CCSD Teams Heading to First LEGO League Super Regionals

From Cherokee County School District: Seven CCSD teams will be heading to the First LEGO League Super Regionals next month at Kell High School after competing at a regional event last weekend. More than 32 schools across six neighboring school districts attended a regional First LEGO League competition on the Mill Creek MS campus on Saturday, Dec. 16, competing in three different groups. Four CCSD teams won titles in various categories, led by a championship title win for Mill Creek MS LegoCats/Garnet team. The other category wins included:

• Woodstock Elementary School’s Team 1982, coached by Debbie Pinion, won the Robot Design Award for Group A.
• E.T. Booth MS team Booth Bot Builders, coached by Dillon Armbruster, won the Project Award for Group A.
• Dean Rusk MS team Brick Army, coached by Lisa Naliwajka, won the Project Award for Group C.
• Mill Creek MS team Garnet LegoCats, coached by Mark Markley, won the Robot Performance Aware for Group C and captured the overall Champions Award for Group C.

CCSD teams who accumulated enough points to advance to Super Regionals include:Woodstock ES WESbotics team, Booth MS Booth Bot Builders, Dean Rusk MS Brick Army, Clark Creek ES STEM Academy BrickMasters, Canton ES STEM Academy HydroColts, and two teams from Mill Creek MS, the LegoCats Garnet and LegoCats Gold teams.

In First LEGO League competition, each team designs and builds a robot based on the LEGO Mindstorms system. The robots are designed and then programmed by the team to solve a set of missions, which are laid out on a First LEGO League playing field with models made from LEGO bricks. Each team also completes a research project affiliated with the tournament theme (this year’s is Hydro Dynamics), where they research and analyze a problem. Awards are given for Robot Design, Core Values, Robot Performance, and Project. More information can be found here.

Champions from each group get an automatic entrance to Super Regionals; additional teams may secure a spot based on overall scores at the end of the regional competitions.

Community judges for the event included State Senator Brandon Beach; CCSD School Board member Kelly Poole; County Commissioner Bob Kovacs; former County Commissioner Harry Johnston; Dina Menard, wife of School Board member Clark Menard; Meagan Biello, Assistant Principal at Cherokee HS; and John Carter, Assistant Principal at Teasley MS. Organizers also wished to thank the teachers and staff at Mill Creek MS for volunteer efforts and support for the event. Other CCSD schools competing on Saturday included Canton ES STEM Academy, Clark Creek ES STEM Academy, Holly Springs ES STEM Academy, Freedom MS, Teasley MS and Woodstock MS.

Photos courtesy of Cherokee County School District:

(Image 1) Mill Creek MS Garnet Legocats team members Christopher Markley, Noah Kenny, Wyatt Clements and Nandita Bipin react as their robot narrowly misses completion of a mission

(Image 2) The Legocats Garnet team (from left, Vihaan Jaiswal, Christopher Markley, Eric Brown, Wyatt Clements, Noah Kenny and Nandita Bipin) explains their robot design to volunteer judge and State Senator Brandon Beach

(Image 3) The robot designed and programmed by Champion Team Legocats Garnet team from Mill Creek MS

(Image 4) Noah Kenny, Wyatt Clements and Nandita Bipin confer on adjustments to their robot between missions

(Image 5) Wyatt Clements, Noah Kenny and Nandita Bipin make a final adjustment to their robot before sending it on its next mission before the judges

(Image 6) From left, Bryce Jones of Woodstock MS watches as Woodstock ES team members Lauren Hunter, center, Emily Craig test their robot on the practice table

(Image 7) From left, Levi Little and Bennett Keel of Woodstock ES watch as Woodstock MS student Bryce Jones checks out his robot

(Image 8) Woodstock ES students Emily Craig and Lauren Hunter make adjustments to their robot programming at the First LEGO League regional tournament

(Image 9) From left, Bennett Keel, Bryce Jones, GE Energy engineer and WES mentor Paul Hutto, Lauren Hunter and Emily Craig watch a robot on the practice table

(Image 10)- Lauren Hunter, left, and Emily Craig watch their robot attempt the missions

(Image 11) - From left in the black shirts, Nathan Boronat, Evan Fistel, Brett Lougheed, and D.J. Colonna work on their robot at a practice table

(Image 12) – The Dean Rusk Brick Army team members work to tweak their robot in between practice runs. Nathan Kelley, left, and Brett Lougheed, right.

(Image 13)- Dean Rusk Brick Army team members Evan Fistel, Brett Lougheed, and Nathan Kelley hold their breath while their robot attempts its mission.