News Releases
Teams from District 15 Schools Win Awards in FIRST LEGO League Competition
Two teams from Community Consolidated School District 15 schools took first place honors in the FIRST LEGO League tournament, held Dec. 8 at Forest View Education Center in Arlington Heights.
A team of seventh and eighth graders from Plum Grove Junior High School earned the first-place “Creativity Award,” and a sixth-grade team from Stuart R. Paddock School, captured the first-place “Programming Design” award.
The FIRST LEGO League is a nationwide program for children ages 9-14 that combines hands-on, interactive robotics using the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System with a sports-like competition. The focus is on team building, problem solving, creativity and analytical thinking.
Teams have eight weeks to research, plan, building, program and test a robot capable of meeting a specific challenge. This year’s theme, “Arctic Impact,” simulated an actual scientific expedition to the Arctic. Teams were required to use their robots to locate fuel barrels, retrieve scientific and medical supplies and fend off polar bears and other tasks, with just two minutes for each “mission.”
The Paddock team, “The Paddock Panthers,” had ten members, all sixth graders: Katy Walker, Nina Sheade, Johnathan Garrett, Joey Derkits, Anthony Coronada, Brett Stocker, Dean Budde, Glenn Cardell, Josh Skolnik and Danny Greathouse. Paddock teacher Kathleen Cochrane was their coach. The team earned first place for programming design for “the best demonstration of an in-depth understanding of sound programming principles.”
The Plum Grove team, "Robochargers," coached by teachers Stewart Bond and John Colgren, consisted of four members: Sebastian Wegielewski, seventh grade, and eighth graders Mark Wiemer, Nick Buenrrostro and Cameron Liss. The Creativity Award was presented to the team “best demonstrating its ability to use a creative design, component or unique strategy of play for the most original approach to solving the challenge mission.”
District 15’s two winning teams, along with four teams from other district schools, were among 98 teams totaling more than 700 students participating in the annual competition. Other district 15 teams, all sponsored by Motorola, were two from Carl Sandburg Junior High, and one each from Walter R. Sundling Junior High and Thomas Jefferson School.
|
