Congratulations to Mr. Appel’s 8^th grade SSTRIDE class. 17 SSTRIDE students were inducted into the program on December 19, 2016 held at Freeport Middle School. A special thank you to the SSTRIDE Coordinator, Penny Eubanks and the SSTRIDE Director, Thesla Anderson.  

“Success is achieved by taking a dream and making it come true.”- Thesla Anderson

SSTRIDE©: Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity & Excellence

SSTRIDE© is an outreach effort of the FSU College of Medicine with support from Florida's Area Health Education Centers.

SSTRIDE©'s Mission is to identify students who have a genuine interest in pursuing a career in science, engineering, mathematics, health, or medicine and to give those students the support services important for them to develop the sense of responsibility, focus and motivation necessary for success in their chosen fields.

The SSTRIDE© pipeline begins at the middle school level and is offered as a science elective in school. The Middle School SSTRIDE© program provides a comprehensive model program of interdisciplinary science education, student development, intervention, enrichment and support.

SSTRIDE© Middle School Program includes: 

•   In-school elective science course for middle school students
•   FCAT Science preparation
•   Enrichment and hands-on activities
•   Educational field trips
•   Guest speakers from medicine and health professions
•   Individualized tutoring and assessment
•   Mentoring by pre-medical and pre-health university students
•   Parent support meetings

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Submitted by Dan Appel.

Walton County School District Superintendent, Mr. Hughes visited Emerald Coast Middle School and assisted in drawing names for the school's RAYS Rewards. RAYS Reward slips are awarded to students who uphold the highest standards and expectations of ECMS. The first semester drawing included rewards such as, restaurant gift cards, Visa gift cards, movie cards, and the grand prize was an iPad. Superintendent Hughes did the honor of drawing the name of one lucky Grand Prize winner, Olivia Stange who received the iPad. 

(Pictured Left to Right: Superintendent Hughes, Student Olivia Stange and ECMS Principal, Mr. Infinger.)

Submitted by Angela Vance.

Teachers from Maude Saunders Elementary and Freeport Elementary participated in a differentiated instruction training at the WISE Center. Author and educator, Jodi O'Meara, provided teachers with strategies and suggestions for differentiating instruction in their classrooms to best meet the learning needs of the students. Submitted by Brianna Leavins.

Walton Middle School teachers started the new year with a new professional learning experience--Edcamp.

Edcamp is an organic, teacher-driven model that is fairly new to the professional learning scene and a paradigm shift from the traditional, sit-and-get conference style.  On the day of Edcamp, teachers propose discussion topics pertinent to their day-to-day experiences in the classroom, and breakout sessions are created accordingly, evolving as the event progresses.  These personalized topics yield rich, realistic, and problem-solution centered conversations among teachers.

At WMS' Edcamp, teacher-driven discussions included topics like differentiation, strategies for challenging advanced learners, parent communication, intrinsic motivation, and digital technology, among others--all relevant issues that impact classroom instruction and student learning.  Throughout the day, teachers engaged in insightful, collegial conversations that helped re-ignite their passion for their profession--a great start to the new year.

Submitted by Kristen Rhodes.