On Wednesday, January 3, the Goza Middle School staff got a special visit from Capturing Kids Hearts! Goza was one of four campuses selected from over 100 CKH Showcase Schools as a Celebration Winner based on their social media video announcement in the spring. Each Goza Great received lunch from Walk Baby Love BBQ food truck, a book, and a custom T-shirt from CKH. Thank you to CKH and our community for supporting our award-winning celebration!
Goza Middle School
Goza 1 of 4 campuses out of 100 showcase schools selected for social media video
2023-24 Inclement Weather Information
January 5, 2024
As we approach the winter weather season, please be advised that school closures will be communicated through our Thrillshare alert system which includes text, voice, and emails. If there have been recent changes to your family’s contact information, you should contact your child’s school office to have those changes made in our student information system. School closure announcements will also be published on Arkadelphia Public School District social media accounts, app, website, and Little Rock news outlets.
Provisions in the Arkansas LEARNS Act no longer allow AMI (Alternative Methods of Instruction) days to be counted as instructional days for Arkansas Public Schools. If our district misses any school days due to weather or other emergencies, these days must be made up as onsite instruction days. Any missed days of onsite instruction will be added at the end of the school year, following our last scheduled day, Thursday, May 23, 2024.
If a winter weather event is forecasted, please know that Arkadelphia Public School District officials will monitor the weather and road conditions working closely with local officials, including the Clark County Sheriff and the Office of Emergency Services. A decision to close school is always made based on the best available information and in the best interest of our students and staff.
Safety is our priority, but a school closure will not likely be made very far in advance based solely on forecasted winter precipitation. If not announced the night before by 9 p.m., a decision may be communicated between 6-6:30 a.m. on the morning of the impacted school day once school and county officials have examined road conditions and consulted about the latest forecast.
Thank you for your support and patience as we monitor situations and make decisions in the best interest of our students and staff.
Mr. Ankton is now a Trailblazer!
Our very own Mr. Michael Ankton became one of 15 Inaugural Arkansas Black History Trailblazers for Arkansas declared by the Mosaic Templars Museum in Little Rock.
Mr. Ankton is a lifelong Arkadelphian, a graduate of Arkadelphia High School and Henderson State University. He serves as a social studies teacher at Goza Middle School, and is serving his first term as the youngest African American Justice of the Peace in the state of Arkansas. He is JP in Clark County.
Mr. Ankton has received recognition for his community service and government leadership from both local and state organizations. He is a proud brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
He was featured in the Inviting Arkansas Magazine.
Congratulations to Mr. Ankton!
6th Graders are lighting up their hallway
Our 6th-grade students were lighting up their hallway in December with random acts of kindness. The Christmas light bulbs show an affirmation that the students came up with. Our 6th-grade teachers are always coming up with creative ways to promote positivity in our school.
Goza's 6th-grade teachers got their hallway looking very festive for the Christmas holidays. Lights and homemade snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, a Christmas tree, and a fun bulletin board got the holiday spirit going for our 6th-grade students.
6th Graders compete in Olympic Games
Goza's 6th graders finished up their Ancient Greece unit the week before Christmas by hosting the Olympics games. Social Studies classes competed in three events: disc throw, three-legged race and tug of war. The classes headed out to the football field at Badger Stadium to compete in the Olympic games.
The classes who won the most events were named Greek Olympics Champions!
AT retires after 42 years
It's the end of an era.
Our very own custodian, Anderson Thomas, or AT as he was called, hung up his mop and broom for good by retiring at the end of December. He was with the Arkadelphia School District for 42 years, and worked in every single school building!
He tried to sneak out quietly during the Christmas break, but we tricked him into coming back for a celebration. On Wednesday, January 3, we had cake and punch for him, along with a video, put together by our secretary Haley Loy, of the teachers wishing him well.
We'll miss all the shenanigans from AT and his sidekick Cletis Knox. Known for pulling pranks, these two got in quite a bit of mischief together over the years! And, how about all those times Cletis managed to scare AT? Fun times!
Now what is Cletis going to do?
Have a wonderful and restful retirement, AT! You deserve it!
