By Amy Harvey, Principal, A. Gary Walsingham Academy

Opening a new school is the dream of principals and I cannot tell you how excited I am to have the honor of being the first principal of A. Gary Walsingham Academy.

Our new school, located at 44 Chip Seal Parkway, will open in August of 2021 as a K-2 school and will also be home to all pre-kindergarten programs for the beach schools. We anticipate adding a grade each year until we’re operating as a K-5 school with a thriving pre-k center housing up to 800 students.There’s SO MUCH to tell you about our new school and what we have planned and I’m grateful for this opportunity to highlight a few things below.

Registration
Registration for the 2021-2022 school year is currently open. Parents are encouraged to register as soon as possible as a plethora of decisions are based on enrollment numbers. Early registration will help us ensure that we have everything in place for a smooth start to the school year.

New student registration can be completed online or by visiting our temporary office in the Arnold High School Pre-K Center. Details regarding registration are located on the Bay District Schools website at https://www.bay.k12.fl.us/

Walsingham Academy will also be accepting students through the school choice process. Hardship applications can be submitted in Parent Portal at https://www.bay.k12.fl.us/parent-portal.

Staffing
I am thrilled to announce that we have started the recruitment and hiring process to identify the founding members of the Walsingham Academy faculty and staff. We are searching for individuals who are passionate about learning, building positive relationships and are committed to empowering every student, every day. Candidates interested in being part of our team are encouraged to watch for postings on the Bay District Schools website and follow the Walsingham Academy Facebook page.

The Building
Steady progress is being made as crews work to complete Walsingham Academy. Our classrooms are designed to encourage collaborative learning, include the latest technology, share a paired learning space, and contain a restroom and storage area. Our media center is a future-ready learning space consisting of flexible seating, movable chairs and desks, quiet study areas, collaborative spaces, and technology stations. The cafeteria includes a stage complete with sound system and lighting for student performances. Outdoor play is so important and we are excited to have three separate playgrounds, a covered courtyard, an outdoor dining area and a large grassy field along with the adjacent wetlands. Our Wahoos will have plenty of opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine!

Conservationism
Offering students unique learning opportunities that are relevant, meaningful and have a direct correlation to the real world are vital for maintaining student motivation for learning and interest in school. We are extremely blessed to have a campus located in a beautiful coastal community with a diverse population of plants and animals whose existence is dependent on the preservation of their natural habits. The campus location, along with an extremely generous monetary donation from local community member Gary Walsingham, provides the perfect opportunity to incorporate conservation and environmental learning opportunities into our school curriculum.

For more information about A. Gary Walsingham Academy, please contact the school at (850) 767-5475.

Pier Park announced that the center will host a Back to School Supply Drive July 31 through August 9, 2021 to coincide with Florida’s Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday. The drive will benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bay County.

WHAT: Residents and visitors can drop off their school supply donations at the Mall Management Office, Dillard’s, Pink Narcissus, Tervis or Dollar Tree. Donations can also be dropped off at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bay County facility located at 16200 Back Beach Road, Panama City Beach, Florida 32413. In addition to helping a good cause, donors will enjoy significant savings when shopping for supplies thanks to Florida’s Tax Cut Package. According to FLGov.com, Floridians will pay no sales tax for school supplies valued at $15 or less per item, no sales tax on the first $1,000 of personal computers plus related accessories and no sales tax on certain clothing valued at $60 or less per item.

Pier Park is also offering donors a chance to win a $500 prize package. After writing their full name, phone number and email address on the back, donors must turn in the receipt for their donated supplies to the Mall Management Office by Friday, August 13, 2021. The receipt, which must show a minimum $50 purchase, will serve as the entry into the center’s random prize drawing.

HOURS: Mall Management Office Hours Weekdays: 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Mall Boardwalk Hours Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Sunday: noon–6 p.m.
Mall Town Center Hours Monday through Thursday: 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Friday through Saturday: 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Sunday: noon–6 p.m.

WHERE: 600 Pier Park Drive, Suite 125, Panama City Beach, FL 32413

By Ed Offley

Several dozen West Beaches residents have banded together to raise rebuilding funds for a local convenience store destroyed by a tornado on April 10.

The Blu Convenience Store & Deli is back in service at a temporary site adjacent to its original address at 17836 Front Beach Road on the west end of Panama City Beach, but owners Tom and Sara Pulatov are looking forward to reopening in their original building later this year.

To assist the couple, Beach residents Patty King Hester and Ginger Summer held an initial fundraising event at the store on June 15, where several dozen fans of the Pulatovs gathered to deliver personal donations. Summer said they plan for a larger event in October to coincide with the Thunder Beach autumn rally.

“This is the community coming together to help the community,” Hester told the gathering on June 15. “We’re just trying to give [Tom and Sara] peace of mind to regain their piece of paradise.”

By Jamie Zimchek

From the top – that’s two hundred deliciously breezy feet up – the view is expansive. In addition to more run-of-the-mill rooftops, the prize is a sweeping panorama of a brilliantly blue stretch of Gulf that reaches all the way to the horizon during the day, the beach just visible between building breaks and sprinkled with little dots of beach umbrella color. After dark, a line of surf is still visible, but the surrounding area is now a sea – only not of water, but lights, from high-rises up and down the coast to brightly lit Pier Park points of interest. Best of all, no wings, or birds, are needed for this bird’s eye view: just a ticket to ride Panama City Beach’s soaring SkyWheel, one of Pier Park’s newest attractions.

Occupying the site of a former small-scale amusement park, the SkyWheel visually attracts far more attention than anything else in this popular outdoor shopping spot. Its gentle curves offer welcome contrast to the more predictable lines of stores and beachfront condos, and on overcast days, or after dark, the SkyWheel’s ever-changing lights provide bright pops of color giving Pier Park a festive feel year-round. Kayla Evans is the observation wheel’s marketing assistant, and she’s in charge of the daily light show. “It’s all done through a program kind of like PowerPoint,” she explained. “There are options to go in and choose the color and the transitions. It is so much fun.” Although Evans is quick to add that whenever you finally get to step out and see it, it can look entirely different on the wheel than it does on the screen, which has necessitated on occasion a quick return to the drawing board when things turn out unexpectedly.

Though the light show might be at its most spectacular after dark, this isn’t necessarily the preferred time to visit. Many riders prefer sunset, and lines can sometimes get long as the sun starts to slip, which is why it might be worth calling ahead at peak hours to see if a fast pass (a $10 add-on feature per ticket that gets you to the front of the line) is worth it.

There’s even a photo op before boarding with shots available by the time you exit (package prices start at $20). Each gondola is fully enclosed with air conditioning (and heat, in the unlikely event that it’s needed). Parallel bench seating allows everyone a view of the beach, and can fit about six adults per gondola, sometimes with room left for a small child (only members of your party will be seated in your gondola). There’s a small pop-out window for fresh air, but the fixed glass enclosure is what offers the 365-degree views of land and sea. SkyWheel also offers a VIP experience that includes a free drink and photo package, as well as a longer ride and a fast pass to the front of the line on busy days.

Since opening, the SkyWheel attraction has expanded to include two other attractions, a minigolf course and a ropes course. The ropes course includes the SkyTrail, which is an aerial attraction made up of hanging bridges and cargo nets, the SkyRail, a zip line of sorts, and SkyTykes, geared for guests under 48” tall. Currently, the ropes course is only open Saturdays. The minigolf course (which you can scope out first from a SkyWheel gondola) is a full 18 holes and open seven days a week.

As the summer progresses, watch for special themed days, like Tie-dye Tuesdays in July. Employees will all be sporting their finest tie-dye apparel, and guests wearing tie-dye will receive two dollars off their ticket price. Dance party more your speed? “Every Friday in July we’re going to be doing Friday Night Lights, with new light shows for the wheel and upbeat techno music,” said Evans. They’ll also be selling specialty light-up drinks and passing out glow sticks – they’re even working to make glow-in-the-dark minigolf happen.

The feel-good experience doesn’t stop on Friday though – SkyWheel has created a side program called SkyWheel Cares. “We’re responsible for lighting the wheel up for certain awareness colors,” Evans said. They also coordinate with their staff and locals to do regular beach clean-ups. If you’re interested in learning more about how to participate, find more information on SkyWheel’s Facebook page, @skywheelpcb (and while you’re there, be sure to watch Kayla’s “I Spy from the Skywheel” video).

SkyWheel is also hiring for all positions right now, from flight crew to supervisors and maintenance. Applicants must be at least 17, and some positions are only open to those 18 and older.

The SkyWheel is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information on visiting or employment, visit their website at skywheelpcb.com or call (850) 888-0020.