March 2020
LISA Students and Staff Embrace Distance Learning During COVID-19 Closure
Students and staff have been experiencing a new way of learning since Arkansas schools closed to on-site education on March 13th. Families have been adjusting to a new normal and working with teachers to provide education at home. LISA staff have worked with families to provide technology support by checking out Chromebooks to any family needing them. LISA North Elementary teachers hosted a drive by meeting for students, and administrators are meeting virtually with parents.

Please visit our website to see the most up to date information regarding
LISA Academy Innovators 3-D Print Face Shields to Donate to Arkansas Children's Hospital and the Arkansas Department of Health
Students and staff of LISA Academy have been working in their homes and garages using the school’s 3D printers to design and print face shields to donate to Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the Arkansas Department of Health. 

The LISA Academy team, led by STEM coordinator, Murat Konac, worked in collaboration with ACH engineer, Justin Criddle, to create models that best meet the needs of ACH health care providers. LISA Academy delivered two different models to ACH on Friday, April 10 at 3:00 p.m. that will be put into use in the hospital’s ICU. Criddle of ACH has initially requested 15 each of the Budmen model and the US version of the Prusa model shields to test. Once they have run a test with both models, LISA Academy will continue production of additional shields as needed for ACH. Shields were also delivered to Dr. Naveen Patil, LISA Advisory Board member, and Dr. Nate Smith at the Arkansas Department of Health on Monday, April 13th.

Lt. Governor Tim Griffin stated regarding LISA Academy’s work on this project, “ I am incredibly proud of the LISA Academy students and staff who are using their 3D printers to make face shields to donate to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. COVID-19 has created a worldwide shortage of personal protective equipment like face shields, and LISA Academy is stepping up to be part of the solution. I applaud their initiative, ingenuity, and generosity.”

LISA Academy Springdale Student
Helping his Community
LISA Academy Springdale 6 th grade student, Zachary T, has been using his own 3D printer to make Ear Guards. He has used a model from https://www.thingiverse.com/ that is approved by the National Institute of Health. These Ear Guards hold the straps of masks so that they do not irritate the ears.

Anyone with a 3D printer can download the file and make them. It takes 1.5 hours to print a set of 5. So far Zachary and his family have delivered and mailed about 100 of them. He’s even sent some to New York! He’s donating the guards, and his 14-year-old sister is helping with the shipping. She has her own baking business and they are using her Facebook page to help spread word. He will continue making them as long as there is a need. If anyone wants one, they can send a message on Facebook (Kait’s Cookies and More). 

LISA Academy Superintendent, Dr. Faith Bogrek, stated, “We are so proud Zachary and other LISA Academy students and staff who are finding ways to use their STEM skills to help their communities.”

Academic Competition Recap
State GeoBee Qualifier
LISA Chenal student Balasankar Seenivasan qualified for the State GeoBee competition to be held on March 27th at the University of Central Arkansas in the Ida Waldran Auditorium in Conway. Congratulations to Bala! He previously won the LISA Academy Chenal school GeoBee contest and will now be one of 100 participants in the 2020 National Geographic GeoBee Arkansas competition.
Regional Science Fair Winners
LISA West Middle School Science students participated in the regional science fair competition. Many received awards from different categories. Here is the list of the winners:
 
  • Biochemistry: 1st Place Ahmad Alam 

  • Botany: 1st Place Kevin Siju

  • Cell & Molecular:  1st Bhavana Sridharan

  • Electrical Engineering: 2nd Place Anthony White
                 3rd Place Palaash Pandey 

  • Engineering: 1st Place Ahona Ghosh 
       HM Vasudev Chandrasekhar

  • Environmental Management: 1st Place Suhana Mushtaq

  • Health & Medicine: 1st Place Kartik Joshi
           2nd Aungsula Pathak
            HM: Geethika Alturi & Ritha Meenachi

  • Microbiology: 1st Place Elaine Kim

  • Physics & Astronomy: 1st Place Yahya Younus

  • Junior Academy of Science Research Paper- Ahona Ghosh & Bhavana Sridharan 

Broadcom Masters:
Kevin Siju
               Kartik Joshi
               Ahona Ghosh
               Suhana Mushtaq
               Bhavana Sridharan
               Ahmad Alam
               Kaneeka Chakrborty
               Elaine Kim
               Yayah Younus
               Aungsula Pathak

Scientist of Tomorrow : Ahona Ghosh


LISA Chenal Elementary Students also competed and won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards, and four students were nominated to compete in the 2020 Broadcom MASTERS.

LISA North Elementary Students
Congratulations to Chloe Paro for earning the Elementary/Middle School Division Honorable Mention award. Ms. Holcomb is her science teacher, and Mr. Howard was the teacher accompanying her at the event.

LISA North Middle School Students, coached by Rabia Ozpinar also participated and won several awards. Those competing were Piper Jones, Andrew Smith, Emily Lin, Jack Thompson and Zamari Ball.

Piper Jones got first place in Physical and Engineering Science category and Andrew Smith got second place in Animal Science category. Piper and Andrew are also nominated to compete in the 2020 Broadcom MASTERS.
VEX IQ Robotics - LISA Chenal
The 6th grade VEX IQ Robotics team participated in the State Competition and achieved some impressive results. The team placed 11th place out of 42 mostly veteran teams. Our students did very well in their first year of VEX robotics. 
LISA West Middle and Elementary Schools Mathcounts teams Place in State competition
The LISA West Middle School Mathcounts team placed 4th place on March 7th at the statewide competition. Two team members placed in the top 10 for the individual category.  The team was coached by Mr. Ersin Apuhan.

The LISA Chenal 6th grade MATHCOUNTS team placed 7th in the State Tournament. These 6th graders were competing against mostly 7th and 8th graders and were coached by Miranda White.
Destination Imagination Teams

North Elementary DI Team Results :

On March 7th, students from Lisa Academy North Elementary competed in the Northern Regional Destination Imagination competition. Students chose to compete in the Picture This category in which they had to choose a picture and create a skit in which they recreate the pose during the skit. In addition, we researched photography techniques and chose one to exhibit theatrically in the play to demonstrate a character having a change in opinion or thought process. Our students chose to also build their own set with background and costume changes.

The Strem Squad includes Avianna Barker, Nalan Bogrek, Raegan Ellis, Sofia Mathews, Aayushi Patel, and Aiden Robuck.

Congratulations to our team for a wonderful 2nd place finish! (Dr. Rogers was the coach)
Team members moving to state are:
Aaushi Patel
Avianna Barker
Nalan Bogrek
Aden Robuck
Sofia Matthews

The State competition was originally scheduled for April 4th in Benton, but was not held due to school closures.

LISA West High School DI Results:

LISA West High School DI team participated at the regional tournament, placing third in the "In The Cards" challenge. This is an engineering challenge which requires students to include a story to accompany the technical solution.

The team qualified to compete at the state competition. 

We are very proud of all the hard work and creativity of our high school students and their coach, Benjamin Eggleton

LISA West High School Students Selected for Arkansas Governor's School

Three LISA Academy West High School students were selected for participation in the 41st Annual Arkansas Governor's School. The Arkansas Governor’s School is a four-week summer residential program for upcoming high school seniors who are residents of the state of Arkansas. The program is funded by the Arkansas State Legislature as a portion of the biennial appropriation for Gifted and Talented Programs through the State Department of Education. State funds provide tuition, room, board, and instructional materials for each student who attends the four-week program on the site of a residential college campus, sponsored by the State. The Arkansas Governor’s School is a non-credit program that seeks to create a unique experience for a select group of Arkansas’ best students—the potential leaders of the 21st century. Both inside and outside the classrooms, AGS provides highly motivated, creative students with an intellectual atmosphere impossible to sustain in ordinary academic settings. The excitement of intellectual and artistic pursuits and the expectation of significant conceptual gains permeate all aspects of the participants’ lives for the full four weeks. Selected students are:


Emma Durand
Lisa Academy High
Social Science


Sarah Durand
Lisa Academy High
English/Language Arts

Dana Abou-Diab
Lisa Academy High
Natural Science Alternate
First Annual LISA Academy Job Fair
Held on March 7, 2020
The first annual LISA Academy Job Fair was held in the LISA North Middle/High School building on Saturday, March 7th. Principals met and interviewed potential job candidates for jobs at all campuses. The event was organized by Mr. Necati Sahin, HR Director.
LISA Academy Public Charter Schools Introduces Online Course Option
FREE online courses for homeschool and private school students!

LISA Academy Public Charter School is proud to offer a new partnership with private school and homeschooling families who are interested in enrolling students in online K-12 courses. Families in Pulaski County, Arkansas, are eligible for this offer.

Our online option provides private or homeschooled students free access to a quality curriculum which delivers proven, standards-based instruction that generates excitement and creativity in science, language arts, math, social studies, music, wellness, and visual arts. Students remain in their private school or homeschool environments but enjoy the benefits of a flexible schedule and online access. The courses are offered through APSRC in collaboration with Lincoln Learning.

This partnership makes available the most personalized, engaging, and responsive learning experience to students. Families may enroll anytime during the year.
The unlimited number of seats means that students always get their first choice when selecting online courses. The Academy serves K-12 students

LISA Academy puts innovative features at students’ fingertips, including a screen reader, a six-language translator, and an advanced note-taking tool. Combined with our flexible learning management system, these features allow students and families to easily navigate course content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
By combining engaging online activities such as interactive games, broadcast-quality videos, and comprehensive assessments with hands-on elements like experiments, art projects, activity books, and supply kits, our program provides students with a robust and fulfilling educational experience.

Courses are available now and for the 2019-20 school year. Contact us at online@lisaacademy.org for more information.

Last day of School - May 22, 2020