📚 Battle of the Books 2026 📚
Congratulations to our First and Second Grade students who were selected to represent our school on this year’s Louise Durham Battle of the Books teams! 🎉
Battle of the Books is a reading competition where teams of students answer questions based on a pre-selected list of books they’ve read. Sponsored by the DeQueen–Mena Educational Co-Op, this program promotes reading comprehension, teamwork, and a love for literature.
During the competition, teams face off by answering trivia-style questions about the books’ characters, themes, and events. It’s a fun and engaging way to build literacy skills and foster a strong sense of community around reading.
Our first and second grade teams will compete against other area schools this March, and we couldn’t be more proud of their dedication and hard work! 📖✨
📚 Way to go, readers! We are so excited about all the books you’ve read and can’t wait to cheer you on! ❤️
One of the best ways to discover new favorite books is through recommendations—and that’s why we LOVE We Recommend Wednesday! 📚
This week’s We Recommend Wednesday features First Grade student Violet Ward! 📚📚
Violet from Mrs. Sawyer’s First Grade class loves visiting the library throughout the week, where she enjoys discovering new characters and stories.
She LOVES books and was so excited to recommend all the books in the Pig The Pug Series by Aaron Blabey.
“I love all of the books in the Pig The Pug Series! He is so much fun and always makes me laugh.”~Violet
Stop by the LD Library to grab any of the books in this fun series and discover so many other amazing books!
This week’s We Recommend Wednesday features First Grade student Violet Ward! 📚📚
Violet from Mrs. Sawyer’s First Grade class loves visiting the library throughout the week, where she enjoys discovering new characters and stories.
She LOVES books and was so excited to recommend all the books in the Pig The Pug Series by Aaron Blabey.
“I love all of the books in the Pig The Pug Series! He is so much fun and always makes me laugh.”~Violet
Stop by the LD Library to grab any of the books in this fun series and discover so many other amazing books!
Our kindergarten class is excited to begin working with number bonds!
Students are having fun composing and decomposing numbers as they build strong math skills.
National English Honor Society members delivered letters from Santa and postcards from the elves to the second grade students of Louise Durham Elementary on Monday.
A Big Congratulations to our Preschool students who have now read 500 Books Before Kindergarten!!!🎉🎉. We are so very proud of you!!
“When you read to a child, when you put a book in a child’s hands, when you pass on your love of words and stories, you are doing something incredibly powerful.”
❤️ -Mem Fox
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a Free program that’s goal is to encourage families to read daily!
In return, not only is it a fun family activity, it also
builds vocabulary, improves comprehension, develops memory skills, develops imagination, and impacts literacy skills and their future academic success!
🎉Congratulations To:
Armanii Gonzalez
Madeline Walker
Wesley Ann Watts
“When you read to a child, when you put a book in a child’s hands, when you pass on your love of words and stories, you are doing something incredibly powerful.”
❤️ -Mem Fox
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a Free program that’s goal is to encourage families to read daily!
In return, not only is it a fun family activity, it also
builds vocabulary, improves comprehension, develops memory skills, develops imagination, and impacts literacy skills and their future academic success!
🎉Congratulations To:
Armanii Gonzalez
Madeline Walker
Wesley Ann Watts
Jenna Williams and Averie Martin from the Mena Middle School FCCLA made a presentation about making healthy choices to students at Louise Durham on Thursday! They did a great job and the students loved it!
Turkey’s in Disguise at LD! 🦃
This November we are all about STEM for GT enrichment! 🦃
Kindergarteners are building a turkey coop to house our turkey until Thanksgiving.
1st graders are making a boat after learning a little about the Mayflower.
2nd graders are building a device that helps poor Farmer Fred (he broke his leg) get corn/pumpkins out to the turkey.
Kindergarteners are building a turkey coop to house our turkey until Thanksgiving.
1st graders are making a boat after learning a little about the Mayflower.
2nd graders are building a device that helps poor Farmer Fred (he broke his leg) get corn/pumpkins out to the turkey.
Team Day. Team America at LDE 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙
Thank you, Miss Polk County for coming to read to Mrs. Todd's Students on Friday. It was the perfect ending to the best day.
LDE students had a fun visit this from Firepup and Smokey Bear on Thursday! We learned about Fire Safety and what to do in an emergency!
The best way to find new favorite books to read is by book suggestions and that is why we LOVE
“We Recommend Wednesday!”📚
We Recommend Wednesday with Mrs. Sirkis’s Kindergarten Class! 📚📚
The Faculty, Staff and Students at Louise Durham love books, reading and talking about all their favorite stories!
Mrs. Sirkis’s class was excited to recommend the book: “Tap The Magic Tree ”
Her class said :
We loved the book “Tap The Magic Tree” because it is magic! Every time you touch and turn the page something new happens. We used this book to learn more about the seasons of the year! This is a must read!”❤️📚
Grab this awesome book and so many others in our LD library!
“We Recommend Wednesday!”📚
We Recommend Wednesday with Mrs. Sirkis’s Kindergarten Class! 📚📚
The Faculty, Staff and Students at Louise Durham love books, reading and talking about all their favorite stories!
Mrs. Sirkis’s class was excited to recommend the book: “Tap The Magic Tree ”
Her class said :
We loved the book “Tap The Magic Tree” because it is magic! Every time you touch and turn the page something new happens. We used this book to learn more about the seasons of the year! This is a must read!”❤️📚
Grab this awesome book and so many others in our LD library!
Mystery guest reader in Mrs. Todd's class!!
I’ve never seen a group of kids love a book this much. They begged our mystery guest reader to pick this one. When you have someone as animated as Coach Rose read one of your favorites you can guarantee it’s nonstop giggles.
I’ve never seen a group of kids love a book this much. They begged our mystery guest reader to pick this one. When you have someone as animated as Coach Rose read one of your favorites you can guarantee it’s nonstop giggles.
The best way to find new favorite books to read is by book suggestions and that is why we LOVE
“We Recommend Wednesday!”📚
We Recommend Wednesday with Mrs. Todd’s Kindergarten Class! 📚📚
The Faculty, Staff and Students at Louise Durham love books, reading and talking about all their favorite stories!
Mrs. Todd’s class was excited to recommend the book: “Pout-Pout Fish ”
Her class said :
“We loved reading this hilarious rhyming story with Mr. Pout-Pout Fish! His journey shows us that it’s all about perspective—our attitudes can make a big difference in how we see the world. This story reminds us that feelings don’t last forever and with a little shift in thinking, we can choose joy and kindness instead of gloom”..❤️📚
Grab this awesome book and so many others in our LD library!
“We Recommend Wednesday!”📚
We Recommend Wednesday with Mrs. Todd’s Kindergarten Class! 📚📚
The Faculty, Staff and Students at Louise Durham love books, reading and talking about all their favorite stories!
Mrs. Todd’s class was excited to recommend the book: “Pout-Pout Fish ”
Her class said :
“We loved reading this hilarious rhyming story with Mr. Pout-Pout Fish! His journey shows us that it’s all about perspective—our attitudes can make a big difference in how we see the world. This story reminds us that feelings don’t last forever and with a little shift in thinking, we can choose joy and kindness instead of gloom”..❤️📚
Grab this awesome book and so many others in our LD library!
Louise Durham Elementary is so grateful for the generous donation of tissue and hygiene products from Mena Area Realtors! 🐾🖤❤️ Your support helps keep our students healthy, comfortable, and ready to learn. Thank you for investing in our kids and our school community!
First day of Kindergarten was amazing!
We had a great 1st day back!
On August 4th, the Mena Public Schools Special Education Department set sail into the new school year with their annual update, themed Inclusion Island. Staff gathered to focus on strategies that foster inclusive practices across all settings. Special guest presenter, Karen Grady, led an engaging session on Differentiation in the Classroom, providing tools and insights to support diverse learners.
The Back to School Bash was this past weekend and was open to every family in Polk County. The event included free school supplies, a No Sale Yard Sale, and a free lunch. Several school personnel served at this event and over 800 kids and adults attended. This is the third year that Mena Public Schools with the leadership of Shanda Craig has served our community with this event.
A crew from Heritage Signs and Awnings were installing a new awning at the bus rider entrance/exit at Louise Durham Elementary on Monday.
Preparations continue for the 2025-2026 school year. The first day of school for K-12 in Mena is Wednesday, August ,13th.
Preparations continue for the 2025-2026 school year. The first day of school for K-12 in Mena is Wednesday, August ,13th.
