Magnolia High School

Congratulations to Jake Nielsen and Angie Saldana for receiving the 2020-2021 MHS Tennis MVP awards!

Graduating Seniors who have an ACT composite score of 19 or higher, should make certain to apply for the Academic Challenge Scholarship, valued at $14,000 for a 4-year college; $4,000 for a 2-year college. The website is https://scholarships.adhe.edu.

MHS students, if you were not at school Wednesday or Thursday to select a free book for summer reading, it’s not too late! Stop by the library today or next week to choose a book. If you read it this summer and complete 4 reader responses that demonstrate your original work with evidence that you read the book, you will get to go on a field trip to a movie in El Dorado next fall. (9th graders will get theirs next week.)

BERRY SIGNS WITH SAU TRACK PROGRAM Magnolia High School senior, Tylaa Berry, recently signed a letter of intent with Southern Arkansas University to run track for the Lady Mulerider track team next school year. During her high school career, Tylaa helped lead the Lady Panthers to one State Runner-up and two Conference Championships and had numerous AAU track accomplishments. As a sprinter, Tylaa participated in the 100 Meter, 200 Meter, 4 x 100 Meter Relay, and the 4 x 200 Meter Relay. She also earned over 160 individual points and over 125 relay points for the Lady Panthers.

Help us cheer on the seniors on their final walk of campus! Join us on the sidewalk in front of the school about 10:00 this morning to cheer for our seniors as they walk to the arena for graduation practice.

Congratulations to Savion Tidwell for winning the Pawsome award for his Perfect Attendance this school year at the Freshman Academy! ❤️🐾🎉

This evening at 6:30 at the Panther Arena, the High School Band will be hosting its Spring Concert. You will hear the 9 o'clock Jazz Band playing songs such as 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago and House of the Rising Sun by The Animals. After that, the MHS Concert Band, under the direction of Ms. Nina Martinez, will present their concert. Finally, the MHS Symphonic Band, under the direction of Mr. Chris Sanders will perform. There will be a presentation of awards to the students in each band this evening. We hope to see you all there! We do ask that masks be worn while inside Panther Arena. Please also observe family-family social distancing guidance as well.

Your MHS Panther Baseball is going to the State Championship! We will be playing Valley View @ 1:00pm at Benton High School. Tickets should be on sale today at the AAA site link below by lunch https://www.ahsaa.org/baseball The game will also be televised on PBS. This post will be updated as we receive more information!

Due to a shortage of drivers, the leaf bus will be running about 40-45 minutes late Monday morning. We apologize for the inconvenience.

MHS ART STUDENTS WIN STATE AWARDS Four students from Magnolia High School recently competed in the Arkansas Young Artist Association State Competition and won awards. Shannon Coppersmith (11th grade) won 2nd in Tempera Expressive and 4th in Cut Paper/collage; Maria Lopez (11th grade) won 2nd in Tempera Abstract and 2nd in Scratch-board Abstract; Angie Saldana (12th grade) won 1st in Fiber Arts; Risper Owuoche (11th grade) won 3rd in Mixed Media 2-D and 3rd in Scratch-board Expressive. All four are students in Laurie Hicks’ AP Studio Art class.

MAGNOLIA TRAPSHOOTING MEMBERS EARN AWARDS Three members of the Magnolia Trap Team recently competed in the Ninety-Seventh Annual Louisiana State Trapshooting Championships April 29 – May 2. The competition, sponsored by the Louisiana Trapshooting Association, was held at the Toby Bancroft Memorial Gun Club in West Monroe. Magen Bond, a ninth-grade student at MHS, won the Louisiana Class C, Lady 1, Doubles Championship, Runner-Up in the Louisiana Class B, Singles Championship, and was the Overall winner of the Louisiana Preliminary Handicap Event. Eleventh-grade student, Olivia Ferguson, was the Class D Doubles Champion, the Class C Singles Champion, and Class B Singles Champion. Olivia was also the Class C Highest Overall Average Non-Resident. Landon Chandler, a ninth-grader at MHS, won the Louisiana State Singles, Doubles & Handicap Championships. He celebrated his 15 birthday on Sunday, May 2 by winning the LTA Doubles and LTA Handicap Championships. Landon also had the Highest Average for the Singles, Doubles, and Handicap Championships and had Highest Overall Average for the entire week.

MAGNOLIA TRAPSHOOTING MEMBERS EARN AWARDS Three members of the Magnolia Trap Team recently competed in the Ninety-Seventh Annual Louisiana State Trapshooting Championships April 29 – May 2. The competition, sponsored by the Louisiana Trapshooting Association, was held at the Toby Bancroft Memorial Gun Club in West Monroe. Magen Bond, a ninth-grade student at MHS, won the Louisiana Class C, Lady 1, Doubles Championship, Runner-Up in the Louisiana Class B, Singles Championship, and was the Overall winner of the Louisiana Preliminary Handicap Event. Eleventh-grade student, Olivia Ferguson, was the Class D Doubles Champion, the Class C Singles Champion, and Class B Singles Champion. Olivia was also the Class C Highest Overall Average Non-Resident. Landon Chandler, a ninth-grader at MHS, won the Louisiana State Singles, Doubles & Handicap Championships. He celebrated his 15 birthday on Sunday, May 2 by winning the LTA Doubles and LTA Handicap Championships. Landon also had the Highest Average for the Singles, Doubles, and Handicap Championships and had Highest Overall Average for the entire week.

MAGNOLIA HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION Magnolia High School has set commencement exercises for the graduating class of 2021. The program will be held Thursday, May 20 in Panther Arena beginning at 7:00 PM. Eight tickets will be given to each graduate during morning graduation practice on May 20. Tickets will be required for admittance into the arena. There will not be a mask requirement. For those unable to attend, the program will be live streamed by PantherTV through their link to YouTube.

SAMARRA CLAYTON WINS MHS CHEF SHOWDOWN Magnolia High School recently held their 4th Annual MHS Chef Showdown. Five students competed for the top prize with tenth-grade student, Samarra Clayton being judged the winner. Due to COVID related restrictions, winners from other school districts were unable to compete onsite in Benton as they had done in the past. Instead, student scores from across the state were submitted and tabulated. Samarra’s score was good enough to place her in the top six. She was given a prize package that included a Kitchen Aid standalone mixer, and a Kitchen Aid food processor. The Chef Showdown is a competition open to all 9-12 grade students in a K-12 Culinary Connection partnered school district. Chef Justin and Chef Matt review the winning recipe from each district competition. The six recipes with the highest overall scores are awarded prize packages. K-12 Culinary Connection, led by Chef Justin Mills, is a consulting company helping school districts improve their existing food service program. Their Mission Statement is “Passionate professionals working hands-on to change child nutrition.”

MAGNOLIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS The Magnolia Public School Foundation (MPSF) recently awarded scholarships to three Magnolia High School seniors. Nathan Baker, Kendall Cheatham, and Zoie Dixon were each awarded $1,000. All three are currently planning to attend Southern Arkansas University. The Foundation was founded three years ago for two purposes: to provide grants to teachers for enriching the classroom experience for their students with opportunities above the basic experience and to provide scholarship assistance to qualifying high school seniors. In the past three years, MPSF has been able to fund nine scholarships to students and seven grants to teachers. Magnolia Public School alumni and patrons are encouraged to participate in these awards. If you would like more information about participation, you may call Jennifer Hubbard 870-904-2018/870-234-6356. You may also mail contributions to Magnolia Public School Foundation, P.O. Box 177, Magnolia, AR 71754. All donations are tax deductible.

NEILSEN RECOGNIZED AS YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR During the annual Magnolia-Columbia County Chamber of Commerce awards program, Magnolia High School senior, Tanner Neilsen, was recognized with the 2021 Young Person of the Year award. Tanner has been greatly involved in his community, church, and school. Throughout his years as a student with the Magnolia School District, Tanner has participated and excelled in many different academic and extracurricular areas of interest. He is a member of the MHS Panther football and baseball teams. He has been a member of the Magnolia Choral Program since the seventh grade and consistently earned All-Region honors. Tanner is a member of the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta and has a competitive grade point average that includes AP coursework. This past fall, Tanner completed his Eagle Scout project by planning, organizing, fundraising, building, and delivering seven brand new dog houses to animals housed at CCAPS. Tanner has also excelled in his entrepreneur skills by starting and running his own “Lawnboy” lawn care service.

Magnolia High School Students Will Attend Girls State Magnolia High School will have juniors Lindy Westfall, Myka Craig, Samantha Wilson, Lindsey Cornwell and Sutton Nelson participate in the 78th Session of the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State May 30 - June1, 2021. Harding University in Searcy normally hosts the Girls State delegates, but this year the event will be held virtually. Three local businesses or agencies sponsors and pays the registration fee for the participants. The local sponsors are the American Legion Auxiliary, Farmers Bank and Trust Co., and the Magnolia Junior Charity League. Arkansas Girls State in an immersive civics education program designed for young women who have completed their junior year of high school. Since 1942, the Arkansas Girls State program has been working to teach future generations of Arkansans citizens to be actively involved in their communities and government at every level. The program informs them about the duties, privileges, and participation in the functioning of their government; and to help them grasp the meaning of some of the responsibilities, which they must assume when they become adults. The delegates elect their own officials, organize their own legislature, and have official visits to their respective counterparts in the capital. Once a student completes an application, a committee of teachers and a representative of the local American Legion Auxiliary make the decisions on who will attend Girls State based on the following qualifications: leadership, character and honesty, scholarship, cooperativeness, and community participation and service.

Attention Seniors!!! Graduation is set for May 20th at 7:00p.m. In Panther Arena. Practice is set for the day of graduation at 8:30a.m. in the arena. Please bring your cap and gown to practice. Each graduate will receive 8 tickets. Congratulations to all of you!!

MAGNOLIA JUNIOR CHARITY LEAGUE AWARDS SCHOLARSHIP Magnolia High School senior, Dorian Pressley, was recently awarded a scholarship from members of the Magnolia Junior Charity League (MJCL). Dorian received a $1,000 award that may be used to attend Southern Arkansas University or SAU-Tech. The members of the MJCL organization volunteer to promote projects that improve Columbia County by assisting the needs of the children of the community.

WILSON WINS WOODMEN OF THE WORLD AMERICAN HISTORY AWARD Magnolia High School senior, George Tully Wilson, was named the 2021 recipient of the American History Award presented by the Woodmen of the World. Woodmen of the World is one of the largest fraternal orders in America today. The student selected for the honor must have a proficiency in American History. The Woodmen of the World organization encourages the study of our country’s history by challenging students to make their best grades and demonstrate outstanding performance in American history. Hunter Fowler, Wilson’s Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher based the nomination on his demonstrated love of both country and community as a student at Magnolia High School.