District News

On Wednesday, December 11th, fourth and fifth grade classroom winners participated in the Schoolwide Tropicana Speaking Competition. Parents, students, teachers, and judges were amazed by the well thought out speeches and the students' ability to present them to such a large group of people. Congratulations to each of these students!!!

Fourth Grade

1st place - Carli Nowling - My Annoying Niece and Nephew

2nd place - Isabella Adkinson - Being an Only Child, Kids' Tables Are Awful

3rd place - Kari Hanscome - The Man Walt Disney

Fifth Grade

1st place - Rhiannon Fountain - Remodel Gone Wrong

2nd place - Chandler Shoaf - How to Write a Tropicana Speech

3rd place - Gracelyn Daniel - Our Money Habits

First and second place winners from our school competition will represent West DeFuniak at the District Tropicana Speaking Contest on December 18th at Freeport High School.

Submitted by Pam Beck

Congratulations to these students for completing their certifications for Microsoft Office Specialist or Microsoft Office Specialist Master for this school year!

1st period:
Jade Dalton
Avery Evans
Mahalia Harrison
Keegan Lloyd
Lillian Weeks
Emily Casey
Noel Dahl
Joseph Grgurich
Jacob Hilligoss
Josue Ramirez
Anthony Sarriera

3rd period:
Taylor Coffield
Cody Yates
Kim Vo

4th period:
Lauren Parker
Josiah Baur
Bryce Crowder
Ming Liu
Preston Pennington
Fernando Zuniga-Garcia
Kyra Gibson
Mercedes Goldsmith
Jonah Olwick

5th period:
James Busby
Joseph Lawniczak
Alexia Lee
Roan Miller
Austin Parker
Payton Farrell
Jordan Grimes
Hunter Smith
Sara Pelfrey

6th period:
Sky Verhine
Kadren Bach

7th period:
Adrian Cooper
Nicholas Fortin
Richard Larrick
Protia Martin
Skylar Slimmer
Elizabeth Whitegon
Ridge Donaldson

Congrats, and keep up the great work, Braves!

The Butler Elementary choir gave their final performances of the holiday season on Friday, December 14th. These third and fourth graders, under the direction of Mr. Dan Browne brought holiday cheer to the student body and guests! Submitted by Tammy Smith.

VRB Chorus

Walton Middle School proudly recognizes this year's Teacher and ESP of the Year. Mrs. Nina Thornton and Ms. Connie King work tirelessly to serve their school and its students and staff, and their hard work does not go unnoticed by their peers. Congratulations, Mrs. Thornton for Teacher of the Year (pictured left) and Ms. King (pictured right) for ESP of the Year! You make WMS proud. Submitted by Kristen Nelson.

Congratulations to all of our Walton County School District Science and Engineering Fair participants and winners! Over 175 students from all 7 of our Middle and High Schools participated in the Science Fair this year! All projects were judged the evening of December 3rdat the DeFuniak Springs Community Center. Students entered projects in the categories of Biology, Engineering, Environmental and Physical Science.

A special thank you to the Hermocallis Society, all of our Judges, teachers, students, families, and our Teacher of the Year, Joan Kennett for your involvement. The Science Fair Awards Ceremony was held the evening of December 6^th. Thank you all for your participation and hard work!

Submitted by Crystal Appel

Walton County Schools, through its Youth Leadership Program, participate in a county competition in December/January each year, organized by local contacts, and held at the Walton County Courthouse, DeFuniak Springs, Florida. A county winner is named each year and a traveling trophy is presented to the winning school. Special thanks to Dan Marcinkowski, former lawyer and Chamber of Commerce Representative, our teachers & students and Judge Kelvin C. Wells for assisting with this activity for the students of Walton County.

Congratulations to Freeport High School!

Submitted by Crystal Appel

Superintendent Hughes dropped by Bay Elementary School recently and had an opportunity to visit in several classrooms. He also had the opportunity to observe students unpack the standards in a first grade class. Submitted by Jennifer Nick.

South Walton High School’s faculty has chosen Ms. Bobbi Pinkston as our Teacher of the Year. Bobbi teaches English Honors II, Advanced Placement Capstone Research, and sponsors the literary magazine, the “Osprey”. Pictured are Bobbi Pinkston, Dr. Alexis Tibbetts and Walton County Teacher of the Year Mrs. Joan Kennett.

Submitted by Barbara Stratton.

Congratulations to Mrs. Carla Sconiers for being selected Teacher of the Year at West DeFuniak Elementary. This is her 7th year of teaching. She did her student teaching in first grade at WDE and has been in first grade ever since! Mrs. Sconiers helps students want to learn by getting to know them and their interests. Her goal is to also make learning as fun as it can be! She strives to build students up and support them on a daily basis!

When Mrs. Sconiers was asked about her classroom she said, "The children bless me more than I could ever bless them! I hope that my students leave me each year knowing 'Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.'" It is our privilege to recognize Mrs. Sconiers as Teacher of the Year!

Pictured with Mrs. Carla Sconiers is Mrs. Darlene Paul, Principal of West DeFuniak Elementary

Submitted by Darlene Paul.

Freeport High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes in cooperation with the Taylor Haugen Foundation enjoyed another year of providing sports equipment for the Boys and Girls Club of Defuniak. The high school students enjoy going to the Boys and Girls Club and hanging out with the kids there and playing with them. It is such a fun time to go play with them and thanks to the Taylor Haugen Foundation grant we can bring hem much needed equipment. The students also went the Chautaqua Nursing Center and handed out Christmas cards and played bingo with the residents. The prizes were provided by the Taylor Haugen Foundation. Submitted by Patty Woodard

WDE Announces Tropicana Winners!

December 17, 2018

Walton High School Announces Microsoft Office Specialist Certifications!

December 17, 2018

Butler Elementary Choir Gives Final Performance of the Holiday Season

December 17, 2018

Congratulations to Mrs. Thornton and Ms. King, WMS Teacher and ESP of the Year

December 17, 2018

Walton County Science and Engineering Fair 2018

December 16, 2018

Walton County Youth Leadership Students Participate in Mock Trial

December 16, 2018

Superintendent Hughes Visits Bay Elementary!

December 16, 2018

SWHS Announces Teacher of the Year

December 14, 2018

Congratulations to WDE's Teacher of the Year!

December 14, 2018

Freeport High School FCA Brings Joy to Young and Old!

December 13, 2018