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Mrs. West's Career Planning classes at Walton Middle School have made a commitment to complete a community project each nine weeks. The first nine weeks, the classes chose to show their appreciation to the city police officers.  Each student wrote a thank you letter to the officers, and each officer received a survival kit full of goodies donated by the students' families. Submitted by Kristen Rhodes.

West DeFuniak Elementary is excited to announce that we have begun a new MakerSpace Club.  This club meets monthly and engages students in hands-on activities that promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).  For their first activity, students were asked to think about how they could create the longest chain possible using only one sheet of construction paper.  They began by creating an individual plan, and then worked with a partner to brainstorm other possible solutions.  Lots of discussion centered around the definition of a chain.   Our longest chain was over 26 feet long.  We are thrilled to be able to offer this new critical thinking opportunity to our students.  Future club activities involve Sphero, Makey Makey, Lego, and more!

The SWHS Marching Band earned a superior rating at the Southern Showcase in Dothan, AL this past weekend.  The band is under the direction of Mr. Bobby Escamilla. Submitted by Barbara Stratton.

On Saturday, October 8, the WHS Marching Braves traveled to Dothan to compete in the 10th annual Southern Showcase.  The band competed in class 1A alongside 10 other groups from Florida and Alabama.  The Walton Braves not only received Straight Superior Ratings for their performance, but were awarded Best in Class awards for Color Guard, Band, Percussion, and Drum Major.  The band was also awarded the Challenge Cup Championship (first place) for class 1A for the first time in their performance history at the Southern Showcase.  Way to go, Braves! (The band also received Superior Ratings on September 24th and October 1st at Rehobeth and Milton High School.  The ensemble will be traveling to Fort Walton on October 15 to compete at the Emerald Coast Marching Classic.) Submitted by Chad Robbins, WHS Band Director.

This video clip features our very own Superintendent of Schools, Mrs. Carlene Anderson as well as Van R. Butler Elementary Principal, Mrs. Tammy Smith, Sparking Interest in Reading with the support of the Barbara Bush Foundation. Submitted by Kelly Layman.
http://www.emeraldcoastmagazine.com/Blogs/The-EC-Blog/News-2016/Reading-Rally-Aims-to-Spark-Interest-in-Reading/

8th grade technology students participated in a team challenge to "Sumo wrestle" basic robots. Liam and Michael came out victorious in the double elimination tournament. During the next round, students will be able to modify their basic robots to their own design based on how the robots performed initially. Submitted by Chelsea Ellison.

Walton Academy Charter School held its first Title I Parent Night on Tuesday, October 4.  Families and community members were invited to learn about Title I, hear from Emerald Coast Technical College about the programs they offer, and meet their child’s teachers.  Walton High School’s culinary program catered the event, and Ms. Betty Cruce won a $100 Visa Gift Card at the end of the evening.  Overall, it was a great success! Submitted by Jamie Mitchell.

South Walton High School Crowned their Homecoming King and Queen on Friday, Dawson Westberry and Savannah Burden. Submitted by Barbara Stratton.

Maude Saunders 5th grade students participated in a “book tasting” in order to explore the different genres of literature. They were exposed to just a taste of a variety of books to learn an appreciation of a variety of genres.  These fifth graders are preparing to participate in a 40 Book Challenge which encourages students to read across genres to build their vocabulary and build schema.  The students had a lot of fun and found many “tasty” books! Submitted by Krisy Spence.