Bentonville Merit finalists to get rings

BENTONVILLE -- Bentonville High School plans to hand out jewelry to some of its top academic performers.

The school's 18 students named 2017 National Merit semifinalists -- the most of any school in Arkansas this year -- were honored during Tuesday's School Board meeting.

Bentonville High School’s National Merit Semifinalists

Samuel E. Cecil, Sydney N. Darling, Adam J. Greenfield, Surya K. Gudivada, William H. Hoisington, Lillian E. Larson, Jacob K. Loukota, Carter B. Madden, John J. Marrufo, Jacob A. Morrow, Pooja Naik, Andrew S. Palmer, Lorenzo B. Rocchi, Moushumi Sahu, Shiva Shanmuganathan, Lexie N. Shepard, Hayden R. Townsend and Brandon D. Ward.

Source: Staff report

Principal Jack Loyd, addressing a crowded meeting room, said the school loves its athletics and arts programs, "But that's not what we're about. What we're about is academics."

After introducing the students individually, Loyd announced he would be giving rings to each of the ones who advance to become finalists in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The rings will be similar to what athletic teams receive for winning a championship. Loyd presented drawings from Jostens of what the rings will look like, with "BHS" in the center and "National Merit 2017" around the edge.

"I think you're going to be the first ever to receive a National Merit finalist ring," Loyd told the students.

The school will pay for the rings out of its budget. The students also will be treated to dinner at a nice restaurant, Loyd said.

About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the program by taking the Preliminary SAT and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, according to a news release from the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

To become a finalist, a semifinalist must provide information on academic record, participation in school and community activities and more. About 15,000 of the 16,000 semifinalists are expected to become finalists, according to the release.

Bentonville High's 18 semifinalists is a record for the school. Another 36 students from Benton and Washington counties qualified as National Merit semifinalists this year.

In other business at Tuesday's board meeting, the board unanimously approved three requests from the administration.

One was a proposal to enter into a lease-purchase agreement with a car dealership for a 2015 GMC Acadia, to be used by assistant athletic director Jeff McGee.

While the agreement will be in the district's name, Everett Buick GMC of Bentonville will make the payments. After about one year, the district will trade the vehicle in for a replacement with fewer miles on it, and the dealer will continue making the payments, according to Janet Schwanhausser, district finance director.

This is the first time the district has engaged in such a deal, which Everett Buick GMC suggested to athletic director Scott Passmore, Schwanhausser said.

The district provides a vehicle to those employees who travel a lot because it's less expensive than reimbursing them for mileage, Schwanhausser said.

The board approved a temporary construction easement for Bentonville on the northwest corner of Elm Tree Road and Arkansas 72, outside of Elm Tree Elementary and Ardis Ann Middle schools. The easement is necessary for the city to access school property while working on a project that will widen the intersection.

The board also approved a $56,902 furniture purchase from Moser Corp. for West High School. The package includes mostly tables, chairs, bookshelves, white boards and musical instrument storage.

A portion of the bond money approved by voters for West High School was set aside for furniture, fixtures and equipment. The money for this purchase comes entirely from that allocation, according to Jonathon Guthrie, the school's principal.

NW News on 10/19/2016

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