Nyssa Elementary School Lego Robotics students are heading to the state championship at Hillsboro’s Liberty High School on Saturday, Jan. 18.
Principal Shane Pratt said three teams will represent Nyssa in the competition after taking the top awards at the regional contest, hosted at Nyssa Elementary School on Saturday, Dec. 14.
Lego Robotics is in its second year at Nyssa Elementary School, according to Pratt, and its second trip to state.
In the competitions, students use building blocks and programming software to create and program robots to navigate obstacle courses. Pratt said the robotics competitions expose the students to coding and engineering.
He said at the state competition, the teams will be tasked with developing a prototype in Lego Robotics to solve a real-world problem. He said students will present a system to clean up the ocean.
Pratt said the students would benefit from exposure to other school projects, presentations, and innovations.
Pratt said the Lego Robotics team is led by Courtney Lewis, a third grade math and science teacher. He said Lewis was named coach of the year at the state robotics championship. Pratt said Lewis took the program from one team, which went to the state competition, to seven teams.
While the robotics program exposes students to coding and programming at an early age, it also prepares them for the challenges they will face in the real world, Pratt said.
He said the competitions put students in situations where they must solve complex problems by working together as a team.
In working together, students learn to advocate for themselves, respectfully debate and ultimately come to compromise through effective communication, Pratt said.
“That kind of dialogue is healthy and challenging,” he said. “It will be purposeful for these kids in the future.”
The three teams heading to state:
Lego Stem Dawgs(sixth grade): Xavier DeLeon, Natalie Blazzard, Jonah Moody
Bulldog Builders(fifth grade): Nathan Lucero, Enrique Berril, Cambree Ward, Dominic Perez, Wyatt Burbank, Brynn Hawkins and Dennis Bowns
Big Builders(fifth grade): Melody Martinez, Callie Beck, Leslie Lopez Ramerez, Sammy Hartlee and Sophie Beck
Assistant coaches: Osbaldo Gonzalez and Janet Petersen.

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