Bearcat Wrap-up Podcast - Week 3: Staying Connected, Staying Alert

Episode Date: August 28, 2026

Happy Friday!Thank you to our entire Mena Public Schools team for another strong week of collective effort toward our performance targets in academic growth, attendance, and behavior and climate. Three weeks into the year, our routines are taking hold in every classroom and in every hallway, and the relationships behind those routines are growing stronger by the day. That is what leveling up looks like in practice: not a single big change, but steady, daily progress that adds up. This week’s Wrap-up covers a change in how we communicate with families, an online safety concern every staff member needs to understand, two strong opportunities worth putting in front of our students, and a look back at a busy week of Bearcat and Ladycat activity.Transition From Rooms to ParentSquareI want to update everyone on a change to how we communicate with families. We have discontinued Rooms, the parent communication tool from Apptegy, because feedback from staff and families did not show it was strong enough to justify staying with it. We are transitioning to ParentSquare, which now includes the messaging technology behind Remind, a tool many of our teachers already use and trust. I will be honest that we are behind our original schedule on this rollout, but ParentSquare will be up and running district-wide in September.Once it is in place, ParentSquare will let us reach every family through the channel that works best for them, whether that is the app, text message, email, or even an automated voice call, and messages will translate automatically into a family’s preferred language. Families will be able to reply directly by text or email without needing to download anything, and we will be able to send forms, permission slips, and sign-ups through the same system. Teachers will also be able to schedule messages ahead of time and use templates to save time while keeping communication organized and visible at the building and district level.In the meantime, and even after ParentSquare is fully rolled out, I want to ask every teacher and building staff member not to rely on Facebook alone to get important information to families. Facebook is a wonderful way to celebrate our students and share good news, but not every parent sees it, and it should never be our only method for anything families truly need to know. Please continue to use paper notes home, email, phone calls, and other direct methods alongside social media and Thrillshare (contact Mark Hobson) so that no family misses information that matters to their child.A Serious Online Safety Concern: “764”For those who do not know already, the FBI has issued repeated warnings, including one specific to Arkansas from the Little Rock field office, about a decentralized online network known as “764” that targets minors through platforms our students use every day, including gaming apps, Discord, and social media. Predators build trust with a young person, then use blackmail and fear to coerce escalating and dangerous behavior, sometimes including self-harm. Federal investigators have already confirmed cases in Arkansas.Please treat this as a mandated-reporter issue. Warning signs include a student suddenly withdrawing or becoming secretive, fixation on or fear of a new online contact, unexplained gifts or gaming currency, or unexplained marks or injuries. If a student discloses anything that sounds like this, or you notice these signs, please report it immediately through our normal reporting channels. It can also be reported directly to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. It is far better that all of us over-report a false alarm than miss a student who needs help.Opportunities for Our StudentsA couple of strong opportunities are open right now and worth putting in front of the right students.America250, the organization Congress charged with leading the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration, has opened a national startup competition for student innovators, and the window is open right now. Students submit a short written proposal and a brief pitch video explaining a business idea, why it matters, and how it could grow. Entries are due Thursday, October 8th. Ten finalists receive $25,000 each in grant funding that they do not have to give up equity for; the top three receive another $25,000, and the strongest 100 proposals earn an invitation into NVIDIA’s startup program. The contest is open to students currently enrolled at an accredited college, university, or trade school who are at least 13 years old, which makes our concurrent-enrollment students and recent graduates eligible. Interested students should confirm their eligibility in the official rules at america250.org/americas-startup before beginning.Separately, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has launched a new statewide contest called My Natural State Story, inviting Arkansas students to write about a real outdoor adventure they have had here at home. Students pick one of seven categories- hunting, fishing, boating and paddling, climbing, camping, hiking, or the overall Story of the Year- and tell that story in 500 words or less, in their own words. It is open to two age groups, ages 10 through 13 and ages 14 through 17, and entries are due before October 10th. Sixteen students statewide will win, with prizes ranging from gear and Arkansas State Parks getaways to a lifetime Game and Fish Commission license. I would love for our teachers, especially in ELA and any outdoor education or agriculture programs, to put this in front of students who spend time hunting, fishing, camping, or hiking around here. It is a low-lift way to turn something they already love doing into a shot at a genuinely good prize. Full rules and the entry form are at mynaturalstatestory.com.Closing CelebrationsOur senior high Bearcat football team opens its season tonight on the road against DeQueen, and we would love a strong crowd of Bearcat fans making the trip. If you cannot be there in person, you can watch live on Bearcat TV, our student-run broadcast on YouTube.It was a full week of athletics across Mena Public Schools. On the football field, our junior high Bearcats opened their season with a hard-fought 12-8 win over DeQueen at Bob Carver Bearcat Stadium. On the volleyball court, our Ladycats, our junior high Ladycats, and our seventh-grade squad all opened their seasons this week against tough competition from Greenwood and Lake Hamilton, and every team competed with effort and heart in every set. On the links, our golf teams turned in one of their best weeks yet, winning the team matches at Waldron and then traveling to DeGray, where the Bearcat team placed first overall in a field that included three teams ranked higher than Mena at the state level, while the Ladycats also turned in a strong showing.A special thank you to Brew Stop and Nordyke Photography for donating and delivering drinks to our staff at Holly Harshman Elementary this week. Gestures like these are much appreciated.In Mena Morphology Matters, our Week 3 root is aud, meaning to hear. Students across all four buildings are exploring words built on this root, from audio in our K-2 and elementary classrooms to audience in middle school and auditory in high school, along with word family members such as audible, audition, and auditorium. Watch for this week’s Bearcat Word Detective Challenge, and see how many aud words your student can uncover.It was a good week of effort at Mena Public Schools.At Mena Public Schools, our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.Keep leveling up and have a great weekend! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Good afternoon and welcome to the week three wrap up entitled Staying Connected, Staying Alert. This week we're looking at how we communicate while we watch for and two strong opportunities worth sharing with our students. Happy Friday. Thank you to our entire MENA Public Schools team for another strong week of collective effort toward our performance targets and academic growth, attendance, behavior, and climate. Three weeks into the year, our routines are taking hold and economic. every classroom and on every hallway. The relationships behind those routines are growing stronger by the day. That is what leveling up looks like in practice, not a single big chance, but steady, daily

progress that adds up. This week's wrap-up covers a change in how we communicate with families, an online safety concern for every staff member to understand two strong opportunities worth putting in front of our students and a look back at a busy week of bear cat lady cat activity. Transition from rooms to parent square. I want to update everyone on a change to how we communicate with families. We have discontinued rooms, the parent communication tool for Mapagy, because feedback from staff and families did not show that it was strong enough to justify staying with it.

We are transitioning to parent square. There's a link to the text in the text with more information. which now includes the messaging technology behind Remind, a tool many of our teachers already use and trust. I will be honest that we are behind our original schedule on this rollout, but Parent Square will be up and running district-wide in September. Once it is in place, Parent Square will let us reach every family through the channel that works best for them, whether it is the app, text message, email, or even an automated voice call. and messages will translate automatically into a family's preferred language.

Families will be able to reply directly by text or email without needing to download anything, and we will be able to send forms, permission slips, and sign-ups through the same system. Teachers will also be able to schedule messages ahead of time and use templates to save time while keeping communication organized and visible at the building and district level. In the meantime, and even after Parents Square is fully rolled out, I want to ask every teacher and building staff member not to rely on Facebook alone to get important information to families. Facebook is a wonderful way to celebrate our students and share good news, but not every parent sees it, and it should never be our only source or only method for anything families need

to truly know. continue to use paper notes home email phone calls and other direct methods alongside social media and thrill share so that no family misses information that matters to their child if you don't know about thrill share you can contact Mark Hobson serious online safety concern number 764 for those who don't do not know already the FBI has issued repeated warnings including one specific to Arkansas from the Little Rock Field Office about a decentralized online network known as 764 or 764 that targets minors through platforms our students use every day including

gaming apps discord and social media predators build trust with a young person then use blackmail and fear to coerce escalating and dangerous behavior sometimes including self-harm Federal investigators have already confirmed cases in Arkansas. Please treat this as a mandated reporter issue. Warning signs include a student suddenly withdrawing or becoming secretive, fixation on or fear of a new online contact, unexplained gifts or gaming currency, or unexplained marks or injuries.

If a student discloses anything that sounds like this or you notice these signs, please report immediately through our normal reporting channels. It can also be reported directly to the FBI at the number provided in the text. That's 1-800 call FBI or at the website that's provided in the text. It is far better than all of us to over-report a false alarm than miss a student who needs help. Opportunities for our students. A couple of strong opportunities are open right now and worth putting in front of the in front of the right students excuse me America

250 the organization Congress charged with leading nations 250th anniversary commemoration has opened a national startup competition for student innovators and the window is open right now students submit a short written proposal and a brief pitch video explaining a business idea what matters and how it could grow. Entries are due Thursday, October 8th. Ten finalists will receive $25,000 each in grant funding they do not have to give equity away for. The top three receive another $25,000 and the strongest 100 proposals earn an invitation to NVIDIA's startup program. The contest is open to students currently enrolled in an accredited college, university, or trade

school who are at least 13 years old, which makes our concurrent enrollment students and recent graduates eligible. Interested students should confirm their eligibility in the official rules at the link that's provided in the text before they begin. Separately, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has launched a new statewide contest called My Natural State Story, inviting Arkansas students to write about a real outdoor adventure they have had here at home. Students pick one of seven categories, hunting, fishing, boating, and paddling, climbing, camping, hiking, or the overall story of the year,

and tell that story in 500 words or less in their own words. It is open to two age groups, ages 10 through 13 and ages 14 through 17, and entries are due before October 10th. 16 students statewide will win with prizes ranging from gear and Arkansas State Parks getaways to a lifetime game and fish commission license. I would love for our teachers especially in ELA and any outdoor education or agriculture programs to put this in front of students who spend time hunting, fishing, camping, or hiking around here. It is a low-lift way to turn something they already love doing into a shot at genuinely good prizes. Fall rules and entry forms are at the link provided in the text.

Closing celebrations. Our senior high Bearcat football team opens its season tonight on the road against DeQueen at Dequeen and we would love for a strong crowd of Bearcat fans making the trip. If you cannot be there in person, you can watch it live on Bearcat TV, our student run broadcast on YouTube. There's a link to the YouTube channel in the text. It was a week full of athletics across Meena Public Schools. On the football field our junior high bearcats opened their season with a hard fought 12 to 8 win over to Queen at Bob Carver Bearcats Stadium. On the volleyball court our ladycats and junior high

lady cats and our seventh grade squad all opened their seasons this week against tough competitions from Greenwood and Lake Hamilton and every team competed with effort and heart in every set. On the links our golf teams turned in one of their best weeks yet winning the team match at Waldron and traveling to DeGray where the Bearcats the Bearcats team placed first overall in a field that included three teams ranked higher than Meena at the state level while the ladycats also turned in a strong showing a special thank special thank you to Bruce stop and

Nordic photography for donating and delivering drinks to our staff at Holly Harsman Elementary this week gestures like these are are much appreciated. In MENA Morphology Matters, our week three route is odd, A-U-D, meaning to hear. Students across all four buildings are exploring words built on this route, from audio and RK2 in elementary classrooms to audience in middle school and auditory in high school, along with word family members such as audible audition and auditorium. Watch for this week's Bearcat Word Detect the Challenge and see how many odd words your students can uncover. It was a good week of effort at Meena Public Schools. At Meena Public

Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident. Keep leveling up and have a great weekend.