Hot SpringsMiddle School

Hot Springs Secondary Theatre Program Presents "Footloose!" on March 1 at 1:00 and 6:00, and March 2 at 1:00, at the HSJA. Please join us for a fantastic show by our talented theatre students and crew.

HSJA students in math classes with Ms. Miller and Ms. Ward participated in a joint activity to master advanced math skills (including multi-step equations). The fast-paced setup was modeled after Speed Dating to create a fun way to reinforce classroom standards.

The Junior Academy Robotics Club celebrates the first year as a team, and is busy learning new skills and setting goals for competitions in 2019-2020. HSJA Math Teacher Mr. Willard is the club sponsor, which includes eight students who have all been involved with previous Robotics Clubs in elementary school. Like the HSWCHS Robotics Club, they chose this year to compete in FIRST Tech Robotics, where students in 7th-12th grade are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots.

Arkansas Jr. and Sr. Beta clubs gathered for State Convention January 24 - 26, 2019. A group of 94 HSSD students in 4th - 8th grades competed as Jr. Beta Club members from OVPA, Park Magnet, Intermediate School, and Junior Academy at Arkansas Junior Beta Club Convention January 24-25. A group of 25 HSSD students in 9th-12th grades competed as Sr. Beta Club members from HSWCHS at Senior Beta Club Convention January 25-26. Both events were hosted at the Hot Springs Convention Center. In all, 50 HSSD students qualified (42 from Jr. Beta Club and 8 from Sr. Beta Club) to compete at National Beta Convention in June, to be hosted in Oklahoma City. Huge thanks to Cheryl Long, Madeline Bull, and Melissa Bratton for the countless hours they spent helping our teams prepare. Congrats to HSSD Beta Clubs!

The Hot Springs Junior Academy EAST Program has received two grants to help support student-led projects in the program including an active chicken coop and egg production operation along with the ability to create quality documentaries. A $350 grant through the Arkansas Game and Fish Wildlife Conservation Education Grant Program will go toward maintaining their chicken coop, which is built at the front of the campus near the community garden area. A $500 Arkansas Online Media Initiative (O.M.I.) Online Media Production Tools Grant is a reimbursement grant provided through a partnership between the Arkansas Department of Education and Ozarks Unlimited Resource Educational Service Cooperative to reimburse the HSJA EAST program for the of purchase of a new portable recorder for live recording and studio-quality sound.

Geography Bees, hosted for HSSD 4th-8th grade students this week at the Park Magnet/Intermediate School and Hot Springs Junior Academy campuses, are the first round in the annual National Geographic GeoBee. This national geography competition is designed to inspire and reward students' curiosity about the world. Questions cover not only geography, but also cultures, physical features, history and earth science. Winners from each HSSD Geography Bee (Milo Moore, Andrew Steven-Assheuer, and AJ Orellana) will take an online qualifying test. The top 100 scorers in the state of Arkansas will advance to the Arkansas GeoBee. The winner of the Arkansas Geo Bee will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the National Geographic Bee, which will be held in Washington D.C. next May.

Last week, the HSSD hosted three spelling bees across the district for 1st - 8th grade students. HSSD Gifted and Talented Coordinator Mrs. Laura West coordinated the spelling bees, which are exciting competitions for students to improve their general spelling, vocabulary and language skills in a fun competition with their peers. All nine of our finalists (the top three from each bee) will advance to the Garland County Spelling Bee on January 24, 2019 at the Gospel Light Baptist Church Auditorium (600 Garland Avenue, Hot springs) at 9:00 a.m. HSSD Spelling Bees are held in coordination with official rules and scripts from the Scripps National Spelling Bee so that they are uniform with those hosted across the U.S.

The HSSD is a diverse community of student groups, talents, and organizations. We look forward to each holiday performance and event throughout December. Don’t miss a thing, with an all-inclusive HSSD Holiday lineup, below. All events hosted at HSSD schools, as well as the Holiday Extravaganza on 12/6, are free to the public and open to all.

For Giving Tuesday, the Little Rock-based professional tap dance company Untapped sends dance instructors to schools across Arkansas at no charge to work with students in dance classes. Savannah Boyce and Michael Roberson, professional dancers and dance instructors with Untapped, worked with HSSD dance students across the district today. They brought hands-on tap sessions and brief discussion of tap history to our classrooms.

Special Olympics Team

Each October, students from the Hot Springs Sister City of Hanamaki, Japan, visit Garland County schools to learn about academic and cultural experiences of junior high and high school students in the Hot Springs area. This week at HSJA, six Hanamaki Junior High and two Hanamaki High School students toured campus and spent dedicated time with unique programs and classes including the JAG (Jobs for Arkansas’s Graduates) classroom where they played American games and learned about the Hot Springs Button Company. They created and toured art projects in Mrs. Mitchell’s classroom. They spent time in HSJA Math and History classes. Delegation guests also toured the chicken coop and urban garden.

During National School Safety Week, officials across the U.S. work to educate students and staff about best safety practices for school buses. HSSD Deputy Superintendent Lloyd Jackson and Transportation Staff are working in all HSSD schools to ensure that every student has been updated on bus safety practices during a school presentation this week. Students are then also completing a live evacuation exercise where they exit a bus just as they would during a live emergency scenario.

Junior Academy students have been encouraged to choose amid three 30-day health challenges that lead to a lifetime of healthy habits and sharp minds. HSJA Nurse Miki Smith is holding their feet to the fire on healthy initiatives through the provision of challenges and resources from Healthy Active Arkansas, a state-funded initiative comprised of representation from the public and private sector including government agencies, healthcare providers, and community organizations. Learn more about the Soda Free challenge, Water Challenge, and an upcoming Step Challenge for staff using pedometers donated by the Arkansas Heart Hospital.

This month, 70 students (57 from 4th-8th grade and 13 from 9th-12th grade) from our four HSSD Beta Clubs attended a regional Beta Leadership Summit. It was a record breaking year, as HSSD clubs took home seven awards and qualified to compete at the National Beta Club Summit in five categories. Student groups are from Beta Clubs currently established at Park Magnet (4th-5th grade students), Oaklawn (4th-5th grade students), a combined team from Hot Springs Intermediate School (6th grade students) and Junior Academy (7th-8th grade students), and Hot Springs World Class High School (9th-12th grade students).

Students across the U.S. are getting ready for Red Ribbon Week® 2018! This year’s theme is: Life Is Your Journey. Travel Drug Free. At all HSSD schools, students will engage in activities that promote a drug free and healthy lifestyle. Please partner with us and discuss this message at home, at the dinner table, at family outings, and with friends and extended family. Students can be part of the celebration by enjoying themed dress up days for all schools which are included here.

7th-8th grade JAG (Jobs for America’s Graduates) Specialist Stephanie Goodman is changing the conversation for students to a “When you graduate” scenario, and focusing on being job-ready via whatever path they choose after graduation. The JAG program has 125 programs in Arkansas school districts, and HSSD Junior Academy is among the only to have a dedicated specialist position for 7th-8th grade JAG Middle School curriculum.

Pumpkin Light Night is a FREE event for the whole family, on October 23. This gathering celebrates the programs, clubs, organizations, and many offerings of the Hot Springs School District. Bouncy houses, pumpkin displays, booths and activities, food trucks (food trucks charge for food), and entertainment fill our Trojan Field. Be part of celebrating HSSD students and the HSSD community at the 4th annual Pumpkin Light Night!

Junior Academy EAST students set new standards for tying student-led technology and creativity to agriculture. A fully operational chicken coop is visible from the front of our #HSSD Junior Academy, thanks to the dedication of EAST students who raised the birds through the Arkansas 4H program.

For 7th-8th grade students at HSSD Junior Academy, Summit Learning has been introduced as the new learning platform for English, math, science and social studies. Summit offers a unique approach for educators because it enables students to learn academic content at their own pace, and provides data-driven feedback to teachers about how to make lessons and projects more tailored to individual student needs