- Gateway Middle School
- Robotics
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What is FIRST LEGO League (FLL)? (From firstinspires.org)
Tomorrow’s innovators practice imaginative thinking and teamwork. Guided by two or more adult Coaches, FIRST LEGO League teams research a real-world problem such as food safety, recycling, energy, etc., and are challenged to develop a solution. They also must design, build, program a robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS or SPIKE PRIME, then compete on a table-top playing field.
It all adds up to tons of fun while they learn to apply science, technology, engineering, and math concepts (STEM), plus a big dose of imagination, to solve a problem. Along their journey, they develop critical thinking and team-building skills, basic STEM applications, and even presentation skills, as they must present their solutions with a dash of creativity to judges. They also practice the Program’s Core Values, which emphasize discovery, teamwork and good sportsmanship.
Eligibility:
FIRST LEGO League is a competitive “sport of the mind” for teams of up to 10 kids. Gateway Middle School will be hosting two teams for the 2024-25 season.
2024-2025 FLL topic: Submerged
FLL is not just about the robotThe “Robot Game” (in which the robot performs missions) is the most visible part of FLL, but not most of the scoring. Teams are always judged in three areas: Robot Design, Core values, and the Project. These areas are weighted equally. Tournaments also weigh the team’s actual Robot Game score into the total score, but the Robot Game is only about 25% of the total score.
The Project is a substantial undertaking. Kids need to research the year’s topic, identify a problem, and propose a solution to that problem. They’ll consult with experts and/or people affected by the problem. They’ll present their work to the judges in a five minute oral presentation, along with supporting written documentation.
Team meetings will be evenly distributed between work on the Robot (mix of Design and Game) and the Project. We’ll often start with a Core Values exercise, and we’ll practice our Core Values in everything we do. Individual team members may focus more on one part of the work than on another, but all team members must contribute to all areas, including the presentation of the team’s work to the judges.
FLL is not LEGO Club. We build a robot and attachments for said robot, but the sole purpose of the robot design is to complete specific missions for competition. All LEGO design and building will be focused on this overarching objective. Kids who join FLL to do free building with LEGOs are likely to be disappointed.
Applications:
Applications for the 2024-2025 season are available now and team members will be chosen before the end of the school year. This is to ensure that teams will be ready to start the season at the beginning of school in Fall 2024. Students can get an application from the Kiosk near the office, from Ms. Van Tuyl (Room B121) or Mr. Iversen (A215).
Calendar:
The FIRST LEGO League season launched in late August, but our practice starts as soon as school starts. The season runs through qualifying tournaments in December and a state tournament in January/February (IF the kids do especially well in December).
Teams will meet Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3pm to 4:30pm. Team members are expected to commit to attending all meetings and competitions. Our first competition will occur within the first two weekends of December.
Deadlines:
Submit student applications for FLL: June 10th, 2024
Students receive a decision about team placement: by June 17th, 2024
NOTE: Applications are open to incoming 7th and 8th grade students (current 6th and 7th grade). Priority is given to 8th students to ensure that they gain the experience necessary to continue robotics in high school if they so choose. Please understand that we are limited to only 20 team members, so not all interested students will be able to join. Students not accepted to the team will be put on a waiting list.
FLL is a worldwide organization that promotes science, engineering, team building, and all around fun. Kids can continue on to FRC and FTC in high school where they continue to build more advanced robots and advanced programming. If you want to learn more about FLL and FIRST, visit http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll/
If you have any questions, please email coaches Jennifer VanTuyl and Neal Iversen using the email addresses below.
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Gateway Robotics Coaches:
Jennifer VanTuyl
Email: jvantuyl@everettsd.org
Neal Iversen
Email: NIversen2@everettsd.org