- November 26, 2024
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The idea behind Diane Tomko’s gifted studies class at Flagler Palm Coast High School is to think outside the box. Not to do bookwork, but to develop projects that will better the community.
A group of underclassmen have spent their project this year pursuing a design for an amphibious firefighting vehicle. The idea came from freshman Chase Rogers, who has been interested in firefighting since he was a child and wanted to incorporate that into his project.
To take their project to the next level in future years, Rogers and his group members, Michael Astrologo and Adam Weeks, met with members of both the Palm Coast and Flagler County fire departments to discuss their idea and the department’s needs.
It was at one of those meetings that the students met Mike Brennan, a 12-year Marine Corps. veteran trained with the amphibian battalion. Brennan took the students under his wing and arranged for them to visit the 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion Bravo Company Reserve Base in Jacksonville, where they studied the AAV-7 amphibious military vehicle for tips on their design.
The goal of the group is to design a vehicle that will be marketable to a big company in the civilian sector.
“Nobody our age is doing something like this,” Rogers said.
With the help of community members and the knowledge gained from trial and error design, Brennan said he thinks the group’s goal is realistic.
“It’s bringing military technology from the late '60s early '70s to civilian firefighting use,” he said. “With the current technology, I think it’s entirely doable.”
Local student to participate in National Catholic Youth Choir
Cara Jestes, a student from the Diocese of St. Augustine, is participating in this year’s National Catholic Youth Choir. Jestes, of Palm Coast, is a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.
The NCYC is made up of 35 high school students ages 14-18 from 17 states. The choir is sponsored by St. John’s University School of Theology Seminary and meets June 17-24 and June 30-July 2 on the grounds of St. John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn.
During the two-week camp, the choir will tour three Midwestern states June 25-30. This year’s concert theme is For All the Saints. There is no charge to attend the concerts; however, a free-will offering will be collected to cover program costs.
In the classroom…
Karen Driscoll’s class at Bunnell Elementary School finished the year with 8,487 Reading Counts points and 725 books read. The top student was Nina Walls with 1,013 points, followed by Eric Berenblit with 647, Christina Savko with 541, Colleen Reed with 504, Ahnika Gee with 503 and Nicholas Anane with 444.
Palm Harbor Academy is offering a free VPK program over the summer. The Palm Harbor Academy is a charter school located at 95 Old Kings Parkway N. Call 447-9692 or visit www.palmharboracademy.net/ or www.facebook.com/PalmHarborAcademy.
