Your Town: Rymfire students fundraise for Leukemia patients, including first-grade peer

Also in Your Town: ITMS students donate to food pantry.

By Paige Wilson
| 6:33 p.m. April 15, 2019

North and Central Florida Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society representative Megan Then and first-grader Sophia Costa. Photo courtesy of Melanie Tahan

Palm Coast Observer
Your Town

Nitza Roman and Melanie Tahan with first-grader Sophia Costa at the check presentation party. Courtesy photo

This year, Rymfire Elementary School’s Pennies for Patients campaign goal to raise $1,500. The school surpassed that to raise a total of $1,855. On Tuesday, April 9, Megan Then from the North and Central Florida Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was presented with the check in Amber Baumert's classroom, which raised the most money due to their very own special superhero: Sophia Costa.

Sophia was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in June 2017. Due to intense chemotherapy treatment, her immune system was weakened and doctors advised her to be home-schooled for kindergarten. But she was able to go to first grade while still finishing the remaining year of a less-intense chemo treatment.

“Last year, her big brother raised money through the LLS Student Series in her honor and his class was awarded a lunch for having raised the most money,” said Sophia’s mother Marlene Costa, in an email. “She was then invited by LLS to be an honored hero for the 2018-2019 school year Student Series program, and we gladly accepted.”

Sophia has six months more treatment to go. Visit https://www.facebook.com/sophiawarriorprincess to follow her journey.

Also in Your Town:

ITMS students donate to food pantry

Melinda Myles, Dottie Colletta, Sam Colletta, Pastor Charles Silano, students Lexis Angel, Charlotte Flechter, Genesis Santiago and Rylee Stives. Students not pictured: Paisley Armstrong, Julietta Kauffmann and Sadieth Tarr.

A group of Indian Trails Future Community Problem Solvers called “Student Food Contribution” raised $1,400 for the Grace Community Food Pantry’s Walk for Food, which was held in March, according to pantry organizer Dottie Colletta. This will help feed families and go toward the backpack program for Flagler Schools students.

FPC FLIGHT students inspire Bobscats

Belle Terre Elementary School students in Mrs. Waldner’s third-grade FLIGHT flagship program traveled to visit the Flagler Palm Coast High Schools students in their Aeronautics program.

Students enjoyed flying in their simulators, watching their drone demos and hearing about how planes are able to fly.

“This made a nice connection between what we are doing at the elementary level and the Flight program available to high school students,” Assistant Principal Katrina Feola said in an email.

Local band opens for national recording artist

Emily Skripko, of Jordan and the Posey Pickers, plays the cello at the Clay County Fair, opening for Big Daddy Weave. Photo courtesy of John Skripko

Jordan and the Posey Pickers, a Flagler County folk rock/blue grass band made up of former Flagler Youth Orchestra students, were the opening band for contemporary Christian band Big Daddy Weave, at the Clay County Fair the first weekend of April. The band also opened for Lee Greenwood two years ago and Chris Tomlin last year. Visit https://www.facebook.com/pickingposeys/.

Luna-tics place second at state competition

Luna-tics members Alexandria Murray, Kadance (Nickmeyer) Schmidt-Alpers, Madilyn Winternheimer, Mackinzie Rogan and Madeline Brinker at the state tournament. Photo courtesy of Michelle Cardinal

Flagler County’s all Girl Scout robotics team, The Luna-tics, competed in placed second in the Project Research category at the state competition in April. They previously placed first in Strategy and Innovation in February at the at the First Lego League division tournament, where they earned a bid to the State Robotics Tournament.

The team is comprised of five Flagler County Girl Scouts ages 12-14 who come from four different Flagler County Girl Scout troops and four Flagler County Schools (Indian Trails Middle School, Buddy Taylor Middle School, Wadsworth Elementary and iFlagler).