- April 30, 2024
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Savannah Umpenhour is in one of two classes full of Future Problem Solvers at Flagler Palm Coast High School working to make the community a better place. In her Community Problem Solving project, Project Hospitality, Umpenhour has teamed with Florida Hospital Flagler to make the emergency room waiting area more kid-friendly.
Last month, Umpenhour met with the board at the hospital to pitch her idea, and the beginning phase of painting murals in the waiting room was approved.
A preliminary sketch of a coastal theme was drawn out by educator and local artist Stewart Maxcy. The FPC art team as well as students throughout the school district, the Flagler County Art League and local artist Christopher Knox will work together to complete the mural.
“We chose a coastal theme because we are a coastal community and also because after researching I found out blue is a healing color and blue is easy to incorporate in the ocean,” Umpenhour said.
The plan is to sketch the mural during January with different phases to be carried out over the next couple months. Hopefully, a large portion will be finished by March, in time for the Future Problem Solving Competition.
But it doesn’t stop there. The ambitious high school students want to add fish tanks to the waiting room, not only to enhance the room aesthetically, but because she read a study saying that 3-5 minutes a day with nature reduces stress, anger and fear, and increases positive moods.
As the project evolves, Umpenhour hopes to expand the healing art into some patient care rooms.
FPC Project Positivity
Adrianna Laforest is working independently on her project, which focuses on helping FPC become a model school that teachers would come to for training.
The goal is to make the school more positive by working on behavior, attendance and dropouts. To accomplish this, she is implementing three phases, one a month starting in December. Phase 1 targets attendance. To get the school involved, the students will be picking a class of the week for a class that has all students present, in uniform and with their IDs. The class will get awarded an ice cream or pizza party. Phase 2 begins in January and will focus on recognizing students who are not in trouble. Finally, Phase 3, in February, will focus on dealing with failing grades and dropouts.
The goal is to implement all three phases at once for the remainder of the school year.
Music In You
Maeve Dineen, Denis Dineen, Carly Esposito and Luis Cordero are working as a group to build musical, sensory walls targeted toward exceptional student education classes.
After researching, the group found that music helps autistic students focus and express emotion. They met with Dr. Tracy Umpenhour, director of Flagler Schools ESE Department, and the project was approved. The students will make a portable sensory wall at Bunnell Elementary School. The team is also working with the Montessori School of Flagler Beach, which is under construction, to build a permanent sensory wall there.
The group is working with a certified music therapist to ensure they are building the board in the most efficient way. The group hopes to finish the portable board for Bunnell at the end of January.
After collecting data from the first two walls, the group’s goal is to implement portable walls at schools with programs for autistic students in the county.
Project S.E.L.F.
A group of 12 students are working on two phases of Project S.E.L.F., which focuses on building the self-confidence of middle school students through a mentor program.
Aga Bereznica, Autumn Sanson, Christopher Forte, Rachel Secunda, Madison Scarcella and Tara Norberg are working on Phase 1 of the project, which focuses on gathering information on middle school students through surveys. The group found out that most students about to enter middle school are not worried about their grades, but rather, they are worried about dressing out for gym class.
Phase 1 students are working to hold seminars and hold virtual tours to get the incoming seventh-graders acclimated with middle school.
While Phase 1 focuses on the mental preparation, Phase 2 implements a solution.
Nathan Monstanto, Anna Skudarnova, Molly Bell, Will DeAugustino, Barret Manfre and Monica Dorman are responsible for Phase 2, which creates a mentor program. They will work with Wadsworth Elementary and Buddy Taylor Middle schools to pair upcoming eighth-graders with incoming seventh-graders for a smooth transition. They will be paired by a compatibility survey, which will pinpoint equal interests. The goal is to ease the first couple days of transitioning into a new school.
“We aren’t just doing this for the purposes of moving people up but personal issues with self-confidence really started in middle school,” Bell said. “Once you get to middle to high school, it might already be too late to attack these issues.”
To get teachers enthusiastic about the project, the group will present to them and the PTO at both schools. Students who would like to enroll in the mentor program will have the chance to sign up at the end of the school year.
“We feel this project would be beneficial because they’ll be in the same school and know how to deal with similar experiences,” Bell said.
Athletes Who Care
Two baseball players and one basketball player teamed up for the project Athletes Who Care. Josh Breeding, Anthony Brown and Brett King’s goal is to have the sports teams at FPC contribute back to the community by hosting a yearly event to promote a nonprofit group or will raise money for it.
Though early in the project, they did receive an official approval letter for the Florida High School Athletic Association and are working with the school’s athletics director to get the coaches on board.
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