This past week was packed with learning, activities, and community events for our Wildcats.
We were honored to welcome Sgt. Hogan from the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office to our school on Monday. Sgt. Hogan presented two powerful sessions on Internet Safety and Cyberbullying—one for 7th–12th graders and another for 4th–6th graders. Students gained valuable knowledge about staying safe online and making responsible choices in the digital world. We are grateful for Sgt. Hogan’s time, expertise, and dedication to our students, school, and county.
In the classrooms, students stayed busy with hands-on learning. Mrs. Ham’s 6th grade science class continued their study of living organisms, focusing on plant and animal cells. To bring their lesson to life, the students even built edible cell models last week. Meanwhile, 5th grade science students explored properties and states of matter by building their own concrete stepping stones, combining science with creativity.
James Boyd, Leddy Johnson, and Kenna Haney with their edible cell.
Phoenix, Nikki, and Kreed creating their edible cell.
Left to right: Lucas Coykendall, Kindrey Gaisford, Ellie Royal, Carley Nickel, and Wesley Wheeler working on their stepping stones for science.
Wednesday morning, several students gathered together for See You at the Pole. It was a special time of worship and prayer as students lifted up our school year.
Athletics also kept the week exciting. On Thursday, Arnett hosted the District Softball Tournament. The Lady Wildcats defeated Balko/Forgan 9–5, faced Dover in a tough matchup and lost 6–10, but bounced back in a big way to beat Dover 11–1. They now move on to Regionals this week. The District Baseball Tournament was also held Thursday. The boys started strong with a 15–11 win against Cimarron but later fell short in back-to-back games against Leedey, losing 0–12 and 1–11.
Back Row: Coach Shoaf, Brandon Bayless, Melissa Sovic, Julia Aparicio, Lauryn Bayless, Allie Tune, Hadley Brooks, Cori Perry, Lola Coleman, Landree Parsons, Coach Tune
Front Row: Hallie McCartor, Madison Haney, Charity Albert, and Riah Latta
Friday night brought excitement to the rodeo arena as several Arnett students competed in the junior barrel race, proudly showing off their talents in front of the hometown crowd.
On Saturday, the community came together for one of the year’s most loved traditions—the Arnett Ranch Rodeo. The day began with the A-Town TV Ranch Rodeo 5K, which saw its biggest turnout ever with more than 70 participants. Congratulations to all the winners: overall champion Nicolas Sant’Anna, Adult Female winner Ashton Suthers, Adult Male winner Ryan Elder, 12 & Under winner Kreed Dunham, and 50 & Over winner Gayla Bowman. A special thanks goes out to Day County Services for sponsoring and to the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office for keeping the course safe.
Nicholas Sant'Anna
Kreed Dunham
The fun didn’t stop there. The baseball team hosted a delicious pancake breakfast, the robotics team organized an exciting Amazing Race, and the Beta Club provided games on the courthouse square. With so many activities, there was something for everyone to enjoy.
Beta member, Lexi Gaisford racing Kaycen during the stick horse races.
Sunday wrapped up the busy weekend with the Ellis County 4-H Horse Show. Six Arnett students participated and did well across multiple events, including halter showing, riding competitions, and speed events such as barrels, poles, goat tying, and flags. It was a great showcase of skill, hard work, and horsemanship.
Peyton Ham, Lydia Schilling, Temperince Torrance, Kyler Ham, Cash Welty, River Welty, Anna Fay Pachner, Eliana Imke, Terryn Imke, Trinity DuPerron, and Kindrey Gaisford
There has been lots of activity in the fine arts department at Arnett. Mrs. Broyles has been busy providing opportunities for our students. She recently took Adante Smith to watch the piano recital of Dr. Eduardo Moreira at NWOSU. This is the third year Arnett students to attend Dr. Moreira’s recital. Adante and his sister, Jasmine Smith, also had the opportunity to watch a piano masterclass by internationally renowned pianist, Natasha Paremski. Six Oklahoma college students played for Ms. Paremski and then were given tips on how to improve their playing. It was amazing to hear the difference in their playing after her demonstrations of how to improve areas of technique and score interpretation. The masterclass was provided by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Adante Smith also recently attended a choir workshop at NWOSU to help prepare him for auditions with the WOCDA Honor Choir. Eli Coykendall and Noah Holman will also be auditioning for the choir. Last weekend Erin Jones entered art work in the High School Art Competition at the Elk City Fall Festival. There was a lot of tough competition and it was awesome to see all the artwork from other schools. Erin will be entering another art competition next month at the Metcalfe Museum in Durham. Mrs. Broyles is currently working on an opportunity for the band students to hear other bands play, as well as starting the Circle the State with Song practices after school, the Picture the Music project with 3rd and 4th grades, and the instrument stories with 5th and 6th grades. The Arnett band students will also start their first fundraiser on September 29 selling Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Driven Coffee.
Jasmine Smith, Natasha Paremski, and Adante Smith
Erin Jones with her artwork.
It was truly a week that celebrated learning, teamwork, and community spirit in Arnett. Go, Cats!