M.D. Williams Middle School

As we wrap up another great school year, we want to remind our families of a few important dates:

Last Day of School: Friday, May 22
First Day of School for Students (2026-2027): Wednesday, August 12

We’re looking forward to finishing the year strong and hope everyone enjoys a safe, fun, and well-deserved summer break. Thank you for another wonderful year at Pocahontas School District!

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program for kids in grades 1-6.

Please be reminded that all student medications must be picked up from your child’s school building no later than 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 22.

Any medications not picked up by this deadline will be destroyed.

If you have questions, please contact your child’s school office or nurse. Thank you for your attention to this important reminder.

The Redskins Shooting Team competed this weekend at the Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports (YSS) Eastern Regional held at the Arkansas Game and Fish Shooting Sports Complex in Jacksonville, AR.

This tournament featured teams from all classifications across eastern Arkansas, competing for a chance to advance to the State Shoot.

Our Sr. High Red Team qualified for the State Shoot, placing 16th out of 98 squads with a team score of 220. Top shooters were Wade Zitzelberger, Kipton Jansen, and Abe Hibbard, each scoring 46/50, placing them in the top 17% of 423 senior shooters. Peyton Amos followed closely with a 45/50.

Our Jr. High team had 3 squads compete, with the Jr. Red Team advancing to State after placing 12th out of 80 squads. Top shooters were Jackson Vanwinkle, whose 23/25 placed him in the top 7% of 354 junior shooters, and Abel Johnson and August French, whose 21/25 placed them in the top 20%.

MDW will be having our end of the year academic awards on Tuesday, May 19th.
Ceremony will take place in the gymnasium at MDW. Times are attached to the attachment below.

We still have several students that have not returned their library books. Please remind students to return them as soon as possible.

Congratulations to these students for having the most points in Accelerated Reader in the whole school! 1st-Emma Long 2nd-Violet McCleskey 3rd-Lydia White 4th-William Lane 5th-Vivian Baltz 6th-Lillian Lee 7th-Ava Foster 8th-Miranda Hick 9th-Violet Corder 10th-Tiann Juonran

The Pocahontas Football staff will host a parent meeting on May 19 at 6:00 p.m. in the Pocahontas High School cafeteria for all students entering 7th–12th grade football. Important information regarding the upcoming season will be discussed, and all players and parents are encouraged to attend. ❤️🏈🤍

Congratulations to our 4th Grade Spelling Bee winners! 🐝📚 🥇 1st Place — Crissia Jibauir 🥈 2nd Place — Beckett Stewart 🥉 3rd Place — Kasen Wilcox We are proud of all of our students who participated and showed off their hard work, confidence, and spelling skills! Great job, students!

Thank you to everyone that donated to M.D. Williams teacher appreciation! We really appreciate your kindness and generosity. Here is an updated list.

Thank you so much for donating to M.D. Williams staff appreciation week! We really appreciate your kindness and generosity!

Parent & Guardian Survey – Early Release Wednesdays Our district is asking for your input to help us better plan for Early Release Wednesdays for the upcoming school year. Please take a few minutes to complete this short survey. Your feedback is extremely important and will help us make decisions that best support students, families, and staff. 👉 Survey link: https://forms.gle/icJfRH5gBy1YMDjR6 Thank you for supporting our students!

We are requesting community input regarding Early Release Wednesdays. Please take a few moments to complete the following form: 👉 https://forms.gle/yJbm7To3zD543RMdA Your feedback is valuable and will assist us to better meet the needs of our students, families, and staff. We appreciate your time and continued support of our schools.

The Randolph County Library has a really amazing summer reading program! Please take our students to join! They will have so much fun!

Due to a downed power line across the road, a portion of the building at M.D. Williams Intermediate School is currently without power, internet, and phone service. Crews are working to resolve the issue as quickly and safely as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding while service is being restored. Updates will be shared as they become available.

Please make sure all library books are returned to the M.D. Williams Library by Friday (5-8-26) to avoid charges. Notes were sent home with students during library class this week.

Last week, our 4th grade students had the pleasure of welcoming a very special mystery reader, Lilly Burns! 📚✨

Miss Lilly shared her book, Farmer Jack and the Never Ending Puzzle, a story inspired by her dad, Billy Jack, and his daily responsibilities on the family farm. Students enjoyed hearing the story and learning more about the inspiration behind the book and the importance of hard work, family, and storytelling.

Thank you, Miss Lilly, for spending time with our students and sharing your talents with our school community! ❤️

Today we celebrate the care, compassion, and dedication of our school nurses. ❤️

Thank you for the countless ways you support our students and staff each day—providing comfort, care, encouragement, and a safe place for so many. From scraped knees to steady reassurance, your impact reaches far beyond! We are grateful for all you do to help keep our schools healthy, supported, and ready to learn.

Happy National School Nurse Day!

📢 **5th Grade Field Trip Update** 📢

Please note there has been a change to 5th grade field trip plans!!

We will no longer be traveling to Lake Charles. Instead, students will spend the morning at a local park.

All other details will remain the same unless otherwise noted. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out and call (870) 892-4573 ext. 2002 or 2003.