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May 21, 2014

Lee Academy School Newsletter

This semester Lee Academy is proud to announce a new Bible class is being offered. Steve Moore, youth pastor of First Baptist Church in Marianna is leading this course. It is being offered to sophomores and juniors.

LA offers Bible Class

St. Jude Math-a-Thon

“Our mission is to provide

students with an

excellent education in the

nurturing family

environment of the Lee

Academy Community.”

Lee Academy Happenings

2013-2014 Outstanding Students Named Outstanding students are named each year

by the faculty. Each student is chosen on

the basis of school spirit, willingness to

help, responsibility, and contribution to

Lee Academy. This year’s outstanding

students are Adam Hollowell, Tyler

White, Karlee Belcher, Kayleigh

Abbott, BR Hodges, Haley Little, Ty

Bosnick, Hannah Byrd, Danielle May,

Anna Bosnick, Lucas Whittenton and

J.T. Evans.

Lay’s Lines: A Note From Our Headmaster

Academic Betterment Competition

Students participating in this year’s Math-a-thon were This year twenty-three participants from Kindergarten – 6th grade. these grades raised over $2,200! Good

job, kids!

Students from 7th-12th grade were selected for the Academic Betterment Competition in Clarksdale, Mississippi. This is a prestigious honor that gives top students a chance to compete with other MAIS students in all subject areas.

We are pleased to announce the following students who were awarded top honors in this competition:

1st place 8th Grade American History – Talmage Smith 1st place 7th Grade English – Camille Culp

3rd place Civics – Jackson Owens 3rd place World Geography – Ashtyn Clifton

3rd place Geometry – Lucas Whittenton Honorable Mention –Civics – Jules Fletcher

Honorable Mention – Physical Science – Will Boone Honorable Mention – Life Science – Annsley Coleman

Honorable Mention – 8th Grade Math – Reed Middleton and Olivia Myers Honorable Mention – 8th Grade English – Jessica Jones

CONGRATULATIONS, STUDENTS!

Civics Class Prison Tour *Students entering 7

th grade

must receive a tetanus

booster before school

starts.

*Ms. Jill Jones will be

giving make-up physicals

on Friday, May 24th

.

From the nurse:

in supporting Lee Academy and making it

a place in which we can take pride.

Our teachers and faculty members, our

students, our parents and grandparents,

our board members, our various support

groups – Grandmother’s Club, AFF, the

Men’s Association, and Booster Club –all

play an important role in making LA a

great place to work and to raise our

children. Please continue to pray for our

school every day. Have a great summer!

As we come to the end of

another school year, I would like

to reflect on the highlights of the

year as well as take a look at what

lies ahead for Lee Academy. It is

a very exciting time of year as

another group of students prepare

to graduate. While finances are

always a major concern, we have

been able to become debt-free

thanks to the sacrifices of so

many generous donors and

friends of our school. We have

been able to balance the budget

and operate in the black for the

past two years.

Academically, we are seeing

growth and improvement as well.

Our overall scores on the

Stanford 10 tests are much

improved overall as we move

toward our 5 year goal of

improving our reading and math

scores by 10%. Four of our

classes have already attained

those goals in at least one of the

two areas in only three years. Our

math scores have experienced the

most growth. Next year, we will

be moving away from the SAT 10

testing in grades 3-11 and

replacing it with Aspire, an ACT-

based testing program. This will

help our students better prepare

for the ACT since all the testing

will be aligned with it.

I am also very pleased to

announce that Lee Academy has

continued to excel in the

accreditation standards through

the MAIS. Next year, we will

receive dual accreditation through

the MAIS and Advanced Ed, a

regional accrediting agency that

not only accredits high schools, but also many of the major

universities across the nation.

This accreditation will provide us

with even more credibility, thus

verifying the fact that Lee Academy

provides an excellent educational

program that allows our students to

be prepared for post-secondary

endeavors at virtually any major

university of their choosing.

We are very proud of our students

and the way they represent our

schools in a number of competitions

around the area.

While there are too many to name

in this article, we have students who

have excelled at the ABC

competition, the district and state

art competitions, various state and

regional competitions, and a myriad

of special summer programs such as

MASH and CHAMPS. Our various

athletic teams had success as well.

Even more encouraging is the fact

that we had the best participation in

athletics that we have had in many

years. It is great to see so many of

our students getting involved in a

variety of activities. As we finish this school year and

prepare for a new one, I want to

thank everyone who has had a part

The Quiz Bowl team worked

relentlessly for 3 weeks

preparing for their battle against

Kirk Academy on March 20,

2014. The score was tied at the

end of the competition, and the

LA Quiz Bowl team lost in a

tie breaker. They fought hard

against a tough team and made

our school proud.

Quiz Bowl Participants Work Hard

of 7 School Newsletter

This year’s team consisted of the

following students:

Captain – Danielle May

Colton Heavner

Adam Hollowell

Lucas Whittenton

Alternates:

Karlee Belcher

Haley Little

Haley Parson

Cougar News

Promoting Health Careers

Baccalaureate Ushers:

Devin Lee

Madeline Oxner

Commencement Ushers:

Head Ushers –

Ty Bosnick and Haley Little

Usher –

Madison Coleman

Graduation ushers are

selected each year by the

senior class. These juniors

served as ushers at the last

three appearances the

seniors made as a class.

Class Day Ushers: Abby Billingsley

Megan Helton

Graduation Ushers Announced

Janet Ligon is the Health

Recruiter for UAMS-East

in Helena. She meets with

Life Science students once

a month to promote health

careers using the program

Club Scrub. She also

coordinates summer

programs: CHAMPS,

Hands on Health, MASH

and AIM. During the school

year, the students may

attend the Day in the Life

programs.

Anna Reed, alumni of the Lee Academy Class of 2000, received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the University of Arkansas. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders in 2004 from the U of A and her master’s degree in speech pathology from the University of South Carolina. After working for three years at AR Children’s Hospital, she moved to Rwanda where she started the first speech pathology program in Africa. She managed the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s program that provided hearing aids to more than 2,500 people. She is currently the Executive Director of the Arkansas based non-profit, Bridge2Rwanda. We are certainly proud of this LA alumnus!

Alumni Spotlight

2003 Allison Waldrip Bragg – Summa Cum Laude graduate of

University of Arkansas with undergraduate degrees in

English and Journalism; earned her Juris Doctorate

degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

School of Law; earned Masters of Law degree in

Agricultural and Food Law. She is currently an Assistant

United States Attorney in the Western Division in

Arkansas.

Blakely Waldrip Weatherford – Graduate of Arkansas

State University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing;

Masters of Science in Nursing from Union University.

She is currently a Family Nurse Practicitioner, Board

Certified at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital,

Neurosurgery.

2005

Daniel Parten – Graduate of West Point, promoted to

Captain and currently serving 82nd

Airborne Division at

Fort Bragg, N.C.

Nathan Waldrip – Graduate of the University of

Arkansas with degrees in Agricultural Business and

Finance; Master’s degree in Business Administration in

Entrepreneurship. He is currently the Finance Director

for Armor Seed.

2007 Jason Carter – Graduate of University of Arkansas with

a Bachelor of Science and Arts degree in Agricultural

Business; He will have his Juris Doctor degree upon

graduation in May, 2014.

2008

Garrett Frost – Graduate of University of Arkansas with

a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a

major in finance

Johnathon Morris – Graduate of Arkansas State

University with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural

Busniess; will complete his master’s degree in December

2014

Katie Waldrip - Graduate of the University of Arkansas

with two undergraduate degrees - a Bachelor of Science

in Human Environmental Sciences in Food, Human

Nutrition, and Hospitality. One degree is with a

concentration in Dietetics and the other is in Hospitality

and Restaurant Management. In the fall, she will begin law school.

Lauren Waldrip – Graduate of the University of

Arkansas with degrees in Marketing and in Advertising

and Public Relations. She is currently earning a Master’s

degree in Business Administration in Marketing.

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

6th Grade to Space Camp

represented Lee

Academy well. In fact,

one of our 3 teams out

of 13 total received an

award for most

outstanding team.

On Sunday, March 25,

the LA AFF presented the

2014 Pawprint Pageant

and Most Handsome Man

competition. Seventeen

beautiful ladies and ten

handsome men, grades 9-

12, competed for these

respective titles. This year,

Maegan Inzer, of Jonesboro

served as “Mistress of

Ceremonies.”

Entertainment for the

afternoon was provided by

students who competed in

the LA Talent Show.

The pageant opened with

a parade of lovely

contestants followed by

competitions in casual

wear, evening wear, and an

on-stage question. The

gentlemen then took the

runway to compete for the

title of Most Handsome

Man. The 2013 Pawprint

Queen, Nancy Smith and

the 2013 Most Handsome Man, Ty Bosnick took their

final walk together on stage

before the announcement

of the new titleholders.

Jr. Devin Lee was named

2nd

runner-up, Soph. Dayne Cook was named 1

st

runner-up, and Soph.

Colton Heavner was

announced as the 2014

Most Handsome Man.

Next, the Pawprint

runners-up and Queen

were announced. Jr.

Madison Coleman was

named 4th runner up; Jr.

Haley Parson was named

3rd

runner-up; Sr.

McKenzie Lee was named

2nd

runner-up; Jr. Abby

Billinsgley was named 1st

runner-up, and the 2014

Pawprint Queen was Fr.

Bailee Lovell. Thank you

to all who helped make the

2014 Pawprint Pageant

and Most Handsome Man

competition a great

success.

of 7 Cougar News School Newsletter

LA Pawprint and Handsome Man

In early April, Ms.

Angie Stepp’s 6th grade

class attended Space

Camp in Hunstville,

Alabama. The students all

had a wonderful time.

They learned about our

space program, past and

present. The students

St. Jude Math-a-thon Lee Academy has

participated in the St. Jude

Math-a-thon for several

years. Students in grades

K-6 are asked to raise

money by working math

problems. This year, with

some extra help from AFF

and the high school, Lee

Academy raised over

$5,000. This amount, added

to what we have raised in

the past, has brought a total

donation from LA to St.

Jude to about $91,000! We

are setting our goal for next

year to get us over the

$100,000 mark!

Alayna Barnes, a fourth

grade student in Mrs.

Angie Russell’s class, was

ecstatic to finally receive

her diabetic alert dog

Major on March 25.

Major is trained to alert

Alayna 30 minutes prior

to her sugar levels

dropping or rising to a

dangerous level. The Lee

Academy cheerleaders,

along with the entire

student body, gave over

$7,500 to help with the

purchase of this dog,

which was around

$20,000. Major stays by

Alayna’s side 24/7 and has

become a regular member

of the fourth grade class.

We are so proud to be able

to help Alayna and her

family have peace of mind

by assisting with this life-

saving service dog.

Lee Academy Welcomes Major!

Shown here is Alayna, Major and Major’s trainer

Elementary Musical

The Lee Academy

elementary spring musical,

Magical Music, took place

on Monday, May 12th

.

Students shared songs from

some of their favorite

Disney movies and television shows. The

elementary talent this year

was amazing! Students showed off their

skills in singing, dancing,

speaking roles, assisting

with props, and even

helping with lighting and

sound.

The musical provided guest

appearances from some

favorite Disney characters:

Simba, Zazu, Peter Pan,

Queen Elsa, Phineus and Ferb and even the Little

Mermaid. Ms. Lindsay’s 9th

grade Music Appreciation

class was there to help out

and sing. It was a great

production and a fun way to

end our year.

“A Night on Bourbon

Street” was the theme of

the banquet and prom given

to the seniors by the juniors

on April 11, 2014. The

event was held at the

Forrest City Country Club.

As the guests arrived, they

were greeted by a blow-up

jester on the lawn with

Mardi-Gras theme colored

lights. The Mardi-Gras

theme continued inside

making guests feel as if

they were on Bourbon

Street. They dined on

tossed salad, twice baked

potato casserole, green

beans, chicken breasts,

pork medallions, buttered

rolls, and a delicious

chocolate caramel brownie.

As they dined, the crowd

was entertained by speaker

Allison Waldrip Bragg. The

waiters and waitresses

dressed as jesters and

performed a dance during

dinner. Finally, the prom

The Lee Academy

Elementary held their

Honors Day program on

Tuesday, April 29th, in the

Lee Academy Gymnasium.

Medals were presented to

the students who earned

academic awards, thanks to

a generous contribution

from the American Legion

and the Faculty.

Every student

participating and earning

points for Accelerated

Reader received a medal.

Students earning the most

points in their classroom

were the following: Cubs:

Ian Jayroe, Preschool:

Waylon Herron & Hudson

Owens, Kindergarten:

Hugh Gerrard, First Grade:

Walker Spears, 2nd Grade:

Brooks Billingsley, 3rd

Grade: Syble Wright, 4th

Grade: Mollie McClain,

5th Grade: Reed Harris,

6th Grade: Molly Collins

Earning the most points in

the school (561.2 points)

was Reed Harris.

Jr. Class Presents “A Night on Bourbon Street”

king and queen were

announced. BR Hodges

and Hannah Byrd received

this honor. After dinner,

guests danced to music

played by DJ Rodney

Myers. As guests were

leaving, everyone

commented about the fun

memories that were

created.

From the nurse…


Elementary Honors Day

Students winning the Lee

Academy Spelling Bee were

the following: 4th grade:

Jacob Smith, 5th Grade:

Austin Hambleton, and 6th

grade: Caroline Jones.

These students represented

Lee Academy in the District

Spelling Bee in Drew,

Mississippi.

Several students placed in

the District Art Competition.

First Place winners were the

following: Ava Helton,

Kindergarten; Mollie

McClain, 4th Grade; Reed

Harris, 5th Grade; McKayla

Brady, 6th Grade; Fiona

Franks, 6th Grade; Molly

Collins, 6th Grade. Second

Place winners were the

following: Sarah Webb, 3rd

Grade; Zayne Bosnick, 4th

Grade; Emily Culp, 4th

Grade; Caroline Jones, 6th

Grade.

State Art Winners were

Mollie McClain and

McKayla Brady.

Students earning Perfect

Attendance were Waylon

Herron, Walker Spears, and

Mollie McClain.

Page 4 of 7 Cougar News School Newsletter

Test results are in for our 2014 Stanford 10 Testing program.

We are pleased to announce that we are well on our way to

meeting our goal of raising our reading and math scores by

10% over a five year period. In year three, we have met our

target goal in grades 5, 10, and 11 in both areas, and in grade

7 we have met our target goal in math. In three years of

testing, our math scores have gone up in grades 5-11 by an

average of 13.5%. In grades K-2, our students are in the top

30% nationally. Our 2nd grade class fared the best scoring in

the 83%tile in reading and the 77%tile in math. Our 5th

grade class has shown the greatest improvement in

elementary raising their percentiles by 17% and 20% in

reading and math respectively. In the secondary, our 11th

grade showed the greatest improvement by raising their

reading and math scores by 17% and 15% respectively.

Individual results will be sent home before school is

dismissed for the summer. Congratulations to our students

for working so hard to improve their scores.

The Arkansas Department of Health has new

guidelines in place regarding immunizations. Please

check with your physician, local health department or

Ms. Sharon to see what new immunizations your child

needs. This must be taken care of by the first day of

school, August 14, 2014. Thank you for allowing me to

take care of your child.

SAT Scores Continually Improving

Congratulations to our seniors receiving scholarships

Jeremy Thomas Evans-Valedictorian

Summa Cum Laude

Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship

Academic Achievement Award – EACC

Katherine Shannon May-Salutatorian

Cum Laude

Arkansas State University Spirit Award for Academic

Excellence



Danielle Elizabeth May

Magna Cum Laude

King’s College of New York – Presidential Scholarship


PEO Scholarship


Lauren McKenzie Lee


William Rauscher Hodges Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship

Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church,

Jennie Lou Pettus Scholarship

Hannah Michelle Byrd


Seth Adam Parker

Baptist Bible College – Basketball Grant in Aid



Jacob Robert Swindle

Crowley’s Ridge Technical Institute – Tuition Scholarship

Tyler Michelle White



Best of Luck to the

Class of 2014

2013-2014 Outstanding

Students

The faculty and headmaster selected J.T.

Evans as the All-Around Boy and Tyler

White as the All-Around Girl. These

students were recognized at Honor’s

Day on April 30. Congratulations to

these fine students.

After a 3rd straight

District Title for the Jr

Girls, and a 2nd

consecutive District Title

for the Sr Girls, it’s a

little hard to believe that

the Girl’s Track Teams

are improving. However,

when looking at the

season from start to

finish, placing in meets as

well as individual

finishes, were better each

week. The season

culminated with District

Titles for both Girl’s

Teams and the Sr Girls

finished 3rd as a team at

the North State Meet and

3rd overall at the Overall

State Track Meet.

On the boy’s side, early

struggles turned into late

season excitement, as

both the Jr and Sr Boy’s

Teams battled for a shot

at a District Title, with

the Jr Boys finishing 4th

(just 2 points out of 2nd)

and the Sr Boys finishing

3rd (after finishing 6th in

2013). The Jr Boys

started the season with a

6th place finish at

Marshall Academy, with

the highlight of their

season coming at the

Clarksdale Lee

Invitational with a 1st

place finish. The Sr

Boy’s qualified several

individuals and all relay

teams for the North State

Meet, something that has

not happened in recent

memory. Following the

North State Meet, 5

individuals qualified for

of 7

Cougar Sports School Newsletter

LA Track Teams Steadily Improve

the Overall State Meet,

whereas in 2013 there

was only 1 qualifier for

the Boys at the State

Track Meet.

As with 2013, increased

participation is the key to

success. The Boys’

increased numbers

translated into points

scored in more events

than in the past. The

Girls’ addition of a large

number of 7th graders

made competition

increase and ended with

several 7th grade girls

scoring in the District

Meet. The same can be

said of the 7th grade

Boys, as several of them

pushed the older athletes

and also made a

contribution at the District

Meet.

Both the Girl’s and the

Boy’s Track Teams had

several near misses as far

as the North State and

Overall State Meet went.

This has already

generated excitement for

these kids, who will make

sure to put the work in as

to not miss out on these

opportunities in the

future. This excitement

will only increase and

transfer over into all

athletics here at Lee

Academy. The more

athletes we can get to

compete, the better these

Track Teams will be, and

the better our overall

Athletic Program will

become.

DISTRICT CHAMPIONS

Jessica Jones – Shot Put

Madeline Oxner – Discus

Anna Kate Duke – 300 m Hurdles

Jodie Cook – Shot Put

Dillon Wheeler – High Jump

400 m Relay – Haley Parson, Lauren Simmons, Kenzie Lee,

Kelsey Lee, Anna Kate Duke, Gracie Spears

800 m Relay – Haley Parson, Lauren Simmons, Kelsey Lee,

Gracie Spears, Anna Kate Duke, Maggie Nimocks

1600 m Relay – Haley Parson, Lauren Simmons, Kelsey Lee,


NORTH STATE CHAMPIONS

Dillon Wheeler – High Jump, Long Jump, 300 m Hurdles

800 m Relay – Haley parson, Lauren Simmons, Kelsey Lee,


Congratulations LA Track!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203681679461700&set=a.4270409237649.180735.1208650350&type=1&relevant_count=1












This year Maggie’s team

is undefeated in the state

of Arkansas. The state

final is in two weeks.

They have already taken

2nd

place at a regional

tournament in Dallas

and 1st place in Branson

at their invitational

tournament.

catfish

Lady Cougars Basketball

of 7 Cougar Sports School Newsletter

LA Baseball Team ends season with 4

th in conference

The Lee Academy

baseball team

experienced a year full of

ups and downs. Having

to battle the terrible

winter weather and

playing multiple “home”

games on the road, the

Cougars finished the year

4-12. After the winter ice

storm, the baseball field

was left with a busted net

and bent backstop poles

forcing the Cougars to

play the remainder of

their home games in

Forrest City. The

Cougars were led

offensively by the bat of

Phillip Best and Jacob

Swindle, both recording

a batting average above

.350. Ty Bosnick’s 1.89

ERA proved to be a

solid defense for the

Cougars. The Cougars

finished the season

ranked 4th in the

conference. The

Cougars say goodbye to

three seniors: Harrison

Devazier, Jacob

Swindle, and J.T. Evans,

all having contributed

greatly to the baseball

program.

The Junior Lady Cougars

finished the season as

runners-up in the district

with 16 wins and 4

losses. This year’s team

was led by a strong class

of freshmen that included

Noel Elrod, Lauren

Billingsley, Maggie

Nimocks, Bailee Lovell,

Grace Anne Merrell,

Chloe Griffith, and

Bailey Alldredge. With a

lot of fast-breaks and

pressing, it was their up-

tempo style of play that

allowed them to average

40 points per game while

only giving up 23 points

per game defensively.

But, in the end it was

their team-first attitude

that allowed them to find

success.

The Senior Lady Cougars

went through a rebuilding

year. With only seniors,

we were very young.

With 5 wins and 21

losses they did find

success. They found

success through

becoming a group of

teammates who worked

extremely hard towards

making themselves

better every day and

working to achieve a

common goal. Together

they helped build the

foundation that this

team will stand on for

years to come.

Sports Banquet Awards

Monday, May 5 was a

very eventful night for our

athletes at Lee Academy.

The LA Sports Banquet

was held with the

traditional chicken strip

buffet from Cajun

Express. Team awards

and district awards were

presented in each sport.

The second annual Senior

Recognition Awards

continued with every

senior athlete being

presented a plaque

signifying the various

sports and the number of

years each athlete

participated. Ms. Sheila

Carter presented the

Jimmy Jones Award to

Anna Bosnick. Coach

Reeves presented the

Glen Siler Award to Seth

Parker and the Bart Allen

Maxi Award to Kenzie

Lee. He ended the

evening by presenting the

Tom Gist Athlete of the

Year to J.T. Evans.

Second grade student

Maggie Jayroe is in the

beginner division of the

Junior Bible Quiz. This

program encourages

students to memorize

approximately 200 verses

and then answer detailed

questions from those

verses. These students

also quote the verses

which is quite impressive!

Junior Bible Quiz

Summer office hours: Tues, Wed, Thurs 9-1 We will be closed the week of June 23rd and the week of July 4th. Have a safe and fun summer!

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