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NORTH POINT HIGH C.E.R.T Michael Jennings North Port High School North Port High School students are very lucky. The school offers a First Aid and Safety class, taught by Michael Jennings. They do a number of drills and practices to help them train for real life situations. Some of the drills are made inside the classroom, while others are far more involved. Because they are trained, the members of the high school team can help local authorities in case of a hurricane and North Port residents are evacuated to North Port High School. The trained C.E.R.T. members will be able to free up fire fighters and other emergency workers. After training for a while on school grounds, nine of the students were selected to go to a real hurricane drill in Orlando on May 11, 2002. The students attended the Hurricane Peggy Drill in Orlando, Fla., along with their instructor, Jennings. The Hurricane Peggy Drill was created on one of Universal Studios' movie sets where there were approximately 80 individuals who served as victims and four teams working together to help clean up the "disaster."
	The North Port High students were the only team with members under age 40. The other teams were all "adult" Community Emergency Response Teams (C.E.R.T.). The nine students were chosen by Jennings, who trained his class first aid techniques including drills done in the dark classroom. He created the atmosphere by using a fog machine. Jennings put students in stressful and emotional situations in order to effectively train them for the actual Hurricane Peggy Drill.
The simulation students followed was that Hurricane Peggy hit Orlando, and they had to help the residents the best they could. "Everyone's stress level was so high," Jennings said. "While waiting to go outside, one woman from another C.E.R.T. actually had a heart attack because she was so stressed. As time was passed everyone got more and more nervous." "During drills there is always a possibility of real emergencies too", he said. All of the students had a great time although some of them were getting frustrated with the other C.E.R.T. team members. "They thought we didn't know what we were doing, just because we were younger than them, even though we were just as prepared as the other people there" said Elyse Powell, a NPHS search and rescue member.
	"It was frustrating because they got to many of the victims before us and we couldn't use our 'triage skills' as much, but I thought it was a very good experience," said Jennifer Blake, a NPHS medic. "The team worked very well together, and they are prepared for any disaster that may strike our area. I would be proud to work along side our students," Jennings said. "They showed me they have what it takes to work in a high stress situation with lives on the line. This is real life stuff and the students are prepared."
On a lower level, the students do drills right on their school campus. Students got to help put out a controlled fire with donated fire extinguishers and with some help from the North Port Fire Dept. They learned how to properly use fire extinguishers and how to suppress a diesel fuel fire. The students involved in these drills really enjoy all of the activities. "This class is really hands-on," said John Estill, 14, a freshman. "This class is cool. Mr. Jennings is awesome." Along with fire suppression, students are also taught how to handle emergency situations, such as hurricanes, how to operate a triage, and how to work as a search and rescue team. The students are becoming Federal Emergency Management Agency Certified, so that they can actually help the community in case of a real emergency. Their school is a hurricane shelter, for North Port citizens, where students will be helping out if they are needed. To date, NPHS has certified 170 students as C.E.R.T. members. *Link to newspaper coverage of the event Sun-herald story*

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