaches are Suzanne Elmore, Mary Beth Gunter and Amanda Webb.

"This is our rookie year and we are learning something new with each practice," said Webb. "We want the students to be exposed to more engineering-based opportunities and have a little fun along the way."

The Richland robotics team members include Emily Thorne, Meredith Grafton, Hannah Dory, Isabella Hinze, Ella Grace Murphree, Hannah Grace Rose, Matthew Collins, Alex Webb, Nicholas King and Carter Henson.

HOUSE of WONDER

Photos by Billy Woods

Brunch at Wonder Jr.

Wonder Junior High recently held at brunch involving parents and West Memphis School administrators at the school's library. Above, Wonder's parent coordinator Theresa Bowe (left) greets parent Tiffany Franklin. Also, principal Dr. Palmer Quarrels was on hand to coordinate and greet the visitors.

AWM band hosts Marching Classic

Photos by Billy Woods

The annual Academies of West Memphis Marching Band Classic was held recently at Hamilton-Shultz Field. AWM hosted 11 bands from the Mid-South and trophies were presented to bands for outstanding drum majors, flag/auxiliary units and percussion. Trophies were also given to the top three bands in each size. Outstanding soloists included players from the Little Rock Central and Highland bands. The grand champion in the big band division was Munford (Tenn.) High while the small division prize went to Highland.

VOICEPLAY Acapella Group to Perform at aWM - Get Tickets NOW!

AWM Vocal Arts is sponsoring a GREAT concert on Tuesday, October 18.  Voiceplay, a professional acapella group will be singing that evening at 7 p.m.

Voiceplay is the premier entertainment for Disneyworld and Disney Cruises.  You can find them on YOUTUBE.

Voiceplay is only performing at two high schools this year.  We are very luck to have them.

Tickets are $10.  Email me at dconwill@wmsd and we will be glad to hold your tickets at will call that evening. 

Any questions?  Call me at 732-8558.

Doug Conwill

Vocal Music Supervisor

AWM Vocal Arts

HEALTH INSURANCE - WMSD Employees - TIME SENSITIVE

UPDATE and REMINDER for all WMSD Staff regarding Health Insurance. 
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ATTACHED. 

OPEN ENROLLMENT October 1-12, 2016.  All employees need to visit with Connie Overall at the Central Office during this time to renew, modify, or decline coverage.  Those who choose not to receive Health Insurance through WMSD and EBD must sign a form and submit to Mrs. Overall.   

If you are not enrolled or do not plan to enroll in the insurance offered through WMSD this October 1-12, 2016, please complete, print, and return this form via school mail.  Forms must be received at the WMSD Central Administration Office by 4pm on October 12, 2016.

Letters with forms are also being distributed today to employees not currently enrolled via school mail.  You can wait for letter or print the form in link above, complete, and return via school mail.

Enrollment can be completed online via www.arbenefits.org as late as October 15, 2016.  If you miss deadline to meet with Mrs. Overall, you can enroll online, but you must notify coverall@wmsd.net of your enrollment details to ensure proper payroll deductions.

If you need assistance enrolling online use contact information below.

ARBenefits
Employee Benefits Division
501 Woodlane St., Suite 500
Little Rock, AR 72201
(877) 815-1017 [Toll Free]
501-682-9656

EBD Alert – September 15, 2016
Updated PSE Open Enrollment Guide – General Distribution
Health Insurance Representatives (HIR), attached is an updated Open Enrollment Guide. We made some corrections to the Schedule of Benefits listed in the guide. Please distribute this to your employees and inform them to use the attached guide.
- EBD Communications
LINK TO GUIDE: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1UhM8CrKkWRV0NXXzFnYkVhd3M

WELLNESS DISCOUNT INFORMATION  
(ALL visits and surveys MUST be complete by 10/31/2016 to receive discount)

WELLNESS SURVEY:

Health Assessment
The HA can be accessed at www.guidanceresources.com.  Returning employees and spouses need to login with their username and password.  New users must register using the Organization Web ID “ARBEN” when prompted.  Please remember that both the employee and spouse must create separate accounts using different email addresses when registering. Instructions for logging in can be accessed at the link below.  Anyone needing assistance logging into GuidanceResources® or completing the HA can contact GuidanceResources® at 1-877-247-4621. 
 
Instructions for logging into GuidanceResources®: http://portal.arbenefits.org/newsDocuments/20150313News_HealthAssessment.pdf 

Health Insurance - DECLINE Forms

October 4, 2016

WMSD Employees:

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires the district to have decline forms on file for each employee who does not enroll within the health care insurance offered through West Memphis School District.  If you are not enrolled or do not plan to enroll in the insurance offered through WMSD this October 1-12, 2016, please complete, print, and return this form via school mail.  Forms must be received at the WMSD Central Administration Office by 4pm on October 12, 2016.

Letters with forms are also being distributed today to employees not currently enrolled via school mail.  You can wait for letter or print the form in link above, complete, and return via school mail.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Connie Overall
870-735-1915
coverall@wmsd.net