Goza Middle School teachers were elated to hear the news of the Arkadelphia Public Schools' School Board approval of Mrs. Tisha Hunter as our new principal.

Mrs. Hunter served as our Assistant Principal during the 2022-23 school year, and up to October 31 this year, where later she was assigned as Interim Principal.

Goza has endured a lot of change since last year - Capturing Kids' Hearts National Showcase School, Solution Tree Coaching, change in leadership, and the death of a colleague. A situation that some would not have handled with the grace Mrs. Hunter puts forth each and every day.

Mrs. Hunter, congratulations on your promotion. The Goza Greats are behind you 100%!

Sophia Clark, a Goza Middle School 8th-grade student, attended a WIN Session taught by Jequetta Berry entitled “Fun with Financial Topics.” She was encouraged to draw the picture that came to mind when she thought about the concept of Price. Her work was worthy of recognition in the Economics Arkansas Picture Econ Art Contest. She and her WIN teacher, Ms. Berry, both received a $50 Walmart gift card from Economics Arkansas, which sponsored the contest. Thank you to Ms. Berry for giving students the opportunity to create and share their work. Sophia, we are so proud of you!

January's theme for Capturing Kids' Hearts is RESPECT. Our 6th-grade English Language Arts teachers and students collaborated in putting together this display on the windows at the end of their hallway. Each sticky note features student responses to these three questions: What does respect look like? What does respect sound like? How does it make you feel when you are treated with respect?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Honor You. Honor Me.

#EngageEducateEmpower #CKHNationalShowcaseSchool

Goza Middle School students Chase Conroy, Christopher Hogan, and Hayden Hooten along with their teacher, Ms. Jequetta Berry, attended the Economic Arkansas Stock Market Fall Awards Luncheon on Monday at the Clinton Presidential Library. The team finished in first place in the Middle School Region 2 Division. Eighteen teams from elementary, middle/junior high, and high school were represented at the lunch; over 2,000 teams in Arkansas participated in the Stock Market Challenge. The students received a medallion, certificate, and $125 split between the team members. The team trophy is now displayed in the Goza Middle School office. Congratulations to Ms. Berry and her students on their outstanding accomplishments!

The 8th Grade Social Studies students have been learning about the sinking of the Titanic, which occurred in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Students in Mrs. Armstrong's class got an idea of what the passengers aboard the ill-fated Titanic experienced, when they volunteered to place their fingers into 28-degree water, the exact same temperature of the Atlantic Ocean the night the Titanic sank.

Her students also sampled macarons as they learned about Titanic's chief baker, Charles Joughin. He was famous for paddling around in frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean for roughly two hours after the ship sank until he discovered an overturned life raft. Most individuals who entered into the ocean that night died within fifteen to thirty minutes. While ordinarily alcohol would increase the chances of hypothermia, it is believed that the sheer amount of whisky Mr. Joughin consumed that night made his body calm enough to avoid panic. Furthermore, he even rescued several women by throwing them into lifeboats.

Attention Parents and Guardians! Please update your contact information if it has changed since the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year. The district and its teachers cannot communicate with parents if the information we have is not up to date.

Highlight the link below, then copy and past in your browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfANQsPgncCIy4NNkhTjW6GfrssBLoBitpXO7IsAyH4VRSdkQ/viewform?pli=1

Congratulations to Mr. Jason Freeman for winning the Winter Professional Development Challenge presented by ArkansasIDEAS!

Mr. Freeman has been an educator for 13 years, and currently teaches special education at Goza. He completed all 8 of the required courses to be entered in the challenge that took place from December 7, 2023–January 12, 2024.

Arkansas educators had the opportunity to wrap up their professional development hours this holiday season for a chance to win a grand prize package of educational materials. Continue following ArkansasIDEAS on social media and online for more exciting events to come!

Thanks to all of you for making the Goza Middle School Winter Formal such a success. The students came out in red carpet style! One parent shared, "You could really see their personalities shine through their attire."

This was the second year for the Winter Formal, and we hope to continue to make it an annual event.

A special thank you to our PATHS Officers, Heather Crocker, Kortni Beene, and Joshua Chapman for taking charge in pulling this all together. Thanks to everyone who stayed to chaperone, serve refreshments, and assist with cleanup. Cletis Knox, our DJ extraordinaire, thank you for providing the music. I would also like to acknowledge Mrs. Tisha Hunter, Officer Randy Lau, Mrs. Anita Malcom, Ms. Taylor Stamps, Mr. Michael L. Ankton and his brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. for helping out as well. If I missed anyone, please forgive me. Your presence was GREATLY appreciated!