District News

4th Grade Topicana Speech Winners 5th Grade Topicana Speech Winners

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

West DeFuniak K-Kids work diligently from August to December to raise money for their Christmas Angels. The group, then, goes on a shopping trip with their lists to make sure these wishes come true. What excitement for these Angels on Christmas morning!

-Pam Leavins, WDE

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

Walton Middle School Annual Miss Warrior Pageant
By Cathy Mosley

Walton Middle School (WMS) held their annual Miss Warrior Pageant Saturday afternoon December 5, at the Walton High School Auditorium. The program began at 2 pm. Twenty-one young ladies participated in this year’s pageant. One girl would be crowned as the grade level Miss Warrior. Other categories were: Viewer’s Choice, Most Photogenic, 2nd Runner-up and 1st Runner-up.

The pageant began with a short dance routine performed by the 8th grade contestants. During this performance, each of the young ladies introduced themselves. Ms. Jodi Howell introduced the emcee for the evening. Miss Paige Howell, a former Miss Warrior and student, was the emcee. The young ladies had five young men to escort them onto the stage for their individual walk. These young men also participated in Viewer’s Choice for Escorts. The Viewer’s Choice Award for Escort was Ben King.

The winners for the 6th grade were: Jada Fretwell - Miss Photogenic, Saphie Menser - 2nd Runner-up, Billie Hall - Viewer’s Choice and 1st Runner-up, and Haleigh Permenter - 6th Grade Miss Warrior. The winners for the 7th grade were: Savana Howell - Viewer’s Choice, Miss Photogenic, and 2nd Runner-up, Myranda McLendon - 1st Runner-up and Bailey Shank- 7th Grade Miss Warrior. The winners for the 8th grade were: Madison Sutton - Viewer’s Choice, Miss Photogenic, and 2nd Runner-up, Krislynn McLaney - 1st Runner-up and Makayla Hooks - 8th Grade Miss Warrior. Ms. Sandy Love, Makala Hicks, Ms. Nina Thorton, and Ms. Gaby Brown worked hard preparing for this event.

Special thanks to Mr. Russell Hughes for allowing WMS to use the auditorium, Mr. David Pert and his WHS student volunteers, the WMS staff members who volunteered, McLean’s Florist, H & H Engineering, Mr. and Ms. Rafferty, and the DeFuniak Herald. WMS would also like to thank the family and friends who came out to support these girls.

8th Grade Miss Warrior Winners (L to R) Madison Sutton - Viewer’s Choice, Miss Photogenic and 2nd Runner-up - Makayla Hooks - 8th Grade Miss Warrior, Krislynn McLaney - 1st runner-up

7th Grade Miss Warrior Winners (L to R) Savana Howell - Viewer’s Choice, Miss Photogenic, and 2nd Runner-up - Bailey Shank, 7th Grade Miss Warrior - Myranda McLendon - 1st runner-up

6th Grade Miss Warrior Winners (L to R) Jada Fretwell - Miss Photogenic, Sahpie Menser - 2nd Runner-up, Haleigh Permenter - 6th Grade Miss Warrior, Billie Hall - Viewer’s Choice and 1st Runner-up

Ben King Viewer’s Choice Escort

7th Grade Miss Warrior Pageant Winners 6th Grade Miss Warrior Pageant Winners WMS Warrior Pageant Viewer's Choice Escort

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!

Photo by Kim Stafford

The “Science Brothers” shared some of their awesome inventions with MSE scholars on December 4^th.

The ‘Science Brothers’ is an non-profit outreach program aimed at getting elementary and middle school students interested in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) activities. The program centers around the dynamics of two brothers, who specialize in different fields, arguing over whose science is ‘cooler’. The result is a fun and wacky trip exploring different premises in science; light, sound, energy; with examples and demonstrations from the realms of chemistry, physics, and electricity.

-Krisy Spence, MSE

MAKING MATH MATTER TO WALTON MIDDLE SCHOOL FAMILIES

By: Kristen Rhodes

Once again, Walton Middle School’s families showed their commitment to their children’s education by attending the school’s second Title 1 Parent Training Night of the year. The event, “Making Math Matter,” occurred on Thursday, December 3^rd, at 6:00 p.m. Nearly 300 people filled the lunchroom for a free pizza dinner before rotating through three holiday-themed, math-related rotations. Within each rotation, WMS math teachers hosted a total of eight breakout session options, with real-life math topics ranging from study tools to technology resources to standards-based activities. For instance, in one station, parents learned strategies to “Stuff [Their] Study Stockings,” learning how to make foldables for studying math concepts at home, while in another station, “Jingle Bells, My Wrapping Failed,” they learned to avoid wasting wrapping paper by calculating surface area. In addition to stations such as these, families also shopped at Russ’ Holiday Store, fully stocked with student-crafted items and managed by Mrs. Russ’ students themselves. Walton Middle School takes tremendous pride in its partnership with parents and eagerly anticipates the next sure-to-be successful event, “Reading Like a Sleuth,” on Thursday, January 28^th, from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

WMS Family Math Night 1 WMS Family Math Night 2 WMS Family Math Night 3 WMS Family Math Night 4