Congratulations to the Leonard Elementary and the Oxford C.A.T.S. LEGO Teams!
Out of 44 other teams, they placed in the top five spots in the First LEGO League Robotic regional competition Nov. 19 in Flint, earning a chance to compete at the state level Dec. 10.
The Oxford C. A. T. S. team, coached by Nancy and Dante Zuccaro, placed second overall and the Leonard Elementary team placed fifth.
The C. A. T. S. team (which stands for Children Applying Technology & Science) is made up of eight students, two being from Leonard Elementary and the rest from Oxford Middle School. They meet twice a week and practice for three hours.
Coach Dante Zuccaro said he believes his team did really well because they score high in almost all of the categories. They are scored based on their project presentation, technical judging, teamwork and robot performance.
The technical judging panel is made up of graduate engineers and Zuccaro said hearing the kids use engineering terms and work as a team was ‘exciting? to see.
‘It gives them another opportunity to show what they learned,? he said.
This year is the Zuccaro’s fifth year of coaching LEGO teams in Oxford.
‘We really want to see it grow because there’s so much value in the program,? he said. ‘It shows how science and technology can be interesting.?
The Leonard LEGO Team is made up of 10 students from ages nine to 14 and is lead by team coach Don Gilmore.
Leonard principal Joyce Brasington was at the competition and said the atmosphere as the team performed was incredible.
‘It was energetic,? she said. ‘You need to see it to believe it.?
The team had to perform their tasks three times and team member Scott Michalski said the third time didn’t go as well as the first two.
‘The first two tries we did really good and I think we were too overjoyed about how we did the other ones,? he said.
Michalski has been on the LEGO team for three years and said going to state was ‘like a reward? for all his hard work.
He and teammate Tommy Spicuzza both agreed that the thing they learned most was teamwork.
‘I also think (we learned) skills that we might be able to use later in life, like presenting in front of other people so we can get over that fear,? Michalski said.
Spicuzza, who joined the team just this year, said their team’s presentation focused on the possibility of sharks becoming extinct and how to prevent that.
‘I think we did good with our presentation,? he said.
Brasington said it was ‘overwhelming? watching the kids work as a team and that she has a great sense of ‘pride.?
‘When I saw them working so hard together as a team, to see the energy and the enthusiasm is just amazing,? she said.
At the state competition, the teams will compete against 70 teams from around Michigan with only one team going on to the National Tournament in April.