Youth Village Celebrates New Playground Experience
The Youth Village, Inc., celebrated its newly remodeled playground recently with a ribbon cutting. Named “The Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation presents the Youth Village Outdoor Experience,” the playground’s remodel was due to a large donation from the foundation. Opened in 1999, the Youth Village is a non-profit after school care program and summer camp for preschool children, ages 3-5, and elementary and middle school children from kindergarten through 8th grade. Its goal is to provide a safe, nurturing environment with supportive mentors, teachers and other caring adults to help children, ages 3-16, acquire a love of learning and create a desire to achieve. Located in Fort Walton Beach, connect at (850) 582-0549 or visit www.ouryouthvillage.org.
Registration is open for the 25th FPL Northwest Florida Economic Symposium, Feb. 28-March 1 at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The event brings leaders together from across the Panhandle to hear challenging, thought-provoking speakers. To register: www.fplsymposium.com.
Two Apps to Stay Connected with the Okaloosa County School District
Thousands of Okaloosa County School District parents have set up their FOCUS parent accounts through the district’s website and connected their students to their accounts. Parents may visit www.okaloosaschools.com, to set up their accounts and link their students to it if necessary. Contact your school if you need help connecting your students to your account.
The OCSD Focus App can be found in the Apple App and Google Play Stores for download. Find it by searching for OCSD Focus Educational Portal. After download, sign in through the orange log-in button, and you will have access to your student’s schedule, grades and attendance. Students can download the same OCSD Focus app to access their grades and attendance without creating an account. They must click on the box marked “Sign in with SSO” and enter their school district email and network password.
In November, the district launched a second app to receive school and district updates. Download the OCSD Apptegy App through Apple App or Google Play to access documents, events, news updates and emergency notifications. Visit okaloosaschools.com for more information.
Okaloosa Sunshine State Scholars Announced
Miller Lindsley from Fort Walton Beach High School was recently named as one of two Okaloosa County School District (OCSD) Sunshine State Scholars! This distinction is awarded to more than 100 of Florida’s highest achieving 11th grade students who plan to focus on a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) based career after high school. Miller and Meriel Adair from Crestview High School will attend a two-day program in June in Orlando designed to bring together scholars from throughout the state, connect them with employers who specialize in the STEM fields, and create a networking opportunity between the scholars and Florida colleges and universities. A very competitive honor to earn, to be considered, students must submit an application along with an essay explaining their intent to pursue a career in a STEM field and their reasoning for it, letters of recommendation, a transcript showing their success in STEM courses, a resume and more. Miller’s plans after high school are to attend college and pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biomedical Engineering.
Be Resilient Clinics, held by SOF Missions are planned for Feb. 2-6; March 9-13; April 13-17 and May 18-22. Details are available at sofmissions.org/clinic. The free sessions will include people who have served our country, helping them recover from the inward and outward scars of war.
Attending warriors receive the expert psychological, social, spiritual and physical help they need to overcome the challenges they face as a result of their experiences.
