⚾️ 2A-2 District Baseball Tournment Schedule ⚾️
Good Luck, Cougars!
🥎 2A-2 District Softball Tournment Schedule 🥎
Good Luck, Lady Cougars!
A good night's rest and being in attendance will help students do their best on this week's ATLAS testing. Good luck ICC 9th and 10th graders; we know you'll do great!
Parent testimonial shared during our recent STEM model site visit:
“I am a very policy and regulation minded and driven person. I thrive in rules and administering those rules evenly across the board. I am also one of those who knows just enough about things to be able to fix them or patch them well enough to get by. But I have never devoted any time to understanding why these things are done the way they are or why they operate as they do or figuring out a better, more efficient, alternative to the current standard. Nor have I ever had that desire. To say the least I am very much an “inside the box” person.
But my daughter is different. She is so far outside of the box, that she didn’t realize the box existed to start with.
She has an unrelenting need to know how and why, to learn, and to create.
She has a need to know why things are built the way they are and has a desire to figure out a way that will work better.
As human beings, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we know areas where we fall short. We know that we have weaknesses and at the very least some general idea as to what those weaknesses are.
I fall short in my ability to help her in these things. I am unable to help her better understand why things are designed the way that they are. But when she asks a question along the lines of how or why this machine was built this way, I am of no assistance at all and my typical response is limited to “because someone smarter than me decided that was the best way”. But she does not and can not accept that, she has to know and understand.
This program does that for her. It fills the void that I leave. STEM has enabled her to see beyond what I am capable of showing her, to expand her horizons far beyond what I am capable of.
Last year, our county fair had its first ever STEM division. I watched in amazement as my daughter built a dragosaur (dragon, dinosaur hybrid as she described it) with moving wings, head, neck, and mouth. She did this with string, cardboard, tape, and hot glue. Common household items that I never would have thought to do something like that with. Items that we probably all have in a junk drawer in our house or see as trash to be thrown out. But she saw past those individual items, she had a vision, and was able to make it a reality.
This year she has built a functioning gumball machine out of the same materials. She has built 2. The first one had flaws in the design, so she has built another with those flaws corrected and honestly it would not surprise me if she built another between now and the fair. Not because of needed improvements, but because she enjoyed doing it so much.
In both instances my little girl was so excited in the design and construction stages. Not to mention, her excitement when she would explain the process or design to her mother and I, which left both of us saying “oh, that’s cool sissy” and eventually having to say “you’ll just have to show me when you’re done” because she was way over our heads.
She loves figuring out how to do these things, how they work, figuring out the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics that make our everyday life function and figuring out how to make it better.
That is something that I am not capable of giving her. But the STEM program here at ICC fosters that. It enables her to mentally grow in ways that never cease to amaze me.
I know that we all think that our children are special. We all have those dreams or aspirations of them achieving greatness in some fashion. I am no different in how I view all four of my children, each of them with their very own personalities and aptitudes.
But this program has allowed her to think and grow in ways that are unbelievable to me.
The hard work, dedication, and faith that Mrs. Courtney, along with the rest of the staff at ICC, have put in her, through the STEM program, is allowing her to become more than a little girl with her daddy wrapped around her finger. But into a little girl with the power and knowledge to change our world for the better.
And that’s an opportunity that I fear she would have never had otherwise.” - Izard County Schools Parent
There will be no after school program on Monday, April 22, due to the K-4 Patriotic Concert. The concert will begin at 6:30 PM in the Fine Arts building.
Trinity Gaskins drove in the winning run in the 8th inning to lift the Lady Cougars to a 1-0 win over the South Side Bee Branch Lady Hornets. The Lady Cougars (11-5 overall and 8-4 in the conference) had 4 hits in the game, one each by Megan McBride, Hollie Johnson, Katie Orf, and Tinlee Bailey. Gaskins' RBI scored Emily Stephens with the game's only run. McBride went the distance on the mound, giving up 3 hits, 0 runs, and 12 strikeouts. The Lady Cougars will open play on Wednesday at 5:45 PM in the 2A-2 District Tournament at Cedar Ridge. The Lady Cougars are seeded third in the district tournament.
On Thursday, the Lady Cougars defeated Yellville, 16-1. McBride led the Lady Cougars with 2 hits, including a double, 2 RBIs, 3 runs scored. Makensie Yancey added 2 hits, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored, Quinn Johnson, 2 hits, 2 runs scored, Willow Warden, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs, Orf, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, Emily Stephens, 2 runs scored, RBI, Tinlee Bailey, 1 run scored, RBI, Trinity Gaskins, 1 run scored, 2 RBIs. Johnson started on the mound, giving up 1 hit, 1 run, 3 strikeouts, McBride, 1 inning, 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 strikeouts.
Wednesday night, the Cougars were firing on all cylinders as they beat the Quitman Bulldogs by a score of 11-0 in 5 innings! At the plate, every starter was able to reach base. Porter Burton led the charge with 2 hits. Braxton McCandlis, Kade Yancey, and Tyler Morehead each had base hits and 2 rbis. Xander McCandlis hit a long 3 run home run for his 2nd of the year. Cash Arnhart and Caden Wiseman each had a hit apiece as well.
Cash Arnhart shined on the mound as he went all 5 innings. He scattered 6 hits while walking 1 and striking out 7 for the victory. The Cougars return to action on Friday in their final regular season game against South Side Bee Branch at home.
The Izard County School District is excited to announce that we will be delivering 5 free breakfasts and 5 free lunches per week to ALL our PK-12 students this summer! Deliveries by school staff will begin on Thursday, May 30, and meals will be delivered to each home between 11 am - 1 pm each Thursday throughout the summer. A form was sent home to each student earlier in the week with information on this program. Parents or guardians can return that form or enroll online with this google form: https://forms.gle/Z8c256mKYZtg8Ujq9
This is the 5th consecutive year we have provided this service to our students and we strongly encourage ALL parents to take advantage of this great child nutrition program!
Parents, please sign and return this form ASAP! Your student should have brought a copy home earlier this week. Thank you!
We are pleased to announce that JR Tolleson is the new Cougars Head Football Coach! Coach Tolleson is currently the Running Backs Coach and Director of Football Operations at Henderson State University. This past season, Coach Tolleson helped the Reddies to their first playoff appearance since 2015. The Reddies had the No.1 passing offense in the conference and also had three of the top 15 running backs in the conference. Izard County Athletic Director Kyle McCandlis said, “Coach Tolleson impressed us very much during the interview process with his football knowledge and his enthusiasm and passion to be the next Cougar Head Football Coach.” Welcome to Cougar Nation, Coach Tolleson!
Evan Cole has been selected to participate in the Arkansas Governors Quiz Bowl Association - Jr High All Stars Event to be held on Saturday, May 4th at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock. AGQBA All Stars recognizes and invites the top 100 scorers across all classifications from the regional and state tournaments to take part in the full day event. Evan was ranked the 12th highest scorer among all junior high players in the state, averaging 12.67 toss-ups per game. Congratulations on your accomplishment and good luck!
The Lady Cougars run-ruled the Cedar Ridge Lady Timberwolves, 15-0, on Monday. Alexus McLaughlin singled in the game-ending run in the bottom of the third inning. Katie Orf led the Lady Cougars with 2 hits, including a double, 3 RBIs, and a run scored. Makensie Yancey added a hit, 4 RBIs, 2 runs scored, Quinn Johnson, a hit, 2 RBIs, 3 runs scored, Hollie Johnson, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored, Willow Warden, a hit, RBI, Alexus McLaughlin, a hit, RBI, Tinlee Bailey, a hit, 2 runs scored, Megan McBride, a hit, 2 runs scored, Trinity Gaskins, 2 runs scored, and Emily Stephens, a run scored. McBride went 3 innings for the win, giving up 2 hits, and 4 strikeouts.
We are excited to announce that our middle school has been selected this year as a recipient of the 2024 Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Gateway Grant from the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) funded by the Walton Family Foundation. In the grant award letter, it was noted that the selection committee was very impressed with our school’s commitment to advancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in 7th and 8th grade, and this $30,346 grant will help fund adding two 8th grade pre-engineering pathway courses next year. These new courses, Automation and Robotics, and Flight and Space, in addition to our 7th grade pre-engineering courses, Design and Modeling, and Medical Detectives, will allow our school to continue to inspire and motivate students to pursue careers in STEM fields. Special thanks to STEM Coordinator Courtney Selph for her work on this grant.
Upcoming spring concert dates!
ICC SR High Quiz Bowl team has arrived at the state tournament. Good luck today!
Congratulations to Kyler Brashear, Corbin Smith, Faith Wisecarver, Brayden Brown, Elijah Walters, and Tyler Anderson for becoming Microsoft Office Pro certified today! They learned the skills needed for this performance-based test in Mrs. Jackson's Survey of Business class, and will be able to demonstrates skills in essential elements of the Microsoft 365 suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for many years to come.
The Lady Cougars swept the White County Central Lady Bears, 15-0 and 5-0. In game 1, Katie Orf led the Lady Cougars with a grand slam, 4 RBIs, 2 runs scored and Megan McBride had 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, 2 runs scored. Willow Warden contributed a hit, 2 RBIs, Tinlee Bailey, a triple, RBI, 1 run scored, Trinity Gaskins, a triple, 2 runs scored, Hollie Johnson, a double, RBI, 1 run scored, Makensie Yancey, a hit, RBI, 2 runs scored, Quinn Johnson, a hit, RBI, 3 runs scored, and Emily Stephens, 2 runs scored. In game 2, Johnson led the Lady Cougars with a home run, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored. Yancey added 2 hits, including a triple, 1 run scored, Orf, a hit, 1 run scored, Stephens, a hit, 1 run scored, and McBride, 1 run scored. Johnson got the win in both games on the mound, going a total of 8 innings, giving up 1 hit, 0 runs, with 13 strikeouts. In a previous win over Sloan-Hendrix, Warden contributed a run scored. This stat was inadvertently omitted.
The Lady Cougars defeated the Sloan Hendrix Lady Greyhounds, 15-2. Quinn Johnson led the Lady Cougars as she hit for the cycle with a home run, triple, double, and single. Quinn had 4 RBIs, and 3 runs scored. Hollie Johnson added 3 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored, Makensie Yancey, a double, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored, Katie Orf, 2 hits, 2 runs scored, Trinity Gaskins, 2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, Emily Stephens, 2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, Tinlee Bailey, 2 hits, 2 runs, and Megan McBride, 2 runs scored.
McBride threw a no- hitter on the mound, going 5 innings, 0 hits, 2 unearned runs, and 9 strikeouts.
⚾️ Baseball game today starts at 4 PM. 🥎 Softball game starts at 4:30. Both are at home!
No After School Program on Friday, April 12, due to prom.
