News

Recently, West DeFuniak Elementary was afforded the opportunity to host Mrs. Wendy Rodrigue, the widow of the late George Rodrigue. Mr. Rodrigue is the artist for the Blue Dog series and The Life and Legacy Tour is a program exploring his life and art.

Art teacher, Mrs. Benefield and her 4th grade students thank Mrs. Rodrigue so much for taking the time to visit our school. We enjoyed hearing her share more about her husband and Blue Dog. We were honored to be the first to see the specials pieces of art taken right off the walls in her home. These pieces had never shared before on tour but were chosen to celebrate the month of love!

Students in Mrs. Benefield's classes had recently completed their own Blue Dog art projects and the

students thoroughly enjoyed seeing the original pieces of artwork by Mr. Rodrigue.

This program is brought to the schools by the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation.

Please visit www.legacyarttour.org for more information.

Happy School Counselor Week! West DeFuniak Elementary is blessed to have Mrs. Dawn Barone as our school counselor. Every day she can be seen assisting students, parents and teachers. Whether she's helping with state testing, encouraging students in the hallways, finding resources for students in need, assisting with enrollment of new students, or being an advocate for students, Mrs. Barone always has a smile and an encouraging word for those on our campus. Mrs. Barone - We love you! Thank you for being an important part of our team!

First grade students at WDE are celebrating Black History Month by learning about Contemporary artist, Reggie Laurent. They are identifying and using Geometric and Organic shapes for these paper collages inspired by Reggie's bright, beautiful work.

Congratulations to Mrs. Darlene Paul for being named Walton County School District's Principal of the Year. Mrs. Paul has been the principal at West DeFuniak Elementary for the past 13 years and has been an educator for 20 years. Every day she puts forth extra effort to make our school the best that it can be. She believes in her students and her staff and desires for each of them to be successful! Without a doubt, she deserves this tremendous award! We are so proud to call her our own! Join us in congratulating her!

West DeFuniak Elementary’s 4th and 5th grade students went on a Math & Science Safari last night at WDE’s annual Math/Science Family Night. Students received WDE Safari Transit Passes from their teacher at school on Tuesday, February 1st. Students brought those passes to Math/Science Family Night to use as their admission ticket into the Safari. Students had boarding passes that got stamped as they visited classrooms, the music room, the art room, and the cafeteria. These stops featured science activities relevant to animal adaptations. Students and families had lots of funs creating things, playing games, and figuring out how different animals live, eat, and survive.

Students also visited a math station on their grade level where they learned to play fun math games aligned with grade level standards. Students were able to take home these math packets to play with their parents and families at home.

Parents, please take a few minutes to watch this very informative video to help support your young readers! Mrs. Carla Sconiers is one of our district reading coaches and was gracious enough to create this video to assist you in supporting your child at home. We value parent engagement and love to see families partnering with schools to help their child succeed! Please feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions. We appreciate you! Enjoy!

Click play to view the video or follow this link
https://youtu.be/tzm3pOUnsV4

As part of Literacy Week, students were challenged to get the most AR points this past Friday. Their reward was to get to silly string our principal, Mrs. Paul. Congratulations to these students for earning the most points in their grade level. Turn the sound on and enjoy. (You will need to click the arrow on the right to see the pictures after the video.)

K - Scarlett Goff & Felicity Jernigan

1st - Connor Dawkins & Ronnie Ingle

2nd - Grant Sconiers & Isaiah Stofila

3rd - James Strickland & Rafael Molina Mejia

4th - Camila Harris & Abagail Simmons

5th - Annistyn Austin & Allison Reeves

https://www.canva.com/design/DAE3DpU_fxw/oJYuKNvb_2LfXjD-RuScQQ/view?utm_content=DAE3DpU_fxw&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=shareyourdesignpanel

West DeFuniak Elementary is pleased to recognize Mrs. Amanda Willcox as Teacher of the Year (TOY) and Mrs. Jenny Abercrombie as Educational Support Person of the Year (ESP). Every day these two ladies endeavor to see students “Aim for Greatness.”

Mrs. Willcox has taught Kindergarten at WDE for the last six years. Prior to coming to WDE, she taught first grade for ten years. Her calm demeanor and her patience with each of her students is evident every time you see her. Mrs. Willcox says that she loves working at WDE because everyone here is very welcoming and that it truly feels like family. Mrs. Willcox is married to Danny Willcox and they have one son, Aden. When she’s not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family, going to the beach, and cooking. Mrs. Willcox feels tremendously honored to be chosen by her co-workers to represent WDE as Teacher of the Year.

Mrs. Abercrombie has worked at WDE for nine years. She has been the assistant manager of our cafeteria for the last four years. Mrs. Abercrombie and her husband have lots of fur babies that they enjoy caring for. She also enjoys spending time with her mom. Mrs. Abercrombie says that she loves working at WDE so she can see the kids and make sure they get fed. She agrees with Mrs. Willcox that WDE truly does feel like a family. She is grateful and blessed to be a part of our school.

Congratulations to Mrs. Amanda Willcox, Teacher of the Year and Mrs. Jenny Abercrombie, Educational Support Person of the Year! West DeFuniak is thrilled to honor you both!

Making a Snowman - Students in Kindergarten - 5th grade used their critical thinking skills to collaborate and create their very own snowman using their selected materials. They then practiced the gross motor skill of throwing in an attempt to knock over the other teams snowman in the snowball battle. Coach Tatman and Coach Zodrow are helping physical education students Aim For Greatness in an EPIC way!