All-region band announced for AWM

By Billy Woods

WM School District

Thirty-three Academies of West Memphis students recently earned all-region band status.

The band students performed in Searcy at the all-region clinic on Jan. 21. The clinicians were Dr. Ricky Brooks of the University of Central Arkansas and Ralph Brody of Clarksville.

The West Memphis students who made the all-region band include Amari Wilson, Claudia Brown, Melanie Blakely, Tianna Matthews, Teresa Miller, Abbe Jeter, Mercedes Shell, Mason

Smith, Jason Scott, Tobie Gardner, Cody Wordlaw, Kenaz Bailey, Byron Kirkland, Akira Cox, Ervin Jeffries, Lee Pouncey, Tyson Covington and Ethan Kaiser.

Du'maurier Looney, Wanya Strickland, Sydney Prackett, Zakea Brown, Jacob Armstrong, Joshua Foster, Devon Branstetter, Anthony Perkins, Elijah Robinson, Ethan Griffin, Tevan Spencer, Tyshawn Campbell, C.J. Ricks, Dawson Mathis and Anterious Mathis.

Richland kicks off Houses program

By Billy Woods

WM School District

The results Wonder Junior High got from its contingency at the Ron Clark Academy last summer has spread to the rest of the West Memphis School District.

The RCA is designed to improve discipline, school spirit and academic performance utilizing a theme based on teamwork.

Clark's teaching team splits up students into four houses (or teams), very similar to those in the Harry Potter series. The results have been electrifying.
All of Clark's students have team camaraderie, and they welcome newcomers with joy and genuine excitement. They earnpoints to get rewards that continue to exceed anything the students could dream up on their own.
Richland Elementary has kicked off its program with six houses.

"Throughout the rest of the school year these will be (the students') new family," explained Kay Spurlock, Richland's guidance counselor.

Each house is known for different characteristics. The staff members are assigned to houses as well and "they are just as passionate about their houses as the kids are," Spurlock added.

The Richland students will earn points for getting excellent grades, exemplifying good character, staying on task, turning their work in on time and many other things.

Richland kicked off its own program with a huge ceremony in the school's cafeteria.

AR Benefits Newsletter - Important information for Employees w/ school Insurance

NOTE to WMSD Employees:  The information below is for PRIMARY Health Insurance provided to you as a state employee through AR Benefits (EBD).  SUPPLEMENTAL Insurance provider (EBI) is here through 1/27/2017, if you wish to make changes to Dental, Vision, Disability, heart plans, etc.

INSURANCE CARDS: 

Due to benefits staying the same for the 2017 plan year, EBD did not do a mass mailing of insurance cards for the new year. If you did not make any changes to your plan during Open Enrollment, your current card is still valid.

If you made changes during Open Enrollment, you should have received your new card. Should you need a new card to use, you can contact EBD Member Services at
501-682-9656 or at 877- 815-1017 x1.
You can also send a request by email to AskEBD@dfa.arkansas.gov.

Once a set of cards has been mailed, they can take 10-15 business days to arrive. Should you need a card before your mailed set arrives, you can login to your account at ARBenefits.org and print out a temporary card that you can use. When you receive a set of cards, please check to make sure your information is accurate and contact EBD or your agency/district Health Insurance Representative if you see an error. Also, claims are processed based on the name we have for you in our system. If your pharmacy or doctor tries to run a claim with a name that does not match what is on the card, the claim will be rejected and need to be resubmitted with the correct name.

Full story can be found in the link below, along with necessary steps to receive Wellness Discount in 2018.

http://portal.arbenefits.org/newsDocuments/enewsletter2017123.pdf

Pre-Retirement Workshop Tues. Feb. 28, 2017

If you are an Arkansas public school employee who is considering retirement at the end of this school year or the next, this workshop is for you!  

REGISTRATION is REQUIRED:

Be sure to register ASAP!

www.ia-office.com

info@ia-office.com

$10/attendee - Pay at the Door

Meeting in West Memphis will be on Tuesday February 28, 2017 in the Academies of West Memphis High School Performing Arts Center.

QUESTIONS?

Call 1-501-988-2726

Click to See FLYER for more details

NOTICE to WMSD Staff

Typo on the EBI Employee Benefits Overview handout.  Dental is EMPLOYEE paid & Long Term is EMPLOYER paid.

 

Jan 17-27, 2017 WMSD Supplemental Insurance OPEN ENROLLMENT w/ EBI. (Cafeteria Plan)

WMSD Supplemental Insurance OPEN ENROLLMENT w/ EBI. (Cafeteria Plan)

Campus Schedules will be determined upon Educational Benefits Incorporated's (EBI) arrival on Tuesday 1/17/2017.  Each employee will need to visit with an EBI representative to verify no coverage, continuation of coverage, or any modifications of coverage.  EBI will be on WMSD campuses from Tuesday 1/17/2017 through Friday 1/20/2017 and the next week Monday 1/23/2017 through Friday 1/27/2017.

Educational Benefits, Inc. for Agent of Record Services and competitive employee benefit plans specifically designed for school districts; these plans cover teachers, classified staff and school board members.

Insurance coverage available to districts includes:

Disability – Underwritten by USAble Life
Life insurance – Underwritten by USAble Life
Accidental death and dismemberment – Underwritten by Cigna
Dental – Underwritten by a variety of carriers

Educational Benefits, Inc. provides other benefit plans for school districts in addition to those listed above.

AWM teachers meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill

By Billy Woods

WM School District

Three Academies of West Memphis teachers visited Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. in early December to meet with Arkansas senator John Boozman.

Marjorie Hunter, Gabriel Halliburton and Laura Long attended the National Council for the Social Studies Conference. While there, the trio met with Boozman, lobbying for increased emphasis on social studies education.

As a result, there are two bills in congress promoting social studies. One is an appropriation bill allocating $4 million for professional development for teachers, including summer workshops and institutes.

A second bill is the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) that provides a budget for increased social studies education. Boozman indicated that he would research the two pieces of legislation and that he is expected to support both bills.

Lady Devils blitz Marion

By Billy Woods
WM School District

Senior Keara Williams poured in a team-high 14 points Tuesday night to lead the West Memphis Lady Devils to a 58-54 victory at Marion.
The win pushes the Lady Devils to 10-6 overall and 3-3 in the 5A/6A-East Conference.
Marion (9-6, 3-3) rushed out to an 18-10 lead before the Lady Devils smacked the Lady Patriots with a 14-5 run to close out the first half with West Memphis leading 24-23.
The Lady Devils kept up the surge to start the second half, outscoring Marion 17-2 to take a commanding 41-25 lead.
"I called a timeout (when it was 18-10) and told them we just have to settle down," said Lady Devils head coach Shelia Burns. "It was such a high emotional game that I knew that sooner or later that would all wear off and we'd have to start just playing basketball."
Despite the big third-quarter lead, the Lady Devils allowed Marion back in it. Twice in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter the hosts made it a one-possession game. But the Lady Devils answered with seven free throws by sophomore Kenya Freeman, most of which came with just over two minutes left in the contest.
Williams hit two of four free throws in the final 27 seconds to clinch the victory.
Senior point guard Paris Perkins added 10 points for the West Memphis girls while Freeman, senior Nikki Higgs and Taylor Johnson all had 7.
The Lady Devils will be in action tonight at home against Greene County Tech before closing out the busy week with a third game on Friday night at Lehr Arena against Wynne.

Blue Devil ninth-grader wows Marion in WM win

9:59 AM (2 minutes ago)

By Billy Woods

WM School District

The reins were taken off West Memphis' Chris Moore Tuesday night and the ninth-grade sensation took no prisoners.

The 6-5 Blue Devil freshman had game-high totals of 22 points and 13 rebounds and his two free throws with 1.1 seconds to play gave his team a 50-48 victory over the Marion Patriots.

"Ninth-grader? That boy ain't no ninth-grader," Marion head coach Irving Clay said in disbelief after the game. "He has the motor. He has what they're looking for at the next level."

For the first time in program history, Blue Devil head coach Larry Bray elevated a ninth-grader to his high school squad. Bray somewhat eased Moore into the competition by bringing him off the bench, although Moore saw high-leverage minutes through the first half of the season.

But on Tuesday night, Bray started Moore for the first time, and it proved to be pivotal for the Blue Devils (12-2 overall, 5-1 in the 5A/6A-East Conference).

Moore dominated the paint area, where Marion sophomore star Timothy Ceasar, who is three inches taller than Moore, had so much trouble guarding him that he fouled out of the contest with 2:34 left in the game.

Marion (8-5, 3-3) trailed for most of the game, although the Blue Devils' largest lead was a mere seven points.

Patriot senior Shaun Doss swished a 10-foot jumper with two Blue Devils in his face with 7 seconds to play to tie the score 48-48.

But two halfcourt passes by the Blue Devils as soon as the ball was pulled out of the chords got it to a waiting Moore near the basket and all the Pats could do was foul him, which they did.

Moore's first free throw bounded high off the back of the rim and into the basket, drawing a sigh of relief from the West Memphis contingent.

His second touched nothing but net.

All Marion had left was an unanswered Hail Mary heave.

"I was fine with Chris at the line at the end of the game," said Bray. "We work all the time in practice with situational free-throw shooting...score tied up, you got one (shot). We try to have them mentally prepared."

Marion led 24-22 at halftime and its last lead was 26-22 when Doss, who led his team with 18 points, drained a mid-range jumper less than a minute into the third quarter.

The sloppy start by his team got Bray's attention.

"We turned the ball over too much," the Blue Devil chief stated. "We also have to know when to shoot and who's going to shoot. Actually, a lot of things we did tonight were uncharacteristic for us."

West Memphis took over from there as Moore scored seven straight points on an array of moves deep in the blocks.

Ceasar picked up his fourth foul with 6:28 to play and exited the game until 3:30 was left.

West Memphis senior Demarious Hudson canned a three-pointer from the baseline with 5:34 to play in the game to give the visitors their biggest lead at 42-35.

But Marion tied it on two Doss foul shots with 4:47 to play and the Blue Devils regained the lead on a layup from Moore.

Clay called time out as his team had the ball with less than 40 seconds to play and the Pats down 48-46. Doss got the ball out of the timeout and attacked the rim, where two Blue Devil defenders awaited with their arms outstretched.

Doss rose above both and sank a hanging mid-range jumper, sending the Marion crowd into delirium.

The Blue Devils wasted no time inbounding the ball.

"We sort of kept our cool right there," Bray admitted.

Moore was firmly planted inside the paint area and the Blue Devils hit him with a perfect pass.

"If you can keep (Moore) on the floor, (West Memphis) can go a long way," Clay said.

Zachary Byrd, reinstated into the starting lineup, added 10 points for West Memphis while Kelsey Hubbard hit two treys for 6 points and Tevin Mosley chipped in 5.

Marion also got 10 points from Kamari Marrs while Ceasar had 8 and Martinez Harper pitched in 6.

Bosch once again answers call for Faulk

By Billy Woods

WM School District

Bosch Power Tools starts planning for its Angel Tree program with Faulk Elementary in October. On Wednesday at the Schoettle Center it all came together.

Bosch made over 30 Faulk students' Christmas a special one by giving gifts, bringing in Santa Claus and serving a light breakfast.

"This is so enjoyable for our associates," said Bosch HR manager Marion Littlejohn. "This is something we wait all year for."

The morning started out with the students being served Christmas Tree donuts and juice. Then the moment of truth came with the arrival of old St. Nick, much to the delight of the students.

Personal presents to each child were passed out by Santa.

Bosch is in its fourth year as a major player in the West Memphis School District's Partners In Education. It took over the Angel Tree program with the loss of Crittenden Regional Hospital.

"We start working on this in October," Littlejohn added. "We work with the school as soon as possible. The folks we have working with us on this program really want to give back, and I think it serves as a blessing just as much for us as it does Faulk."

Littlejohn was joined at the program by director of physical distribution Virgil Roberson, Surrekka Crowder, Greg Westbrooks Sr., Destiny Knighten, Sherlyn

 

Basketball Games POSTPONED

**All Jr and Sr High Basketball Games scheduled for 1/6/2017 have been POSTPONED.

Games will be re-scheduled for possibly Sat 1/7 or Wed 1/11.  Final dates will be posted on www.wmsd.net

SCHOOL CLOSED Friday January 6, 2017 due to poor WEATHER/ROADS

**SCHOOL CLOSED Friday January 6, 2017 due to poor WEATHER/ROAD CONDITIONS**

More Details on:

Memphis TV Channels 3 and 24 

WWW.WMSD.NET