RAMS LEGO LEAGUE

RAMS First Robotics Team
Smart Moves
RAMS Lego League - The Swarm

RAMS started their First Lego League team ever in mid-September. The team was randomly selected from grades 5-8 and was called “The Swarm”. The First Lego League (FLL) is an annual challenge which is based on a set of real-world problems facing scientists and engineers today. The Challenge theme for this year was Transportation Solutions. Mr. Beachly, Ms. McConnell, and Mrs. Spinelli were the coaches for this year’s team and hope to encourage our school district and student body to support the First Lego League for RAMS in the future.

The 8th Annual Lego League Competition was held on November 14th at the Girard High School. Like a sporting event, 37 teams from Western Pennsylvania came together to compete. Mr. Beachly said, “I have found this competition to be less about Legos and more about computer programming, research, and so much more.” The coaches were impressed how The Swarm team performed. The team presented their research on the Maglev Train perfectly and really showed the judges how everyone was involved when each team member answered the judge’s questions. On the other side of the competition, the team had three opportunities to show off their computer programming through the robot missions. The Swarm started off slowly with their first try receiving a score of 45 and their second try a score of 25. The team seemed to get a little down, but the coaches were happy to see the students push through this to do their best on the 3rd try where they scored an amazing 200 points. In the overall standings of the FLL Competition, the 3rd place team scored 255 points, so The Swarm almost placed. Mr. Beachly said, “I am pleased with our team who worked with a coach who knew very little in the beginning.” In the end The Swarm received 2nd place in Robot Design. The coaches are proud of all the team members: Wes Wohlford, Cole Fails, Jake Marshall, Alan Harvey, Brennen Connors, Tristan Kuhns, Zach Younkin, Joey Hickin, Kyle Zampogna, and Vaughn Peters. The coaches felt the team members were all true champions in their perseverance on their Lego League journey.

A thank you goes out to Mr. Clawson who built the team’s table in a weekend. Also, thank you Mr. Koma for ensuring the team had a practice room for the last two months. Mrs. McConnell deserves a thank you for printing out all of the instructions for the playing field, and the technology department deserves a thank you for setting up the team’s laptop. A thank you goes to Mrs. Spinelli who monitored the practices and supervised the team. Please thank Mrs. Sheree McConnell for volunteering so much of her time to make The Swarm successful with the research project. “You were a source of encouragement to me at times when I felt very overwhelmed as a coach. You are truly one of those who offer to help and mean it. Thank you!” said Mr. Beachly.

Mr. Beachly hopes the school district and community will continue all efforts to support Lego League for the future. The coaches will be looking for parent and community volunteers to help next year. If you are interested, please e-mail or call Mr. Beachly (fbeachly@gsd.k12.pa.us 774-5604, extension 6341). The hope is to have two teams next year. In one day, 40 students signed up for Lego League, which means 30 students couldn’t participate. Only boys signed up, so the coaches are hoping to encourage and see more girls get involved for next year. Mrs. Spinelli and Ms. McConnell said, “It is a great opportunity to learn about science, engineering, and so much more.” On Wednesday, December 16th, The Swarm and their coaches will be available in Room 101 of RAMS. If you would like to get involved or just want to see what the Lego League is all about, please stop by between 3 - 5 pm on Wednesday.