For the last month we have been preparing for our qualifying tournament. We arrived to the tournament around 8am and finished up around 4:30pm. It was a VERY long day, but sooooo worth the opportunity and experience for everyone. Since this was our Rookie Year it was hard for the students to know what to expect. I tried to prepare them with videos of previous year's contests, they ran through what the day would look like, talked, programmed, rebuilt and modified, worked together, and freaked out together. All the prep work however, did not fully prepare them for the day. They were all amazed and wowed by the day. Each team was given 4 opportunities to complete the 2 minute 30 second Robot Mission. Then, the teams went into 3 different judging rooms for a Core Values activity, the presentation of the Robot Project, and the presentation of the Robot Design. Communication, team work, and gracious professionalism was key for all judging rooms. The teams did great speaking about how they spent their time on the various components of the Into Orbit season. Even our parents who came along to support their children were finally able to see what their kiddos were working on the the last 4 months. We were all impressed and proud of how our teams worked together throughout the day to solve problems, act quickly on their feet, and support each other. Both teams ran into issues and complications early in the morning and had to modify their designs and rework their programs. It was a problem for the teams, but they faced it calmly and rose to the challenges the day threw at them. This was my Rookie Year too and I could not have been more happy and proud of how the season turned out! It was amazing to see how the teams came together and the team members who stepped up in the end when problems emerged. The First Lego League is truly a great opportunity for kids to get involved in something great that can take them a long way in life. I hope my own children can have a chance to join a great FLL Jr., FLL, or FTC team if the opportunity comes along.
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Christine ChiodoI am a junior high teacher at Pontiac Junior High School. Archives
December 2018
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