It’s a great year to be a Charging Wildcat! North Little Rock High School is showing off many new facilities and amenities in the 2015-2016 school year, including the brand-new stadium and track.

In August, two of the four new academic buildings were ready for students, and the remainder of the new high school buildings will open throughout the school year. When construction is completed, the campus will have four academic buildings with labs, media centers, and career and tech centers that instruct students on digital animation, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, medical professions, culinary arts, television broadcasting and more.

Students will also be able to enjoy a new commons and cafeteria, performing arts building with an auditorium that accommodates more than 1,000 audience members, and a smaller black box theater space, modern theater classrooms, and space for band, choir and orchestra. Plus, the physical education and sports teams will have a new practice gym with multiple courts and a walking track on the second level.

(For more, see Sneak Peek: Inside the New North Little Rock High School.)

Way to go, Episcopal Collegiate School! The independent school recently earned an accreditation from Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS)—giving them the unique accomplishment of earning accreditation by three organizations. They are also accredited by Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools (SAES), and Arkansas Non-Public School Accrediting Association (ANSAA).

During the 2014-2015 school year, 14,671 students in the Little Rock School District participated in the myOn Reading Challenge—and those youngsters were reading machines! Forest Heights STEM Academy came in first, reading 23,579 books. McDermott Elementary earned the number two spot with 21,259 books read. Third place went to Fulbright Elementary (pictured below), whose students read 18,952 books and also were recognized for the most time spent reading.

Congratulations to Arkansas Baptist School—their team competed in the 12th Annual Stock Market Game-Capitol Hill Challenge and finished 7th in the nation! During the 14-week challenge, the team of high school students invested a hypothetical $100,000 in listed stocks, bonds and mutual funds in order to learn about investing and capital markets. The top 10 teams won a trip to Washington, D.C. and were recognized at an awards reception in June.

All summer long, Arkansas Virtual Academy hosted ARVA Park Summer Days for students throughout the state. Students from all grades cooled off at splash pads and water parks while making friends, connecting with other ARVA families and meeting learning coaches.