In the community

Nyssa Robotics gets ‘breakthrough’ at state competition

A Nyssa Elementary School team made a real “breakthrough” in an appearance at the state Lego Robotics championship on Saturday, Jan. 18, in Hillsboro.

The fifth-grade team, dubbed the Big Builders, won the Breakthrough Award at the all-day contest held at Liberty High School.

The award celebrates a team that improved their “confidence and capability” in the robot games and an innovation project.

The Nyssa team included Melody Martinez, Callie Beck, Leslie Lopez Ramirez, Sammy Hartlee and Sophee Beck.

In the robotics program, students use building blocks and programming software to create and program robots to navigate obstacle courses.

The Nyssa program, in its second year, had three teams qualify for the state championship after taking the top awards at the regional contest in December.

The qualifiers included two teams of fifth graders and one of sixth graders.

In all, nearly 60 teams from across the state participated.

At state, the students were tasked with creating a prototype in Lego Robotics to solve a real-world problem.

Principal Shane Pratt said students presented a system to clean up the ocean.

The students, according to a Facebook post, demonstrated the “core values” of the Lego Robotics competition. Competition organizers say the innovation project was designed to boost student “confidence, critical thinking, and design skills through hands-on learning.”

Courtney Lewis, a third grade math and science teacher, heads up Nyssa’s Lego Robotics program and has taken it from one team to seven in two years, Pratt said. Last year Lewis was named coach of the year at the state robotics championship.

Lewis said on Wednesday, Jan. 22, that the team was  proud of their own work and were excited for the chance to see what other teams had created.

“The energy was contagious as students checked out the impressive robots and creative projects on display,” she said.

Many of the Nyssa students walked away inspired and eager to learn more about robotics from their peers, Lewis said.

“It was an amazing opportunity for everyone to grow, collaborate, and share their passion for robotics,” Lewis said.

The fifth grade Nyssa Elementary School Lego Robotics team, the “Big Builders,” won the “Breakthrough Award” at the state Lego Robotics championship on Saturday, Jan. 18, in Hillsboro. The team includes, from left, Callie Beck, Melody Martinez, Sophee Beck and (kneeling) Leslie Lopez Ramirez. (RICHARD HETZLER photo)

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