- December 4, 2025
Indian Trails Middle School students Abrielle Molina, Anasofia Jimenez, Maria Kelly, Yadira Santiago, Yameliz Morales Rios, Gillian Moisao present the photo-opt check to Dorothy Kelly. Not Pictured: Hannah Goff, Cristina Calidonio
Inspiring Our Youth A Game, Inc., a Flagler County nonprofit, took 50 students to see the new Marvel superhero movie “Black Panther” on Saturday, Feb. 24. Photo courtesy of Arnold C. Anderson
Aaralyn Weeks, Daniela Mendez, Ava Rose, Matthew Sholes, Logan Daniel, Eliana Mendez, Summer Craig, Alia Raiszwink, Keri Pietro. Nikolas Lee, Cindy Dalecki, Sandra McDermott, Jon Emery and Mrs. L. Schiller. Courtesy photo
Elijah Hopkins, as Superman, tosses his son Gabriel into the air playfully at the Superhero 5K. Photo courtesy of Julie Davis
Chloe Simmons and Weston Bembry at the Superhero 5K. Photo courtesy of Julie Davis
SGA members Emani Desinor and Braylynn McCall in front of their station about African American Leaders that were a part of their schools’ Student Government Associations. Photo courtesy of Cheryl Perry
Laura Gilvary, Dr. Jessie Bech, Jack Gilvary and Melissa Johnson Woodburn before Race the Runway. Photo courtesy of Cindy Dalecki
Jeremiah Donoso, Izac Derequito, Brianna Shiflett, Roman Perera, Phillip Jackson, Gabriel Moyer, Jaden Boris, Hunter Allen, Sam Horton, Sophia Mikos, Priya Tomerlin, and Brinley Cassady. Photo courtesy courtesy Kristin Wilkinson
FPCHS Student Artist of the Month Ben Ward's magazine cover design. Photo courtesy Edson Beckett
A drawing by FPCHS Student Artist of the Month Ben Ward. Photo courtesy Edson Beckett
Rymfire student Lukas Notaras poses with author James Ponti. Photo courtesy of Melanie Tahan
President Howard W. Hawrey presents the 2017 Carver of the Year award, carved by Jeff Kindon, to Neil Cooksey. Courtesy photo
Rymfire Elementary student Caden Cavas meets with the FPL workers at the RES Career Day. Photo courtesy of Melanie Tahan
Brutus - 37530306, 5-year-old male terrier mix. Photo courtesy of Katie Share
Charmander - 37309312, 3-year-old male domestic short-haired cat. Photo courtesy of Katie Share
Machico - 37602818, 4-year-old female domestic short-haired cat. Photo courtesy of Katie Share
Teenie - 37817486, 1-year-old female shep/lab mix. Photo courtesy of Katie Share
Indian Trails Middle School students formed the "Let's Be Better People" committee to help the homeless. They raised over $500 toward this cause and made a $100 donation to Emmanuel’s Closet’s Hearts for Homeless ministry, with more donations going to other local homeless assistance organizations.
Emmanuel’s Closet Team Leader Dorothy Kelly sat down with the students to accept the donation and further explain the do's and don'ts of helping the homeless, their more critical needs and how people can pool their resources together to help.
Inspiring Our Youth A Game, Inc., a Flagler County nonprofit, took 50 students to see the new Marvel superhero movie “Black Panther” on Saturday, Feb. 24. The nonprofit raised $600 through a GoFundMe campaign to buy the tickets to secure a private viewing of the movie at the Epic Theatres of Palm Coast. Before the movie, the local African American Cultural Society delivered a history lesson for the students. Visit inspiringouryouthagame.net.
The Rotary Club of Flagler Beach announced that the Rotary Club of Groton, New York has donated $1,000 to the Old Kings Elementary School’s Interact Club to distribute locally to assist Hurricane Irma storm victims. To raise the money, students at Groton Elementary School, where the attendance is 425, were challenged to earn .01 cent for every minute they read.
OKES Interact received the money to distribute to OKES families in need and to replace any books damaged at the Flagler Beach Library.
Palm Coast Community Church held a Superhero 5K event on Sunday, Feb. 25, where about 500 total registered runners ran in the 5K, the Destiny Dash for toddlers through age 4 and the Super Loop for kids in kindergarten through third grade. The kid’s races were free for participants due to a sponsorship from Moe’s, Palm Coast Community Church and Palm Coast Community Child Center. There was also a kid zone with face painting, bounce houses, popcorn and Kona Ice.
The Overall Top Male was St. Augustine resident Shad McGrew, who ran the 5K in 18 minutes and 16 seconds. The Overall Top Female was Palm Coast resident Arien Striplin, who ran the 5K in 20 minutes and 26 seconds.
Flagler Palm Coast High School’s Ebony Society hosted a Living Museum on Feb. 27. Students, FPC staff and community leaders lined the perimeter of the Bulldog Learning Commons portraying influential African American leaders while classes walked through and stopped at each station to hear the stories.
Students viewed artwork from the African American Cultural Society, interacted with historical African American figures portrayed by students, staff and community leaders, engaged in poetry chats and visited student designed cultural tables.
The Rotary Club of Flagler Beach hosted the “Race the Runways for Rotary 5K” on Saturday, Feb. 17. The timed race took place at 6 p.m. on the tarmac and taxiways at the Flagler Executive Airport. Participants were encouraged to wear glow-in-the-dark clothing and accessories.
All proceeds will go toward doing good in the community and globally. The local Rotary feeds 300 families per month, provides college scholarships to Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high school students annually, provides toys and gifts to 1,300 children each Christmas and more. Visit FlaglerBeachRotary.org.
Imagine School at Town Center Science Olympiad team placed in the top six teams regionally in February and have been invited to compete at the state level for the first time in the school’s history on March 24 at UCF. This is only the ISTC’s second year competing. Teams competed in 23 events ranging from physics, chemistry, geology, biology, astronomy and more.
Flagler Palm Coast High School instructor Edson Beckett selected senior Benjamin Ward as the February Student Artist of the Month.
Ward has been accepted to the Savannah College of Art and Design. He hopes to major in animation and minor in graphic design.
Q+A with Ward, from Beckett:
Inspiration for artwork:
“For the magazine cover, much of what influenced this piece was the enticing use of foreground and background elements in well-thought-out magazine covers. More specifically, the partial appearance of a subject being behind and in front of the title. The method of creating dimension with words against images always peaked my fascination in digital design.”
What do your pieces mean to you?
“Many of my art pieces in recent years symbolize, to some extent, different aspects of myself, as well as what encompasses who I am. This colored pencil drawing, in particular, holds strong emotions behind it. It is an expression of my romantic desire and attraction towards men. Having made artwork that not only speaks about how I feel, but does so in an evocatively creative way is both a personal and artistic feat.”
Rymfire Elementary School had a visit from author James Ponti on Thursday, Feb. 22, to learn about his path to becoming a writer. His published books include the “Framed” mystery series as well as the “Dead City” books.
The Palm Coast Wood Carvers had their Holiday Party on Feb. 20 for all the snow birds who were away at Christmas. The party had 30 carvers and highlighted a tribute to Neil Cooksey, the 2017 Wood Carver of the Year. President Howard W. Hawrey presented the award, carved by Jeff Kindon, to Cooksey.
Rymfire Elementary School held a Career Day on Feb. 23 for students to hear from professionals in a variety of fields.
Machico - 37602818, 4-year-old female domestic short-haired cat
Charmander - 37309312, 3-year-old male domestic short-haired cat
Teenie - 37817486, 1-year-old female shep/lab mix
Brutus - 37530306, 5-year-old male terrier mix
