(January 23, 2023) Cheltenham Elementary and Wyncote Elementary participated in the Centennial FIRST Lego League qualifier robotics tournament on Saturday, Jan. 14 at Klinger Middle School. Students from 18 area schools competed. The FIRST LEGO League Challenge is an international competition for students in grades four through eight.
The CES team, coached by teachers Melissa Cole and Gerald Aungst, built and coded a robot to solve challenges. The robot was purchased through a grant from the Cheltenham School District Foundation. The team presented its robot design to judges, as well as talked about their innovative ideas for making hydroelectric generators more fish-friendly.
"I thought the tournament was fun," said CES fourth grader Amara Shane. "Honestly, I just thought it was cool to be working with a robot because I've never done that before. I'm really proud of myself for the work that me and my team have done."
Wyncote’s Kristin Krause and Maria Hobson were recognized with the coach/mentor award, which goes to the coaches whose leadership and guidance best exemplifies the FIRST Core Values of discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork and fun.
"Early into the day, I truly realized how talented these students are. Fourth graders coding! What they were able to accomplish at their age is truly amazing," said Judith May, parent of CES team member Julian Reyes.
This spring, the team will be helping to prepare CES third graders for next year's tournament, and will also be doing demonstrations of their skills at the fifth annual Family Code and Robotics Night on April 12.
