Innovation is one of the Six Core Values set forth by the First LEGO League, and a group of Benjamin Logan County Middle School eighth-graders put that value into action when they found out there might not be a school-sponsored team this past fall because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Instead of being discouraged with this news, the pupils developed a creative solution — forming a home-based team called Raider Rebellion.
“We can create our own team to rebel against the pandemic,” team members said.
Since August, members Liam Sweeney, Kelley Forsythe, Dylan Vance, Powel Willoby, Kate Hahn and Landon Stoodt have met with their newly formed team two to three days per week under the direction of Chris Hall and Kim Forsythe to accomplish their mission: Score over 300 points in the robot game, master the color sensor, and have fun collaborating together.
Jan. 23, Raider Rebellion competed in a virtual regional competition and brought home the Champions Trophy, the award given to the best all-around team in the competition.
This qualified the team to compete in the invitation-only state championship Saturday, March 13, as a virtual event. The awards ceremony will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 14.
These classmates have been in FLL for the last three years under the direction of Amy McCormick, Gretchen Powell, Amanda Davis and Michelle Gantt on different Benjamin Logan Middle School FLL teams. They have developed solid skills in the robot game, the engineering and design process, and in the project aspect of the competition.
Entering a new season with inexperienced coaches was only one of the challenges they had to overcome. Not having the school’s immense supply of LEGO bricks, the EV3 computer bricks, the school Chromebooks, or the FLL mission tables were issues they had to work through.
The home EV3 model that a couple of the students had purchased had port issues and battery issues. Home computers unexpectedly forced the students to run a different programming software than they had in the past with the Chromebooks. The team worked together with power saws and cordless drills to build their own robot game table.
“These young men and women have shown the character, drive and determination to continue to strive for their dreams,” coach Kim Forsythe said.
The “Raider Rebellion” team wanted to share their love for robotics and FLL, to give back, so they spent an afternoon with the fifth- through seventh-grade BLMS teams to share some insights. They also hosted a workshop for Benjamin Logan Elementary School fourth-graders to spur their interest in FLL as they transition to middle school next year.