LMS Robotics Trash Trek Teams Announced

Post date: Oct 01, 2015 11:59:12 PM

Congratulations to the following students for being selected for the LMS Robotics FLL Competition Teams for the 2015/2016 Trash Trek Season:

Team 492:

Coaches:

Mr. Jamie Beedy - jamie@beedy.me

Mr. David Roe - DRoe@RoeLegal.com

Team Members:

• Sam B. - 7th Grade

• Paul C. - 8th Grade

• Lea C. - 6th Grade

• Joey D. - 6th Grade

• Nick G. - 6th Grade

• Claire G.- 6th Grade

• Alex J. - 8th Grade

• John J. - 8th Grade

• Caitlin K. - 7th Grade

• Mackenzie M. - 8th Grade

Team 493:

Coaches:

Mrs. Kerry Molina - ckmolina@global78.com

Mr Jason Domke - jmdomke@gmail.com

Team Members:

• Jack D. - 8th Grade

• Nicholas D. - 6th Grade

• Kyle E. - 8th Grade

• Jack E. - 6th Grade

• Claire G. - 7th Grade

• Julia J. - 6th Grade

• Tommie M. - 8th Grade

• Maeve M. - 6th Grade

• Ben P. - 8th Grade

• Charlie S. - 7th Grade

You can read more about the selection criteria that was used in making the Team Selections below. Thanks to all the students that participated in the LMS Robotics club and hopefully you will participate in next years club.

Competition Team Meeting

Our first regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6th, at Lincoln, from 3:00 - 5:00. Looking forward, our first regional Competition is December 5th from 8:00 am till 5:00 pm. For a complete schedule, you can visit:lmsrobotics.org/home/schedule

All the Team members listed above are required to attend this and all meetings going forward. Please bring a Notebook and Pen to the first meeting.

Competition Team Selection Criteria

Team selection was very difficult this year because of the great amount of talent that came out for the club. Unfortunately, due to First Lego League (FLL) rules, there are strict rules on the number of students per team that we must abide by. We are very proud of all the students for all the hard work they did in a very short amount of time! There were many variables that went into selecting the teams by the coaches and myself. These variables include:

-Time Commitment- Attendance was crucial during the club to gauge their time commitment. The reason behind this is that the robotics team meets for about 6 hours per week at school (2 hours on Tuesdays and 4 hours on Saturdays) up until the regional competition on December 5th (unless they advance to state competition which is in January). Thursday practices will also be scheduled later in October through the competition. Team members may also schedule meeting outside of our scheduled meetings, if they feel they need to meet to stay on the schedule they set up.

-Homework Assignments- In addition to team meetings, there is mandatory homework/research for the project outside of team meetings. Typically, it is anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours a week. It is essential (and driven by the students) to complete the research so the team can compile the information and work on the project portion of the competition at meetings. If one student misses an assignment, it really affects the progress of the entire team.

This was evaluated by the several homework assignments that were assigned throughout the club portion. These homework assignments helped to guide the process to show the interest level of the students. The final homework assignment asked 3 questions- why the student wanted to be on the team, what they could contribute, and what they hoped to learn from the experience. This assignment was weighted more heavily to see the student’s interest level and commitment to the team.

-Teamwork/Ability to work effectively in a group- It is important for students to be able to work well with others (teamwork is a huge component of FLL). The students were randomly selected and placed into groups for a five minute teamwork challenge. We also observed how they worked with their teammates and coaches during the club portion while performing the robot building and programming exercises.

-Engagement in the activities- The students on the team really want to be there and want to do the work and put forth the effort (which is why last year's teams were so successful in advancing to the the Illinois State Finals). It was important for students to maximize their time while in the club by completing different tasks.

-Grades- Students must be in good academic standing to be a member of the competition team.

If you have any questions on the Team assignments, please contact me. If you have any questions about the Competition Teams, please contact your child's coach.

We would like to thank everyone that came out for the club this year and for such a great experience. We hope to see you again next year!

Kristen Kaage

Lincoln Middle School

Lego Robotics Club Sponsor