Shown from left to right are Finn Sparks (6th), Xaverie Goodman (8th), and Reese Gibbs (7th)
Out of the gate, the middle school robotics team at Chattanooga Christian School (CCS) has proven to be a strong contender in the STEM education community. This first-year robotics team, made up of 6th-8th grade girls and boys, has represented the Chargers not only locally at the FIRST LEGO League Robotics Regional and Super Regional competitions, but also at the state competition held this past Saturday in Atlanta.
In addition to displaying the values encouraged by FIRST – gracious professionalism and “coopertition” – during their competitions, the students earned awards for their accomplishments. The 6th grade team won the “Strategy and Innovation Award” during the Regional competition, the 8th grade team placed 7th out of 32 in the robot challenges at Regionals, and the Blue and Gold team, made up of 6th-8th grade girls and 7thgrade boys, secured the “Mechanical Design Award” at Super-Regionals.
This Blue and Gold team advanced to State where they showed excellent teamwork and scored 511 in the first round of the table challenge competition, which put them in first place out of 32 teams. Though the second and third rounds did not go quite as well, the team conducted themselves with poise and professionalism, despite a device malfunction on the table during the final round.
The Blue and Gold team has recently received attention for their innovation in creating and presenting a solution to this year’s topic: trash. At the State competition, teammates Elizabeth Wood (8th), Xaverie Goodman (8th), Dana Monahan (7th), Landon Schuster (7th), Reese Gibbs (7th), Carter Bridgeman (7th), and Maya Franie (6th) were able to present the steel prototype of their project – the Pharmaceutical Detox Box – before the judges. The students designed a depository for unused prescription drugs under the direction of faculty advisors Bill Goette and Matt Monahan, parent volunteers Billy Sparks and Melissa Wood, and CCS high school student, Prescott Page. The steel prototype was built by JBH Steel.
Reflecting on the first year of the robotics program at CCS, Bill Goette said, “Robotics has proven to be a wonderful co-curricular addition at CCS. Students have a way to apply and develop their interests in science, technology, and engineering; they learn to work together; and they experience how each member of a team can use their God-given talents to contribute in different ways to help the team or community.”
The program is off to an impressive start, and the FIRST LEGO League and the broader STEM community can expect great things from these young innovators at CCS.