At WMS' "Learning Expo," Families Go to School Together
January 18, 2020
Under the visionary direction of Principal Jason Campbell and Assistant Principal Scott Hulion, Walton Middle School strives to offer ALL students an abundance of academic, elective, and extracurricular opportunities, some of which were showcased at the school's most recent Title 1 parent training night. On Thursday, January 16th, WMS welcomed families for its first ever "Learning Expo." The event began in the lunchroom, where free dinner was served to all. After eating together, families rotated through three fun and informative twenty-minute stations.
In the gym, the PE coaches spotlighted their endeavors this year to teach character education in conjunction with physical education, helping students to become healthy, successful, and kind citizens. After explaining their department's philosophy about character building, the coaches led families in a fun four corners game, awarding a prize to the winner of each round.
Later, down the math and science hallway, families could choose to participate in one of two stations. Mrs. Vanessa Black designed and led a math escape room, in which families worked together to solve math problems to crack codes to a locked box. Just down the hall, Mr. Stephen Byrd and Mrs. Sandy Thorson's after-school LEGO League club led a session highlighting their City Shapers' endeavors and how they've prepared for their upcoming competition. These sixth grade LEGO Leaguers spoke articulately about their club's core values, their community improvement project design, and the coding involved in programming their LEGO robots so they can complete complex missions--STEM learning at its finest.
Finally, in the LMC, Mrs. Alex Parker and Mrs. Michelle Seay led a close and careful reading with balanced group discussion roles for text-dependent questions. Parents experienced the types of deep reading and thinking tasks their children participate in regularly in ELA classes, hopefully appreciating the rigor students experience, which makes them more successful critical thinkers.
And while parents participated in each station with their WMS students, younger children had a blast in the childcare station, full of games, coloring, and cartoons.
WMS graciously thanks each and every family who took time out of their busy schedules to attend. The school also thanks the student volunteers from Walton High School's Mu Alpha Theta and Anchor Clubs, who assisted in rotations, in the hallways and lunchroom, and in childcare. And finally, the event would not have been possible without the teachers who assisted in all facets of the event--from designing activities, to leading rotations, to cleaning the lunchroom after dinner. It takes a village, and the WMS "We, Not Me" spirit was alive and well at WMS' recent Learning Expo.