These sixth-graders learned what it’s like to handle emergency operations during a storm

It’s always best to be prepared, especially for emergencies.

To learn how, 40 sixth-grade John F. Kennedy Middle School science students, called Weather Rangers, conducted a hurricane simulation Oct. 15 in the Miami-Dade County Emergency Operations Center. The school is in North Miami Beach.

Their mission: to prepare for and recover from the devastation of fictitious Hurricane Dorian making landfall in South Florida.

As the computer images of the simulated Category 5 hurricane showed the storm getting closer to the coastline, student mayor Louis Rosas-Guyon instructed his fellow students to prepare for the worst.

Student meteorologists Nathalie Rock, Andrew Neunie and Salvador Cabrejos held Hurricane Dorian weather briefings as other emergencies popped up.

A fire in a hurricane evacuation shelter needed to be extinguished by student firefighters Viesha Wooten, Shuyi Mo and Jennifer Hall. And Gertsen Jean-Louis and Melissa Pleteau, in the student transportation department, relocated 1,000 pretend people to other shelters.

“The JFK Middle School experience at the Miami-Dade County Emergency Operations Center enables students to assume the roles of local government, learn problem-solving principles used by emergency managers and make the decisions necessary to respond to a disaster in their community,” StormZone Founding Director Bay Proby said.

“We are especially grateful to JFK Middle School science teacher Eva Ravelo for helping us plan this year’s exercise.”

The students worked in firefighting, transportation, law enforcement, search-and-animal rescue, medical assistance, hazardous materials and mass care, to name a few.

Angie Rosario and Andrew Olawela handled search and rescue. As soon as the “shelter fire” was resolved, an overturned tanker truck on Alligator Alley left thousands of motorists stranded. There were fires on the highway, blocked motorists and escaping pets.

But the Weather Rangers had all simulated situations under control and sent information to the student broadcast reporters to alert motorists to avoid this primary evacuation route.

Hazardous materials’ Brian Exius, Christopher Elliston and Chayanne Aubourg cleaned up the fuel spill and mass care’s Seyeda Ferdausi and Leeyah Santaella got food and water out to the stranded people.

Animal rescue’s Isaac Dominique saw to the lost pets and had them safely returned to their owners. After the hurricane, the Weather Rangers were faced with additional challenges such as large areas of Miami-Dade under water due to flooding.

A press conference at the Miami-Dade EOC’s media room was held where questions to mayor Louis and emergency manager Fred Layden were posed by student broadcast reporters Jasmin Cazeau, Bernadine Theme and Nathaniel Rochester, followed by a Q&A session.

Proby said the program is made possible through Miami-Dade County Emergency Management and Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

“The exercise was conducted by StormZone, a nationwide education program that teaches students the science of severe weather, earthquakes and wild fires, as well as the critical importance of preparedness and volunteerism,” he said.

The 12-year-old program is a nonprofit of Weather Expositions of America and is sponsored by Ashbritt Environmental, a rapid-response disaster recovery and special environmental services contractor.

In addition to Proby, team members included Erik Salna, StormZone meteorologist and WXEPO president; and J. P. Keener, STEM specialist & education consultant for PASCO Scientific.

To learn more about StormZone and the Weather Rangers student outreach program, visit www.stormzone.us or contact Proby at stormzone.us@gmail.com.

Tour historic house

If you live in or travel through South Miami you’ve passed this historic home, headquarters of the Tropical Audubon Society. The group invites the public to tour its historic Doc Thomas House on the first Saturday of each month through June 2020.

This charming 1932 cottage is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, named a Florida Heritage Site, and designated a Miami-Dade County Historic Site.

“Since becoming Tropical Audubon Society’s historian six years ago, I have worked with a small team of history buffs to uncover many fascinating facts about the society, its benefactor, Arden Hayes “Doc” Thomas, and the distinctive home he gifted the organization. Join us as we share our discoveries and show visitors the many special features of the architecturally unique, historic house,” Dan Jones said.

A Tropical Audubon docent leads the captivating 45-minute tour. You will learn about the building of this wood and limestone structure. And you will learn about “Doc” Thomas and Robert Fitch Smith, the architect he commissioned to design the house.

Visitors are also encouraged to take a self-guided tour of the near-native Steinberg Nature Center grounds, which showcase pollinator gardens and tropical hardwood and pine rockland habitats.

The house is at 5530 Sunset Dr. and there is free parking via the Southwest 55th Avenue gate. The next tour date is Dec. 7. Tours are at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The house and grounds are open 12:30 to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Donations welcomed. Visit www.tropicalaudubon.org for more information.

305 Hip-Hop is free

Everyone is invited to celebrate Miami’s local hip-hop culture at a free event, 1:30 p.m., Nov. 23, at Knight Concert Hall, 1300 Biscayne Blvd.

Featured will be Flipside Kings, a Miami-based b-boy crew founded in 1994, and Daniel “Krave” Fila, a Miami graffiti artist who will lead interactive workshops on the four elements of hip-hop. Those are DJ’ing, rapping, graffiti painting and break dancing.

“Miami’s diverse culture has been hugely influential to many local hip-hop artists,” said Jairo Ontiveros, assistant vice president of education and community engagement. “We’re thrilled to present some of our city’s most well-respected dance crews, graffiti artists, DJs and MC’s to show a new generation the vibrant, creative nature of hip-hop.”

This event is part of Family Fest at the Adrienne Arsht Center. More on this and other upcoming events can be found at www.arshtcenter.org. Because events are free it is recommended you arrive early.

“Family Fest has been an important part of the Arsht Center’s mission to serve the community for the past 12 seasons,” Ontiveros said. “The series, which has always been free, is an opportunity for families to create new traditions around the live performing arts. This season we are especially proud to feature a lineup of all Miami-based artists, which reflect the cultural diversity of our city.”

If you have news for this column, write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com.

This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 4:51 PM.