Walton County School District was represented today at NWFSC’s CareerFest.  The purpose of CareerFest is to expose 11^th and 12^th grade WCSD students to the various careers that are available to them after graduation.  There were representatives from the local community in the areas of Architecture & Construction, Agriculture, Food and Natural Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, Arts/Audio/Video Technology & Communications, Information Technology, Education and Training, Health Science & Human Services, Business Management & Administration, Finance, Manufacturing, Marking, Hospitality & Tourism, Law/Public Safety/Corrections & Security, Government and Public Administration.  Mrs. Carlene Anderson was the guest speaker for the event.  Walton County School District was represented by Donna Honish who provided students with information concerning Career and Technical Education Programs offered in their high school that could also award them post-secondary PSAV hours or college credits if certain requirements are met by the student. It was a very informative experience for all who attended.

On Monday, October 24, Deputy Leo Cook with WCSO brought his K9 sidekick Rocky to visit Mr. Smallwood's and Mrs. Susenbach's Law Studies students.  Deputy Cook and Rocky educated students about the proper handling of a K9, the training required for the team, and the duo's role in narcotics detection and tracking. 

Walton Middle School thanks Deputy Cook, Rocky, and the WCSO for taking time out of their hectic schedule to connect learning to life. Submitted by Kristen Rhodes.

Mrs. Hicks' third grade class at WDE is working on reviewing reading assessments every couple of weeks in the form of socratic seminars. Students in the inside of the circle serve as the pilots (talkers) during this activity, while students sitting directly behind them are copilots (writers). Roles change every week. The goal of this socratic seminar is to get all students actively engaged and to "nicely" argue and persuade one another which answer is correct, while supporting their ideas using evidence from the text. In this activity, students are in charge their own learning. Submitted by Jessica Dawkins.

The DeFuniak Springs Fire Department visited Kindergarten and first grade at WDE on Monday, October 17th. After learning about fire safety, during National Fire Safety Week, the firefighters were able to further explain many of the concepts learned during the week. Some of the topics discussed included what to do during a fire, where to go, and how to protect yourself. The students enjoyed the visit and were able to spray water from the trucks at the end of the presentation. Submitted by Jessica Dawkins.