Under the leadership of new Superintendent Michael Day, a wide variety of extracurricular programming is now being offered across the Marion County School District to students as early as third grade.
West Marion Elementary and West Marion Primary are excited to announce the expansion of the schools' archery programs. On the heels of the first state championship in any organized sport in the history of West Marion High School, archery will now be offered to students in grades three through six.
Leading the program at WME will be Louise Thomas, and at WMP will be Jade Russell and Lori Lowe. All three recently received the certification training necessary to implement the program and returned excited to get the program started.
“I am excited to be able to help get the first-ever archery program started at WME, and I think it’s an awesome opportunity for our students,” Thomas, teacher assistant at WME, said.
“Archery is a sport that is inclusive to students of all sizes, abilities and academic levels. Archery is a positive reinforcement sport where safety is our first priority, and the second priority is building confidence in our archers," Russell said. "Many students will benefit from the confidence that comes from this type of program. We are thrilled to offer archery and cannot wait to move in a positive direction with our student archers.”
Archery in the public school setting has quickly become a growing sport in Mississippi during the past 10-15 years.
West Marion High School head archery coach Todd Pittman said, “It’s an exciting day at West Marion for the expansion of our archery program. Archery is an excellent extracurricular opportunity for many of our students that otherwise wouldn’t participate in a spring sport. I look forward to working with WME and WMP to help provide this opportunity to their students.”
The high school has one of the most respected archery programs in the state, competing at a very high level year in and year out. In 2021, they were able to capture the school’s first ever state championship.
Ryan Stringer, principal at WME, said, “Success in any area often creates a buzz. The success of our high school archery program is no different. It is important to provide our students with opportunities outside of the classroom, and this is an excellent outlet. I am excited for my students, and I feel that this program will serve as an excellent feeder program for the high school and hopefully create a sustained championship caliber program for years to come.”
In any school, it is important to note the diverse needs of a community and address those needs through programs offered. The students at WMP and WME are very excited to have this opportunity.
Nathan White, a 5th-grade student at WME, said, “I am excited because I think it’s important to provide students my age with sports related activities.”
Jace Ulmer, a 3rd-grade student at WMP, said, “I love shooting bows, and I am excited about the archery program. I look forward to making new friends and competing.”
