The Walton County Academic Team has won the State Championship in Division 3 of the 32nd Commissioner’s Academic Challenge in Orlando, Florida with 188 points!

In the final competition Saturday morning, April 29, team Members Sean Brown, Malcolm Griffith, Jordan Nichols, Evan Cowie, Kier Teves,and Griffon Murphy were behind 1 point after the 5 point round, and behind 3 points after the 15 point round. They played smart and conservatively and made their way back up with the lead, which they maintained throughout the rest of the competition. As a team, they scored more points than any other team in the final competition on the Team Bonuses.

Two of the WCSD Academic Team coaches that traveled to the event with them, Coach Carla Griffith and Coach Glen Harrison, said it was amazing to see how well they worked together and functioned as a team! Special thanks to ALL the Academic Team coaches throughout the District who have worked with these students, some as early as 6th grade, to help prepare them for this exciting moment! 

Additional congratulations goes to Evan Cowie, Walton High School, for being selected for the Team Florida Academic Team! He will go on to compete in the National Academic Team competition! This is a great honor, and we know Evan will represent WCSD and the state of Florida well in this event!

       

Academic Team with Florida Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart 

 

              

 

Sheriff Michael Adkinson presented a check for $20,000 to Superintendent Hughes and Board Member Kim Kirby at the School Board meeting on April 18th. This donation is to support the Criminal Operations program at Freeport High School. This program will provide training to high school students in the areas of 911 Telecommunications and Crime Scene Investigations. Sheriff Adkinson spoke a few words about how he loved being able to support his community and turn bad money into good as the donation came from drug money that was seized by the Sheriff's department. Mr. Hughes thanked Sheriff Adkinson for his generous donation and said that he looked forward to continuing their work together through the Children's Advocacy Center. Photo provided by DeFuniak Herald Beach Breeze.  Submitted by Donna Honish.

The Teen Trendsetters program, sponsored by The Barbara Bush Foundation and funded in part through a grant from the St. Joe Foundation was a huge success for the 2016-2017 school year. Selected Van R. Butler Elementary second grade students were paired with a mentor / tutor student from South Walton High School. Each pair met once a week throughout the school year. An overall gain in student reading Lexile levels of 10,315 points was achieved!  The Elementary and High School participants enjoyed an end of the year celebration of the program's success on Wednesday, April 26th.

Pictured below:  Dr. Alexis Tibbetts, Principal of South Walton High School; Shelly Hinojosa, SWHS Leadership Class Instructor; Kelly Layman, Barbara Bush Foundation; Janet Greeno, St. Joe Foundation; Carrie Chavers, Walton School District Literacy Coach; and Tammy Smith, Principal of Van R. Butler Elementary School.

 

Submitted by Debbie McBroom.