Students on the 6th grade Shark Team at Crest Middle School did a class project after reading articles about Hurricane Katrina and flooding in South Carolina in the January Scholastic Action magazine. They discussed other storms that happened such as the snow storm that happened in January. The students brainstormed and came up with a plan on how to be prepared for future storms.
They came up with the following:
"It's always good to be prepared for a storm. If we are prepared we can take care of ourselves, our family, and we will also be able to help others.
Items we think all families should have in case of a storm:"
1. Water for drinking, flushing toilets, washing clothes if needed
2. Canned food items
3. Flashlights and candles with matches or a lighter
4. First aid kit
5. Battery operated portable emergency radio
6. Storm shelter spot or safe high elevation place for flooding
7. Toilet paper
8. Money in a secret place, suggested about $20 for each person in your household
9. Contact Point to go for emergency information, such as fire dept
10. Medicine - emergency medical kit
11. Generator - if you can afford one
12. Clean clothes if you know a storm is coming, washboard and soap if no power
13. Good storm boots or waterproof type shoe
14. An old phone that doesn't need power to operate
15. Portable chargers or car chargers to charge cell phones
16. Walkie talkies for local emergency communication

We can help others by providing food, bedding, or a place to stay if we know them. If we don't know the person, we need to make sure we can lock a door and are safe. Never steal food in an emergency, always try to buy it or trade for it. Try to help your town stay safe by helping others.
We may not always have our parents there if we are at school. If we are worried the students said that we have to Trust God in a storm.
Contributors include: Frank, Benjamin, Christopher S., Dakota, Alexis, David, Ashli, Katrina, Cory, Autumn, Eunique, Keyonna W, Erin, Stacy, Savanna, Abby H., and Perry.
Submitted by Lori Granniss - Photos provided by Crest Middle School