On Saturday, December 16th, the Saint Joseph School FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Robotics Team competed in the Massachusetts FLL Championship Tournament at WPI. Over 450 teams competed in FIRST LEGO League robotics competitions in Massachusetts this season and 72 of the top teams competed at WPI. The Saint Joseph School team was one of two teams representing Southern Worcester County. The town of Douglas was also represented.
This year’s challenge theme was Masterpiece. Therefore, in addition to competing with an autonomous robot that the team designed and programmed to solve missions, the team had to imagine and innovate a new way to create and communicate art across the globe—using their imagination to re-think the world of art! Following much discussion regarding their interests and hobbies, the SJS team, also known as the Fantastic 4, decided to focus on dance. The team learned that there are limited resources for visually impaired dancers to study independently. Therefore, they utilized a tactile drawing board to create a library of basic poses and positions that dancers could feel instead of seeing. Then, they shared their project with fellow Saint Joseph School students, dancers, and visually impaired friends.
Following their Qualifier Event on December 10th, the team spent more time improving their project which included 3D printing their library to improve durability. This also made the library easier to sanitize between each use. In addition, they spent time creating a poem to help express how the FIRST Core Values of discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork, and fun influenced their time together. Finally, they also visited Aspire Dance Studio in Oxford, MA to continue to share their innovation project.
At both the qualifier and championship events, the team had to present their research and results in a fun and creative manner. Congratulations to the team for receiving a Judge’s Award at the State Championship. The FLL Judges Award is a special recognition given to teams that stand out for reasons other than the core award categories. The award is based on the judges’ observations and impressions of the team. During the presentation of this award, it was noted that the team made significant progress in their confidence and capability in both the Robot Game and Innovation Project and are shining examples of excellent Core Values. They demonstrated that they understand that what they discover is more important than what they win. The judges also noted that the team “danced their way into their hearts.”
Team members include 6th grade students Lukas Barbosa, Mychael Jones, Jacob Lopez, and 8th Grade student Emily Macko. Saint Joseph School Principal Beth Boudreau and parent volunteer Mariusz Macko coach the team. Congratulations on your hard work and achievements!
