Space camping

By Staff
Four PC students selected for camp
Kim West
PHIL CAMPBELL – A quartet of Phil Campbell Elementary students have earned a free trip to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville this week.
Sixth graders Allison Harvey, River Dolan, Tiffany Cole and Matthew Wilson will attend a five-day residential camp Sept. 2-6 as youth preparedness delegates after submitting winning applications to the Department of Homeland Security's "Be Ready Camp" last spring.
"There's actually a waiting list for this program, and it's quite an honor for four of our students to be chosen," said Jackie Ergle, principal at Phil Campbell Elementary.
The camp, which was started in 2005, has a curriculum that includes water survival, creating a family disaster plan, developing an emergency kit and terrorism awareness.
"This is a program put on by Homeland Security for fifth graders, who go through mock drills and implement plans in case a disaster happens, such as 9/11," said Jill Harris, a Phil Campbell fifth grade science teacher.
Dolan, Cole and Wilson each chose to write 500-word essays for their applications, while Harvey designed a poster.
"They each had to submit an essay, poster or video on why their community is important to them," Harris said. "These students were chosen on academic performance, and also because they're scientifically-minded, mature and participate in class. I submitted their names but they had to do the paperwork themselves."
Dolan, 12, has never visited the Space and Rocket Center and said he was excited about the camp.
"I'm looking forward to being there, and I think I would like to do the water survival," said Dolan, who enjoys creating comics. "I freaked out when I got the (acceptance) letter – I was so excited I almost fainted."
Cole, 12, said she was also excited to receive the letter and already had her favorite training exercise picked out.
"I was sitting sideways and almost fell down when I found out," Cole said. "I'm already looking forward to the mock disaster training."
For Wilson, 11, the water survival training will present a challenge since he doesn't know how to swim yet.
"I'm nervous about swimming during water survival," said Wilson, an avid writer who finished his 500-word essay in less than five hours. "I haven't been to the Space and Rocket Center before but I'm ready to go."
This will also be the first trip to the center for Harvey, 11, an art-lover whose poster showed her interpretation of a safe community.
"My poster had a few houses on it and a stop sign," Harvey said. "I did the poster because I was trying to show what a safe community would look like."