Health Sciences Academy at Darby Middle School

10 of our HOSA students attended and competed at the International Leadership Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana in June. They did a great job and were great representatives of Darby.

A special thank you to the following supporters for making this trip possible:

Fort Smith Public Schools
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith
AR State Representative Zack Gramlich
AR State Representative Jay Richardson
AR State Representative Lee Johnson
AR State Representative Cindy Crawford
AR State Senator Brad Simon
AR State Senator Justin Boyd
Ryan Geib

We hope to see all incoming 6th graders at Transition to Success on Friday, August 7, from 12:30-3:30. Come meet your teachers and get fitted for scrubs.

Our 6th grade Medical Detectives students completed their sheep brain dissection yesterday! 🧠🔬

Students had the opportunity to explore the different parts of the brain firsthand while learning about structure, function, and how the brain controls the body. This hands-on lab gave students a deeper understanding of neuroscience and sparked lots of curiosity and great discussion.

Great job to our students for staying engaged, asking thoughtful questions, and approaching the lab like future healthcare professionals! 👏

Our 7th grade Energy and Environment students put their engineering skills to the test today with a “Penguin Dwelling Challenge!” 🐧❄️

Students designed insulated dwellings to protect their frozen penguins from a heat lamp. After several minutes under the heat, the penguins were weighed to see how much mass they lost. The team in the first picture created our winning design with the best insulation and the least amount of melting! 🏆

Everyone did an amazing job using creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills throughout the activity. Great work, 7th grade! 👏

6th grade HSA students had an amazing day at ACHE learning all about healthy nutrition through four hands-on rotations! 🥦🍎

🥕 Students created beautiful Eric Carle-inspired still life collages.
🧩 They built the digestive system out of blocks and used a ping pong ball and marble to represent different food sizes traveling through the body.
🌱 In the hydroponics lab, students identified and tasted plants while also planting seeds of their own.
💰 They also learned about nutrition, healthy eating habits, and how to plan meals on a budget.

It was a fun and interactive day filled with creativity, science, and healthy living! 👏💙

7th grade HSA had a great visit today from these amazing ladies who taught our students about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle! Students got to try out a blender bike and make their own smoothie by powering the blender themselves. 🍓🍌🫐 They mixed strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and orange juice — and of course everyone got to taste the finished product!

Afterwards, Mr. Jacobs had students brushing up on their CPR skills and getting in some great hands-on practice. (he captured some awesome footage too! 🎥)

It was a fun day full of learning, movement, and healthy choices! 💙👏

The HSA students had a great time educating 5th graders about Oral Hygiene health.

So much fun making posters with 5th graders.

5th grade students are amazing. Our HSA students love teaching them about healthy habits.

How awesome are our students?!?! Leaders in the works.