The first place winner in the 4^th grade division was Raleigh Reed who delivered a speech entitled “My Pet Goat, Little Bit.”  Second place winner was Aubriyah Smith “Gods and Goddesses.”  Third place winner was Zoe Orange “Diabetes.”  4^th grade contestants also placed in the following awards:  Honorable Mention, Auburn Hamer “Happiness Is…,” Most Informative Piper Kurfurst “Polar Bears,” Most Entertaining Steele Marshall “My Three Year Old Grandpa,” and Most Persuasive Amelia Dykes “Why I have a Love/Hate Relationship with my Siblings.” 

The first place winner in the 5^th grade division was MacKenzie Campbell who delivered a speech entitled “My Pet Goat, Little Bit.”  Second place winner was Hannah Shoaf “Living Life Fun-Sized.”  Third place winner was Ava Adkinson “My Dad:  Tough or Teddy.”  5^th grade contestants also placed in the following categories:  Honorable Mention Eanna Rodriguez-Lombardo “The ABC’s of Me,” Most Informative Riley Parmeley “Vocal Cord Polyps,” Most Entertaining Duncan Crittenden “Why Do Song Lyrics Not Make Sense?,” and Most Persuasive Morgan Reynolds “Life Beyond Technology.”

The first place winner in the 6^th grade division was McCaid Paul who delivered a speech entitle “The Day the Ever Ready Bunny Went Down.”  Second place winner was Haylee Hayes “The English Language.”  Third place winner was Haley Permenter “North and South.”  6^th grade contestants also placed in the following categories:  Honorable Mention Lily Jameson “All Wrapped Up,” Most Informative Emma Salinas “Life with Diabetes,” Most Entertaining Foley Barrett “Babysitting,” and Most Persuasive Sara Thompson “Don’t Stop Believing.”

Tropicana Speech Contest News Release

PICTURES

Fifth Grade Picture back row left to right:  Brantley Betts, Jaden Wallace, Laney Kelley (not pictured), Christopher Leath, Matthew Wilson, Hannah Shoaf (not pictured) Fifth Grade front row left to right:  Gracie Wood, Cooper Douglass, Fisher Gainey, Phylicia Hooks, Kimberly Glenn

Fourth Grade Picture back row left to right:  Audrey Nelson, Aaron Wilmoth, Chris Laird; Fourth Grade Picture front left to right:  Graison Dorr, Raleigh Reed, Addison Cook

Third Grade Picture back row left to right:  Jackson Davis, Jacob Wood, John Grimes; Third Grade Picture front row left to right:  Maya Abbott, Lavaris Randle, Fisher Burgess

Walton Middle School Reading Class Champions

By Cathy Mosley

Walton Middle School reading classes participated in a county wide completion; “Read to Succeed Fall Motivational Contest.” The contest took place from November 2 – December 4.  Special congratulations go to Ms. Amy Bennett’s 4th period class. This was the only class that qualified.  

To qualify, 75 percent of all the students must score 75 percent or higher. They were asked to complete eight multiple choice activities. Extra points were given to encourage students to do their very best. To begin with every time a student did an activity their class received one point. Every score of 75 percent - 87 percent earned, gave the class an extra two points and all scores 88 percent and higher generated an extra three points for the class.

In this competition, the students worked individually, but they understood that what they did on their own affected how the class would do as a whole. It took all the students working to achieve this. Again, congratulations to Ms. Bennett’s 4^th period class.

 Pictured Back Row (L to R) Preston Cooke Jose Hernandez Trinity Kelly Ashlee Hensley Jeremy Ballentine Ms Amy Bennett (Reading Teacher) Middle Row (L to R) Vinson Flowers Bandon Siples Jacob Gilland Jireese Turner Olivia Denton Bottom Row (L to R) Madison Richards Jeanice Smith Yemmelin Reynoso-Villa Brianna Prue Ellie Jernigan

Students at Van R. Butler Elementary School had the opportunity to dress up as a Superhero if they met their AR goal for the month of November. Congratulations to our SuperReaders!