Operation Montserrat

Edison Elementary students simulate island rescue

 

By Cortney Dueweke

C & G Staff Writer

     As a hurricane approached and a volcano threatened to erupt on the island of Montserrat, Mike DiPaola’s sixth-grade classes from Edison Elementary scrambled to interpret incoming data on the impending disasters and safely evacuate Montserrat’s residents.

     Though Operation Montserrat was a simulated drill incorporating science, mathematics, social studies, problem solving, data analysis and more, it was based upon real-life twin disasters that occurred in 1996 on the Caribbean island, located near Antigua.

     DiPaola’s classes met in two sessions in the district’s Distance Learning Lab, located within Fraser High School, to participate in the Feb. 11 activity.

     Sorted by their strengths, the kids worked in groups to either “crunch numbers” relating to the hurricane or volcano, coordinate evacuations from at-risk cities, or communicate with Mission Control — staff from the Challenger Learning Center, based out of West Virginia’s Wheeling Jesuit University.

     Kids on the hurricane and volcano teams bustled around the room, collecting real-time data from computers, scribbling notes and comparing numbers relating to the natural disasters with other teams.

     “It was kind of cool to watch the hurricane, how it just missed the island,” said sixth-grader Sean Mok, a hurricane team member who said the “suspense” involved with waiting to see what the storm would do made his job somewhat tense.

     The evacuation teams were charged with safely moving Montserrat residents from the paths of the hurricane and volcano. They used the data interpreted by the other groups to aid their decisions.

     “It was hard,” said evacuation team member Erik Heath, “because we didn’t know what transportation we had, where we would take them, how long it would take.”

     “We actually experienced what it was like to save people,” added teammate Nick Allen.

     Meanwhile, the communications team spoke to Mission Control over a microphone and through real-time Internet chat. Staff at Mission Control — who could see the kids and also be seen via the two-way visual technology in the Distance Learning Lab — relayed important information back, including updates on whether evacuation attempts had been successful and which areas the storm or eruption had already affected.

     “It was really cool to be in charge,” said sixth-grader Justin Coppola. “Mission Control would talk to me, then I had to talk to the class. It felt like I was pretty important.”

     The first session successfully evacuated everyone from danger, while the second session experienced injuries, but no fatalities.

     “It was a sigh of relief,” Coppola said of hearing that his class had saved all of Montserrat’s residents.

     “I felt relieved that we saved the people’s lives,” agreed Morgan Kelley, a volcano team member, “and I felt really good about myself.”

     DiPaola and Angela George, Fraser’s elementary computer coordinator, learned about Operation Montserrat through a distance learning consortium and helmed the Feb. 11 project.

     “When you look around the room, you don’t see one person not involved,” said George.

     DiPaola said the students put in about three weeks of preparation, studying various natural disasters and how such occurrences affect the land, water, life and atmosphere of a planet.

     “It’s one of the most fun things we’ve ever experienced when it comes to teaching,” he said.

     The students seemed to agree. “All kids should have the opportunity to do this,” said sixth-grader Erica Strahan, a communications team member. “It’s really fun.”

     For more information on the Challenger Learning Center, visit http://clc.wju.edu.

     You can reach Cortney Dueweke at cdueweke@candgnews.com