Alma Middle School

It’s National School Bus Safety Week! Thank you to our Alma School District bus drivers and transportation team for helping our students get to school and home safely each day. Please stay alert, give buses space, and remind students to follow their driver’s directions. Safe rides start with all of us! 🚌

Mrs. Barrett’s Intro to Business/Marketing class at Alma Middle School explored future opportunities during Wednesday’s visit to the UAFS College of Business & Industry! Students met with former dean and business economics professor Latisha Settledge, learned about the business programs available, and toured campus.

The cafeteria circus fun continues across our campuses! 🎪 Take a peek inside our cafeterias as we celebrate National School Lunch Week with colorful decorations, special menu items, and plenty of fun. Thank you to our cafeteria teams for bringing the theme to life and making lunchtime special for our students! 🍽️

“How To” Sessions are back at Alma Middle School! Today kicked off two days of exploring new interests and learning skills that go beyond the usual classroom lessons. Teachers are sharing their talents in everything from cursive and crafting to power tools, hairstyling, yoga, sign language, list making, and more. With so much to try, students have plenty of opportunities to get creative, learn something useful, and discover a new favorite activity!

🎪 Step right up! It may be a short week for students, but we’re making the most of it in the cafeteria as we celebrate National School Lunch Week! This annual celebration highlights how nutritious school meals help students stay fueled, focused, and ready to learn while recognizing the cafeteria teams who make it all happen. Our staff are bringing the circus theme to life with fun decorations across every campus and special menu items for the week. 🍽️ Check out what’s on the menu: https://menus.healthepro.com/organizations/820

An early start and a strong showing for Alma Middle School’s Advanced Choirs! On Saturday, students boarded the bus at 6:30 a.m. to travel to Har-Ber High School for the ArkCDA Region 5 All-Region Choir auditions alongside more than 1,000 students in grades 7–9. Thirty-two AMS singers earned chairs in the All-Region Choir, including three first-chair placements and one second-chair placement. Eight AMS students placed in the top 10! Congratulations to those selected, and to every student who had the courage to step up and audition. We’re proud of you!

Congratulations to Alma Middle School’s 15 Arkansas Peace Week school finalists! These student artists placed in the top five of their grade level, and their artwork will advance to the state contest. 🎨

Their work explores peace, respect, and inclusion while highlighting ways to build stronger communities. Eight state finalists per grade level will be announced by the end of October!

Pictured from left to right:
Top row: Bentley Whitwam, Esabella Tabor, Jayda Yang, Yurivia Zarate Garcia and Annabella Ledbetter.
Middle row: Marcus Means, Hunter Hudson, Charlotte Shores, Zoey Ledbetter and Zerenity Robertson.
Bottom row: Katelyn Greenwood, Raelyn Loomis, Madison Remilliard and Emily McCartney.
Not pictured: Jacey McLaughlin.

We’re proud to have these artists represent AMS at the state level!

🍂 A reminder for Alma families! Parent-teacher conferences and days out of school are coming up this week and next. Take a look at these important October dates as you plan ahead. Pre-K will follow its regular schedule October 15–16, and all students will be out of school October 19.

There’s still time to help send a little holiday cheer to our deployed service members! Alma School District’s Purple Star care package drive ends next week on October 15.

Alma Primary School and Alma Intermediate School are collecting donations for deployed members of the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade, Arkansas National Guard. Families may drop off snacks, personal care items, games, festive socks, handwritten cards and other useful items at APS or AIS. Care packages will be delivered in time for Christmas.

Thank you for helping remind these men and women that they are appreciated and supported back home!

Science in motion! 🚗 A few of Mrs. Craig’s students at Alma Middle School joined Mrs. McCarver’s 8th grade science class this week to explore the relationship between energy, mass, and speed through hands-on experiments with pullback cars.

A heads-up for Alma families! Flu shot clinics for staff and students will take place on our campuses next week, October 13 and 14. Please see the graphic for each campus’s schedule.

🍂 Mark your calendars, Alma families! Take a look at these upcoming October dates, including parent-teacher conferences and days out of school. Please note that Pre-K will follow its regular schedule October 15–16. All students will be out of school October 19.

📚 Hello, Bookmobile friends! We hope you enjoyed your summer reads! If you still have a book from the Bookmobile, we’d love for you to return it to your campus. We know books can get tucked away or misplaced along the way, so if yours turns up, please send it back so another reader can enjoy it, too. Thank you for helping us share the joy of reading! ✨

Happy National Coaches Day to our Alma coaches! Thank you for the time, encouragement and dedication you give our student-athletes. From practices to game days, you help students build confidence, learn teamwork and grow as leaders. We appreciate all you do!

Today is Custodian Appreciation Day! Thank you to our Alma School District custodians for the work you do each day to keep our schools clean, safe and welcoming. Your care for our buildings supports everyone who learns and works in them, and we appreciate all you do for our students and staff!

🏈 AMS and AHS students get in FREE this Friday, October 2, as the Airedales take on Farmington! A big thank you to Urrutia Family Dental for generously sponsoring student admission. We appreciate your support and the opportunity you’re giving our students to enjoy a Friday night cheering on the Airedales! 🐾

October is National Principals Month! 🏫👏 Join us in celebrating Mrs. Moore, Mr. Coursey, Mrs. Lyon and Mr. Bullard for the leadership, care and dedication they bring to our schools each day. Thank you for supporting our students, staff and families and for all you do for Alma School District!

More good news for Alma Middle School! The University of Arkansas Office for Education Policy has recognized AMS with two Outstanding Educational Performance Awards based on student growth on the ATLAS:

🏆 High Overall Growth (Statewide)
🏆 High Science Growth (Statewide)

The overall award reflects growth across math, English language arts and science. To determine these awards, the Office for Education Policy looks at how much students improved compared with other students who had similar prior achievement. That makes this recognition a meaningful measure of the progress AMS students are making.

These awards belong to the students who put in the work each day and the teachers, staff and families who support them. Congratulations, Alma Middle School!

🎉 IT’S PARADE DAY! 🎉

Homecoming Week begins today, and we’re already bringing the fun! Make plans to join us tonight as we celebrate the 2026 Homecoming Court, along with our clubs and organizations.

The parade begins at 6:00 p.m. on Main Street, heads down Fayetteville Avenue and returns via Spring Street.

Please note that AHS parade participants will assemble and dismiss in the band lot area, while Little League participants will stage in the visitor parking section.

💻 Tuesday, September 15, is IT Professionals Day, and we’re excited to celebrate the team that keeps Alma School District connected! A big thank-you to Technology Director Thad Nipp, Network/Server Analyst Skip Thompson, Technician Cole Seratt, Network Administrator Chris Burress, Technician Basil Kenner, and Technology Specialist Amy Brewer. Whether they’re solving technical issues, supporting classrooms, or keeping systems running across the district, their work makes a difference every day! 🌟 Help us show our appreciation by leaving a note of thanks for our Technology Team in the comments! 👏