Volume 22, Number 23
www.berlincitizen.com
Students build robots, learn programming By Devin Leith-Yessian The Citizen
Sprinting between rooms cradling Legos, wires and other electronics, fifth and sixth graders in the Berlin FIRST Lego League rushed to make sure the robots they created could cross a table, press a button and return to the starting line on their own.
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Four to be interviewed for public works job By Devin Leith-Yessian The Citizen
The application period for the Public Works Director job has ended and town officials are now screening four applicants.
“This is their fourth day of building and it’s amazing,” said Paul Coccomo, 17, one of the members of Berlin High’s FIRST Robotics Competition team.
“I want someone who’s a good manager. I want someone who has a public works background,” said Town Manager Jack Healy.
Coccomo volunteered to mentor the 13 children in the fifth and sixth grade league and seven youngsters on the fourth and fifth grade team. The camp was held at Berlin High School July 19.
The opening was created when Healy was promoted from Public Works Director to Town Manager in April. Healy had previously served as Town Manager in an interim role while working as Public Works Director.
The teams designed, built and programmed the robots to complete tasks, such as pushing a lever or grabbing a segment of pipe and removing it.
Participants in Berlin's FIRST Lego League camp test their robots before putting them through a gauntlet of missions on July 19. Devin Leith-Yessian, The Citizen
three teams the older children divided into.
The applicants will be interviewed by a panel including Healy, Human Resources Director Denise Parsons, Public Building Commission Vice Chair Thomas Reid, Democratic Town Council member Peter Rosso and Republican Deputy Mayor Brenden Luddy.
“It got them to be creative with putting a robot together and learning programming,” said family and consumer science teacher Pam Dennis, who ran the program alongside retired technology education teacher Paul Griswold.
“I liked programming and building. I liked everything,” said fifth grader Emersyn Wolski. “At first the programming and coding seemed difficult, but I got better at Dennis said the high school menit.” tors get their younger peers excited about science and technology. She was one of the members of the Crazy Legos team, one of the
Healy said, the ideal applicant would have a public works background with an emphasis on long-term planning, a collaborative mindset and a willingness to meet with the public to hear their wants See Interviews, A4
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