8 minute read
OUTDOORS: Adventure Mermaid coaches Coronado Middle School Robotics
3, 2, 1, LEGO!
Introducing tomorrow’s innovators and today’s student athletes! Coronado Middle School Robotics
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Story & Photos by Roberta Lenert
The crowd quiets in anticipation as the robotics teams line up at their competition tables. The judge at each table gives a thumbs up, and when the last thumb is raised the countdown starts … 3, 2, 1, LEGO! Almost simultaneously, each team pushes the start button on their super engineered Spike Prime robot, each one custombuilt by its team, rebuilt and repaired dozens of times and meticulously coded over the course of nine months. The robots accelerate into action, weaving from challenge to challenge using components installed by their team such as internal gyroscopes, optical sensors and specially designed mission attachments. The crowd holds its breath as challenges are completed or missed and points are earned or deducted, until the digital display shows two and a half minutes elapsed. Releasing their tension in a roar, the students and crowd go wild!
This competition is like nothing you have ever seen before! Competitive student athletes, trained judges, complex three-dimensional competition tables and a score board that is continually updated as each round is completed. This is not the afterschool robotics hobby of the past. This is something completely diff erent. This is the newest school sport: one that combines science, technology, engineering and math, with teamwork, sportsmanship, cheering sections, a scoreboard and prestigious awards.
Specifi cally, this is the Coronado Middle School Robotics Team. And they are outstanding at what they do. Each of the teams are comprised of student athletes who develop skills at engineering, coding, website design, digital art, innovative problem solving and public speaking. Organized by LEGO, the teams can go to regional, state and national tournaments to compete, share their knowledge, compare ideas and display their robots.
Robotics Competitions
Teams practice for competitions judged in four sections. The fi rst judging session, Core Values, is designed to determine how the team works together and demonstrates inspiration, teamwork, gracious professionalism and competitive
cooperation. The second is Robot Design, or technical judging, based upon the mechanical design, programming and the strategy and innovation of their robot. The third is the Project, where the students give a five-minute presentation on research of a topic related to that year’s challenge, using public speaking skills to show how they identified a problem, created an innovative solution and shared their ideas with professionals in the real world who have expertise in that area. The fourth session is the live robot run: the exciting, crowd-pleasing Robot Game. This involves student designing and programming of specialized robotics parts that can complete complex challenges on a table tennis-sized competition table in under two and a half minutes. All robots are run by code, overseen by a two-person team that cannot touch or manipulate the robot once it leaves homebase to autonomously compete missions as complex or straightforward as it has been programed.
Whew, that is a lot to follow. And throughout it all, the students must stay composed and show gracious professionalism – competing with high-quality work while respecting and encouraging others in the process. But the events, even the practices, are full of infectious fun. What started as three teams practicing at a house in the Coronado Cays during the summer has grown into one of the top competitive robotics programs in Southern California!
The CMS Robotics Program
CMS Robotics was created in 2018 with three competition teams. We have successfully grown to five competition teams in 2021-22, with students returning from high school to serve as mentors and assistant coaches. They continue under legacy names: Nado Bots, Robo Tritons, Triton Tribe, Triton Troopers and Robo Royalty.
It is a year-round program that encourages tomorrow’s innovators to practice imaginative thinking and teamwork. Guided by coaches, mentors and engineers, the teams are given a task where
Splash pad and waterfall at Wild Woods in the Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.
they must identify a real-world problem related to the theme and create a solution. They also must design, build and program a robot using LEGO Mindstorms and Spike Prime Robots, then compete on a tabletop playing field to complete missions for points. All competition is connected to the main focus of Core Values. Each team is judged on their representation of Core Values in everything that they do!.
It all adds up to tons of fun while they learn to apply science, technology, engineering and math concepts (STEM), plus a big dose of imagination to solve a problem. Along their journey, students develop critical thinking and team-building skills, basic STEM applications and even presentation skills, as they must present their solutions with a dash of creativity to judges. They also practice the Program’s Core Values, which emphasize discovery, teamwork and good sportsmanship.
CMS Robotics Coaches and Mentors
Numerous coaches and mentors put in countless hours pouring knowledge and guidance into the students of Coronado. They include: o Head Coach Roberta Lenert, M.Ed. o Engineering and Coding Coach NASA Engineer Pete Waydo
o Core Values and Project Coach Roelof Roos o Core Values and Project Design Coach Kailani Lenert o Engineering and Coding Coach Ryan Nanoff o Mentor Mayor Richard Bailey
Awards from the 2021-22 First Lego League Tournaments
The Breakthrough Award is given to the best new Rookie team that excelled in ALL categories including Robot Design, Core Values, Robot Game and Project & Innovative Solution! This is a huge award given by all the judges to celebrate a team that made signifi cant progress in their confi dence and capability in both the Robot Game and Innovation Project and are a shining example of excellent Core Values. This is a team that the judges expect great things from in the future. Triton Tribe: • 2021 FLL 2nd Place Core Values
Triton Tribe was designated as a team that exceeded expectations in all Core Values (Innovation, Inclusion, Impact, Fun, Discovery and Teamwork) throughout the entire competition. The award in the Core Values category goes to the team that has shown the greatest enthusiasm, the best sporting spirit, the most extraordinary respect for its own team members and the most support for other teams in the tournament.
Nado Bots: • 2021 FLL 1st Place Core Values
Nado Bots was designated as the top team that exceeded expectations in all Core Values (Innovation, Inclusion, Impact, Fun, Discovery and Teamwork) throughout the entire competition. With this award, Nado Bots earned an invitation to compete in the Southern California Championships in December 2021.
Coach Roberta Lenert, M.Ed. • 2021 FLL Qualifying Tournament Coach Award
Previous Awards: 2018-2019 • 1st place Core Values • 1st Place Core Values • Invitation to Southern
California Championships 2019-2020 • 1st Place Core Values • 1st Place Robot Design • Invitation to Southern California Championships 2020-2021 • Top 25 First Lego League Southern California Championships 2021-22 • 1st Place Core Values • 2nd Place Core Values • FLL Breakthrough Award • 2022 2nd Place Spring Showdown • 2022 2nd place Robot Challenge
CMS Robotics increased student skills and expertise in:
Video editing using Adobe, iMovie and Quik Public speaking Website design Research Coding Engineering Operation of sensors and motors Innovative problem-solving Creative design Team leadership and management 3d design and printing using TINKER CAD Critical thinking skills Teamwork Digital logo design Digital art Communication across different technology platforms Community involvement Perseverance through challenge
How do you get your child involved in Robotics?
Learn Robotics basics at the Coronado Schools Foundation Summer Academy
ROBOTICS at CSF SUMMER ACADEMY: Let’s build something together this summer! Engage in robotics by exploring the Engineering Design Process and the basics of Computer Aided Design, motors, electrical circuitry, wireless communication and programming an Arduino to build a remote-control car. Taught by high school Calculus teacher and Robotics coach Joe Sebastian. Open to students in Grades 6-8.
Sign up at:
CSFkids.org/summeracademy
Apply to our Coronado Middle School Robotics 2022-23 teams.
Applications can be found on the CMS website
cms.coronadousd.net
and in the CMS offi ce.
• Adventure Mermaid: Roberta Lenert lives in the Coronado Cays with her husband Ron and their two children Kailani (16) and Cameron (14). Roberta teaches Marine Biology, Zoology and Robotics. She is an ocean and animal activist, curator of The Mermaid Organic Garden and a passionate water woman! You can visit her online at www.MermaidRoberta.com
