Students at Silver Sands School in Fort Walton Beach are preparing to catch some big tilapia for their annual fish fry fundraiser, scheduled for Oct. 24 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- The special day school, which serves about 100 students with disabilities, will hold its annual fishing rodeo first. Students compete for trophies in elementary, middle and high school divisions, with the biggest catch earning bragging rights.
“We have some really large fish here that we are prepping for our annual fish fry,” said Principal Kristin Gilmore. The timing works out perfectly since the event happens during the Fort Walton Beach High School and Choctaw High School football game.
The fish come from the school’s Growth House, an aquaponic greenhouse funded by a grant several years ago. It’s the only system like it in the district, where fish waste feeds the plants and creates faster-growing crops.
Students do more than just catch the fish. They plant seeds, maintain the system, and harvest both fish and vegetables.
- “Our kids are working on life and job skills,” said Marian Gilmore, the school’s science teacher, previously said. “They come in and they check all of our pipes, making sure everything’s running, that the hoses are running, that the fish are getting their air in there.”
Assistant Principal Pamela Tisza explained the full process: “The fish that we have here in the tank feed those plants and then our students come back and when those plants are large enough, they harvest them.”
The harvested vegetables go to the school’s Seahorse Cafe, where staff and faculty get monthly meals. “It teaches them that they can do the same thing at home,” Tisza said. “They get that real-life practice here at school that they wouldn’t get otherwise.”
For many families, these activities aren’t easy to access elsewhere. “Our families don’t always have time to expose their kiddos to these sorts of activities,” Principal Gilmore said. “This is something they can access easily with the support of our team.”
Dewey Destin Seafood will fry the fish, along with hush puppies and french fries, for $10 per plate. School Board Member Parker Destin said every dollar goes back to the school.
- “This is a great opportunity to support the enhanced programming that we offer our students here at this remarkable school,” Destin said. “A hundred percent of the proceeds are gonna be poured back into the school.”
People can skip the lines by pre-ordering tickets through the school’s webpage. It’s a chance to get a good meal while supporting programs like the Growth House that teach students skills they’ll use for life.
