2020 youth ambassadors from the Miss DeFuniak Springs and Miss Walton County program have experienced a year like no other, but they have still connected with their community by sending thank you cards to essential workers and helping a retired couple with necessary yardwork. They are wonderful representatives of our Bama to the Beach county. 

 Krislynn McLaney is the 2020 Miss DeFuniak Springs.  She is a recent graduate of both Walton High School and Northwest Florida State College. Krislynn   will be attending Berry College this fall in Rome, Georgia.  Her parents are Chastity and Roger McLaney.  

 Harmony Heitger is the 2020 Miss Walton County . She is both a Sr. at Paxton School and a dual enrolled student at Northwest Florida State College. Her parents are Jamie and Christy Heitger.?

The Little Miss DeFuniak Springs is Kristan Sunday. Her parents are Stan and Tammy Sunday. She is going to be a second grader at Paxton next year.?

Little Miss Walton County is Paislee Missildine. Her parents are Linsey and Justin Missildine. Paislee will be in the second grade at Paxton when school starts back.?

The reigning Teen Miss DeFuniak Springs is Kameryn Sunday. She attends Paxton  School. Her parents are Stan and Tammy Sunday.?

Jenna Bell is the 2020 Teen Miss Walton County. She is a student at Walton High School. ?

Raelyn Carter is our Future Little Miss DeFuniak Springs. Her parents are Blon Carter and Brooke Windham. She will be a first grader at West DeFuniak Elementary.?

Allanah Bishop is our Young Miss DeFuniak Springs.  She attends Paxton School. Her parents are Tina and Thomas Bishop.?

Junior Miss DeFuniak Springs is Onna Frazier. Her parents are Brandy and David Frazier. Onna attends Walton Middle School.?

Alexis Finley is Junior Miss DeFuniak Springs. She attends Walton Middle School and her proud mom is Maggie Finley.?

The 2020 Young Miss Walton County is Abagail Simmons. Her parents are Amanda McKee and Frank Simmons Jr. She attends West DeFuniak Elementary School.?

Future little Miss Walton County is MaKenna Thompson. Her mom is Melanie Cobb.? MaKenna attends Maude Saunders Elementary.

  Harmony and Krislynn will be representing this area in October at the Miss National Peanut Festival in    Dothan, Alabama. Paislee and Kristan will also be competing in the Little Miss National Peanut Festival.?

Ft. Lauderdale based aviation attorney Maria Sklar of Sklar Law spoke to Paxton High School’s Aerospace Career Academy students today about her exciting career. “Aviation law will challenge and reward you and give you the freedom to help people in your community while doing something you love,” Sklar shared. 

Tuesday, August 18, 2020 Walton County School Board received the Cenergistic Chairman’s Sustainability Award to honor

sustaining a 32-percent reduction in utility spending over the last 10 years.  

“Cenergistic got us started on an energy conservation program, and the savings we made through this conservation have

been redirected to boost student achievement” said Russell Hughes, WCSD Superintendent “We plan to further the savings

of this program over the years to come”

Pictured from left to right: Steve Jones- Cenergistic Regional Vice President, Jill Smith- Director of Facilities, Michelle Doggett- Facilities Planner,

Jeff Infinger Coordinator of Facilities and Operations, Jason Catalano- Chairperson WCSB, Russell Hughes- Superintendent WCSD

Virtual Team Time in Seventh Grade Math at WMS 

It has been said that change is the only constant in life.  In recent months, public schools have been living out the reality of that statement, continually rising and adapting to the challenges of teaching and learning in the midst of Covid.  Teachers have always been known for their creativity, flexibility, and adaptability, and never before have these three key traits been more evident in classrooms than with the start of this unique school year. 

                At Walton Middle School, seventh grade math teacher Mrs. Makala Ellenburg, along with her partner Diana Gillis, spent time carefully planning, then executing a plan for both face-to-face and innovative learning students to collaborate with each other.  These days, students can’t huddle together to work in traditional small groups like they have in years past.  Creatively, the math teachers found a way for students in the classroom and students at home to share their thought processes through a virtual huddle.  Whether they were six feet or sixteen miles apart, all students experienced a sense of community in math class to close out the week. 

                Through Microsoft Teams, Mrs. Ellenburg assigned students to groups via channels.  Each channel essentially functioned as a small group.  First, Mrs. Ellenburg gave students instructions to introduce themselves to their channel members.  She also clearly outlined her expectations, emphasizing that only math conversations were acceptable within the channel.  She then walked students through how they would then participate in “Team Time” with their group.  On the ClearTouch board, Mrs. Ellenburg posted a math problem, giving students time to work it out on their own, whether they were in their classroom desk or at their kitchen table.  While giving instructions, the teacher ensured that both her in-house and at-home students understood her expectations.  After working each problem out independently, students posted their answers in their group’s chat.  Mrs. Ellenburg even had a plan for students whose families have not had the opportunity to pickup their laptops yet; those kids held their white board answers up for a group member in the class to answer on their behalf in the Teams chat.  Due to Mrs. Ellenburg’s thoughtful lesson design, all students were able to actively participate in the groupwork.  Each group then discussed any differences in their answers, landing on a solid final answer that they posted in the chat. 

                During whole class discussion, Mrs. Ellenburg spent time praising groups for productive group talk.  She pointed out instances where students questioned each other’s thinking, pushed each other to elaborate, and clarified their own misunderstandings.  Even though the small groups were meeting virtually, their conversations about math were often rich and thought-provoking.  Mrs. Ellenburg intentionally spent a great deal of time establishing the norms for Team Time so such positive collaboration can continue throughout the year.  As students and the teacher continued to work and share their learning, they even discovered together that they had the capability to take pictures of their math work, then upload it into the chat within the channel so their thought processes could be made even more visible to their peers. 

                No doubt, teaching and learning have rapidly changed, and the learning curve has been steep for everyone.  However, Mrs. Ellenburg and her students are proving that challenges are actually opportunities to learn and grow together—coming out more capable and better equipped on the other side.