Congratulations to all of our Walton County School District Science and Engineering Fair participants and winners! Over 150 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 4^th at 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 and families for your involvement. The Science Fair Awards Ceremony was held the evening of December 7^th.  The WCSD Science and Engineering Fair Winners are posted below. Thank you all for your participation and hard work!

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Junior Biological - 1^st place: Autumn King, Stress: Hot or Not? WMS
Junior Physical - 1^st place: Honna Mitchem and Kaylee Aplin, The Great Duct/k Case, Paxton
Junior Environmental - 1^st Place: Hailey Sexton, Liquid/Solid, Paxton
Junior Engineering (New Category) - 1^st Place: Selina Li, Popsicle Sticks- Will it Catapult? FMS
Senior Biological - 1^st Place: Catherine Fields, Curing Acne, SWHS
Senior Physical - 1^st Place: Cory LaCour, Ben Woods, Briston Smith, Silver Surfer, WHS
Senior Environmental - 1^st Place: Cameron Patrick Hughes, Lighter Concrete Worth the Price? SWHS
Senior Engineering (New Category) - 1^st Place: Fisher Marks, Password Security, SWHS

Junior Biological -2^nd Place: Tao Tundidor, Icy Sublimation Summary, FMS
Junior Physical -2^nd place: Parker Gilliam, Sailing into Science, ECMS
Junior Environmental - 2^nd Place: Lily Gibson, The Science of Soap, ECMS
Junior Engineering (New Category) - 2^nd Place: Gage Galloway, Crystal Radio- Will it Work? WMS
Senior Biological - 2^nd Place: Drake Pennington, Fuel for Tomorrow, WHS
Senior Physical - 2^nd Place: Brandan McManus, What are the effects of tourism rates on student populations in Walton County, SWHS
Senior Environmental - 2^nd Place: Connor Gaither, What is in your Water? Paxton
Senior Engineering (New Category) - 2^nd Place: Kirsi Midha, What is the effect of varius soils when applying pressure in terms of bearing capacity?, SWHS

Junior Biological -3^rd Place: Olivia Rodgers, Jammin Germs, FMS
Junior Physical - 3^rd Place: Nichols Sirman, PrePoultry Paratroopers, ECMS
Junior Environmental - 3^rd Place: Isabella Imperial, Let’s Get Salty, ECMS
Junior Engineering (New Category) - 3^rd Place: Lawson Kilpatrick, Breaking Bridges, ECMS
Senior Biological - 3^rd Place: Emma Marks, How do vitamins effect germination of radish seeds. SWHS
Senior Physical - 3^rd Place: Josie Bekkers, How does saltwater effect metals? SWHS
Senior Environmental - 3^rd Place: Emily Kuni, Biofilm, SWHS
Senior Engineering (New Category) - 3^rd Place: Nicholas Putnam, Jackson Weatherall, and Seth Weinthal How can we make Sea Turles Lights more accessible? SWHS

Junior Biological - Honorable Mention: Macie Dell, Freeze or Not to Freeze, Paxton & Honorable Mention: Kaelyn Shelton, I wet my pants, ECMS
Junior Physical - Honorable Mention: Alyssa Sutton, What Stains Your Smile? ECMS, Honorable Mention: Hannah King, Which type of wood is more absorbent? WMS, Honorable Mention: Lilli Arthur, How Does Temp Affect Tennis Balls Bounce? FMS, Honorable Mention: Jordan Bradley, Under Armour-Worth It or Not? Paxton, & Honorable Mention: Taylor Pankow, Ramp, FMS
Junior Environmental - Honorable Mention: Emily Casey, Vegetable Power, WMS & Honorable Mention: Daniel McCarthy, Cloud Seeding, WMS
Junior Engineering (New Category) - Honorable Mention: Brianna Mitchem, Light Em Up, Paxton, Honorable Mention: William Morris, Boost Your Home Wi-Fi, WMS, & Honorable Mention: Noel Dahl, Need a Hand, WMS
Senior Biological - Honorable Mention: Annajane Hohn, Fermentation Creation, SWHS & Honorable Mention: Krisslyn McLaney, Amber Law and Andrew Huff, Fuel of the Future, WHS
Senior Physical - Honorable Mention: Riley Marshall, Electric Soil, SWHS, Honorable Mention: Kahl Miller, Beneath The Surface, WHS & Honorable Mention: Aubree Steenhook and Hayley Simmons, Got Voltage? Paxton
Senior Environmental - Honorable Mention: Ashlyn Falk and Candence Perez , Colored Growth, Paxton & Honorable Mention: Tabitha Snow, Plants vs Ph, Paxton
Senior Engineering (New Category) - Honorable Mention: Larry Allison, Can you make a submarine using PVC pipes? FHS

Junior Division Overall Award from Mrs. Carlene H. Anderson in honor of Dr. David Jeselnik
Honna Mitchem and Kaylee Aplin, The Great Duct/k Case, Paxton

EPIC Medal Recipient from Superintendent A. Russell Hughes: 3^rd Place: Isabella Imperial, Let’s Get Salty, ECMS

Submitted by Crystal Appel.

WISE Pre-K students spread Christmas Joy by singing to the residents at the Stanley House and Faculty at Walton High School.  Submitted by Debbie McBroom.

When PHS students arrived to school on Tuesday morning (12/19/2017), they were greeted by a large group of Christmas characters to help them start off the Christmas season. Santa and many of his teaching helpers were on hand.  Superintendent Hughes is quoted as saying "Thanks for creating a great atmosphere for our students! EPIC!"

A video can be seen below:

https://youtu.be/gtHPb1tLSP4

Submitted by Kalli McMillan.