Arts & Entertainment Community Education

Drone Team’s first performance has Peninsula School District buzzing

Posted on September 17th, 2025 By: Christina T Henry

Like a swarm of fireflies, 300 drones lift off into the night sky.

Swirling, careening, their LED lights blinking, they take a collective shape.

“Hello,” they spell in perfect script, flowing with colors.

They scatter and reconvene in red, white and blue. An American flag waves proudly in the air.

Constellations form and dissolve. A football player catches a pass. A tiny fish appears, and, oh no, a shark slowly opens its jaws and swallows its hapless prey.

The display last Friday at Pioneer Elementary School was a first for Peninsula School District’s Drone Drill Team, a dress rehearsal for the team’s inaugural performance 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at Gig Harbor High School. The performance is open to the public at no cost.

Members of Peninsula School District’s Drone Drill Team set drones out on the field to prepare for the team’s dress rehearsal on Sept. 12, 2025, at Pioneer Elementary School. Photo by Nicole Paquette

Drill team convenes

The district formed the Drone Drill Team last school year as part of its innovation initiative. Mel Benner, innovation and technology coordinator, and Jonna Waage, computer science teacher, lead it. They both have drone pilot’s licenses.

Last spring, the district screened applications from high school students throughout the district. The seven students selected for the drill team are “technology interns,” paid employees of the district.

“I saw this as a really good opportunity to help expand our school district’s extracurriculars and opportunities,” said Nicole Paquette, a Gig Harbor High School junior.

Like most team members, Paquette fills multiple roles. Aiming for a future in graphic design, she’s the team photographer, handles social media and is one of several animators who design the displays.

”I just thought it was a really good opportunity to get in there and help a new program start up,” she said.”

Second in nation

Peninsula School District Superintendent Krestin Bahr first heard about drone drill teams at the Leadership Institute for Transformative Education conference in Colorado. Peninsula was invited to the conference among a handful of districts pushing the envelope on innovation.

St. Vrain Valley Schools co-hosted the conference. Among other initiatives, it was the first public school district in the nation to form a drone drill team.

Peninsula has a drone class as part of its newly formed Aviation Academy at Henderson Bay High School, which is open to high school students throughout the district. Bahr and other PSD staff, hoping to learn more about drones, viewed a performance by the St. Vrain Drone Drill Team.

“I’d never seen it before. And I said, we’ve got to do that,” Bahr said.

St. Vrain provided guidance as Peninsula launched its own team within less than a year. The district received technical support from Firefly, the company that makes the drones used in shows.

Funding for equipment, software and the drones themselves — 300-plus at $1,500 apiece — comes from Peninsula’s Safety, Security and Technology Levy, passed in 2023.

Drones outfitted with LED lights are ready for deployment on Sept. 12, 2025, at Pioneer Elementary School. Photo by Nicole Paquette

The district hopes to grow the team and have it become self-supporting by hiring out for community events.

Countdown to showtime

In the weeks leading up to a performance, drill team animators storyboard the display. Coders program flight instructions for each drone so they can “talk to each other” during the high-flying choreography.

Firefly provided the programming for the team’s initial show, because the team just recently received the software it needs to design its own shows.

On the night of a show, pilots and co-pilots monitor each drone for malfunctions. Should that occur, they head off collisions by lassoing the errant drone. Each drone also has its own safety programming and the ability to exit safely as needed.

On the night of the dress rehearsal, Zachary Schley, a Gig Harbor High senior, was serving as a visual observer keeping spectators at a safe distance and monitoring for other safety issues.

Schley’s official title on the team is content/project manager. He’s also an animator and social media manager. Schley has had his drone license since 2021. Aspiring to attend the University of Washington, he sees a wide-open future.

“I have multiple skill sets,” he said. “I don’t know what my major might be. It may include drones, it may be technology, animation, but this is still a great stepping-stone.”

A member of Peninsula School District’s Drone Drill Team sets drones out on the field to prepare for the team’s dress rehearsal on Sept. 12, 2025, at Pioneer Elementary School. Photo by Nicole Paquette

More than entertainment

District officials tout drone technology as an emerging career field with applications in industries like real estate, agriculture, the military and law enforcement. The district’s drone class enables students to apply for their drone pilot’s license. Drone clubs are forming at all high schools.

The Drone Drill team is separate from the class and clubs. In addition to drone technology, the drill team helps students develop diverse skills such as leadership, project planning, marketing and of course coding.

Benner is still gobsmacked by the turn her job has taken.

“I’ve only been here a year and a half, right? And yet, I have been given the opportunity to create something that could really affect, long-term, the way we think about what we’re providing kids,” she said. “And I think that’s just been a real benefit and joy, like, it’s a blessing to me, if that makes sense. I I feel lucky every day that I come to work.”

Other team members include Colby Piquet, Chase Nichols, Matthew Cooper, Wyatt Hoggatt and Walker Faulk.

Drone Team performance

What: Peninsula School District Drone Team inaugural performance

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 (show begins at 8:45 p.m.)

Where: Gig Harbor High School upper turf field, 14015 62nd Ave NW, Gig Harbor

Cost: Free and open to the public

Parking: GHHS staff and student lots

Seating: Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs or blankets