Georgia State Championship

There were 48 teams that made it to the championship.

The team had a very rough time in the robot game placing 39th after the second of three runs. I talked to the team and gave them a quick pep talk about how well they had done so far and that they should hold their heads high no matter what happens. Then they went into the 3rd and final round of the robot game. Apparently they weren’t satisfied with 39th, because they ran a great game scoring 338 point pushing them all the way to 5th place! In addition to a great showing in the robot game the Firebirds also took home the Programming award, “This award recognizes a team that utilizes outstanding programming principles, including clear, concise and reusable code that allows their robot to perform challenge missions autonomously and consistently.”

We had a great time and we are also very happy that team Shell Shock won a Judges Award which is very similar to a champions award which recognizes a team for overall performance.

Way to go Team Firebirds!

Athens Super Regional

The Firebirds took home the 3rd place Champions Award again. Way to go team!

Back to the Drawing Board

The team learned a lot from the Walton qualifier. They reviewed the judging sessions and the robot game runs. At the regular team meeting they created a long list of ideas for improvement before heading to Athens for the Super Regional. Improvement included a new prototype for the project section, more advanced programming to account for poor mat conditions, and some presentation practice. Despite all of the extra work, everyone still had a great winter break and continued to have fun at the team meetings. Nothing says Core Values better than working together to get everyone in the “sitting tree” at the same time.             

Walton Qualifier

The team took home two trophies at the Walton Qualifier. The team won the 3rd Place Champions Award and the Robot Performance.

Now it is time to party. We are going to use our next meeting to have some fun and then review all the videos from the event. After that it’s back to the grind so the kids can perfect the bot for the next competition.

Fawkes – Firebird’s Awesome Winning Kinetic Energetic Superbot

Fawkes is all dressed up for his final mission.

This year’s team.

This is a fantastic group of kids that have learned to work together and produce some really fantastic work.

Coaches, Mentors and Senior Partner, oh my!

Senior Partner

This year each team must have a senior partner. The senior partner will help the team learn about challenges that face seniors and provide feedback as the team develops their solution.

Our team choose Mr. Kort Ploshay.

Kort has been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis for several years and the loss of motion and pain has caused him to lose the ability to do many things that others take for granted. Of particular concern is a condition referred to as morning hands. The joints in the fingers are very stiff and unresponsive which makes the typical morning routine very difficult. This condition, which affects most arthritis patients is what the team choose to investigate.

(Kort is pictured on the laptop screen during a Skype interview with the team just before the team costume party on Halloween.)

First LEGO League

This season’s theme is called Senior Solutions. The goal is to research and create and innovative solution for seniors to help them become more independent, engaged, and connected.

You can find out more information about FIRST (the main organization) and this years challenge at:

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll

Meet Team Firebirds 1284

Hi! I’m Taylor. I’m a project manager for team firebirds 1284! Let me introduce the team! ( photos soon to come )

Team leader: Parker
Head project manager: Corina
Builders: Bear and Parker
Main runners: Jamie and Jacqueline
Backup runners: Katie and Ryan
Programmers: Parker and Jamie (learning programmers, Nicolas and Ryan)
Project people: Taylor and Andy
Rules Guru: Katie

Coaches: Mr. Eric and Mikey

Mentors: Mr. Charles and Mrs. Kristie

Yours truly,
Taylor