Archive for the 'Lego League' Category

Longtime Cherokee Creek Boys School Teacher Wins Regional Award

Longtime Cherokee Creek Boys School teacher Nick Linscott was awarded a staff excellence award at our recent regional NATSAP conference.

Cherokee Creek Boarding School Teacher - Therapeutic Boarding School Teacher wins NATSAP AwardNick is in a very elite group of people who love the logical and rational world of Math and Chemistry and Physics, and are great counselors! He’s especially keyed in on those students for whom Math has been the source of failure in their past.

Under his wise, patient guidance, those students discover what they can do. And from that base of confidence, no matter how small, are able to take a risk and push a little more each day.

He’s been recognized as Coach of the Year in the First Lego League robotics competition twice, not because he sets the plays and tells the team how to program the robot, but because he supports the values of the competition and makes a safe place for the creativity of the team to flourish.

As a staff, we could say much more about our appreciation for Nick. However, it would only be appropriate to share with you a letter we recently received from one of our alumni whom Nick has had a positive impact:
Cherokee Creek Boarding School Teacher - Therapeutic Boarding School Teacher wins NATSAP Award“It is no easy task to describe Nick Linscott without seeming overly dramatic. That’s my take at least. I wish I could be there to see some of the faces Nick may make. Without a doubt, this man has been a crux of my, and many others’ paths. Nick—and everyone around him—has the great fortune of being a compassionate and caring soul, with an immense aptitude for teaching and leading.

Although his job description may only read “Math Teacher”, he serves many other roles outside of the classroom. We all know Nick’s place at the head of the Currahee table, or sometimes in the kitchen with the dish crew, and every year slaving away at a Lego table. Once, and only once—in my time at least—he was sighted on the basketball court, for a few brief seconds, to block a free throw to show his long-lost skills. I had never been so honored.
Cherokee Creek Boarding School Teacher - Therapeutic Boarding School Teacher wins NATSAP Award
All these things show the omniscient nature of Nick’s loving reach. Of course, we cannot go without mentioning the vast intelligence he is so eager to share with our community. Maths, Invertebrate Zoology, Biology, Chemistry, hiking, climbing, rafting, and just darn common sense are a few things he is so adept at. There is no end to Nick’s fatherly influence. Even today, I constantly try to remember every word of wisdom Nick shared with me, that it may better my future.

Without a doubt, Nick is the kind of guy that could complement and enhance any community he touched. This being said, Nick is a soul to be cherished, celebrated, and most obviously, thanked.”

 

posted by Judy Leslie in Awards,Lego League,Teachers and have Comments Off on Longtime Cherokee Creek Boys School Teacher Wins Regional Award

Lego Bears are STATE-BOUND!

Therapeutic Boarding School goes to Lego League State Competitionby Nick Linscott, CCBS Math Teacher and Lego League Coach

I am proud to report that the Cherokee Creek Boys School LEGO Team finished fourth out of 25 teams at our local qualifier in Seneca, SC.

That means we will be taking our show on the road to the Western South Carolina State Championship for a 60 team tournament.

It was really neat to see our team, out of all of the other teams, chosen to be interviewed in front of the whole crowd of tournament attendees. All eyes were on the Bears – all teams, coaches, officials, and families – as they answered questions about their project. How cool is that?

The guys also earned the Second Place trophy in the Project Presentation category.  Quite a day! This team did all of us proud–great teamwork and very positive and appropriate interactions with all other competitors, volunteers and visitors.  They showed up and represented themselves, their families and our school as Warriors–and we made State.  My goal for them was met.

Therapeutic Boarding School goes to Lego League State CompetitionThe championship tournament happens Saturday, Feb. 6 at Easley High School in Easley, S.C.  There are many logistical details to work out to prepare for the Lego League tournament. We will let you know as soon as I have anything definite.  We hope to see you there cheering on our Bears!

Here is the home page of the tournament:  http://scrobotics.org/west-state-championship/

Editor’s Note: This is Nick’s 12th year to take a team to a Lego League competition. We are so grateful for his hard work and dedication to our students.

posted by Judy Leslie in Academics,Activities,Lego League,Students and have Comment (1)

Major League Preparations for Lego League

Lego League Cherokee Creek Boys Boarding Schoolby Christy Swafford, CCBS Assistant Admissions Director

What all goes into a Middle School Lego League Competition?

Many of you may think you just simply build Legos, OR as many of us did growing up, you get the adults around us to do it. That is not the case with the Lego League Competition taking place this week.

The boys are designing and programming the robots on their ownNick Linscott, CCBS’s awesome Lego League Coach is there for moral support only.

The boys are judged in the following areas: Robot Design, Project, Core Values, and Robot Game. What do each of these mean, you may ask?

Lego League - Cherokee Creek Boys Boarding SchoolRobot Design: The boys must give a 4-minute presentation on their robot design and why they designed it the way they did. This involves speaking in front of complete strangers and presenting as a team. There are no adults doing the speaking for them. Wow, that takes a lot of courage for anyone!

Project: This year the competition’s project deals with recycling. They boys have to write a script, act it out, and make costumes to get their point across. The specific problem our boys are wanting to solve is how to minimize the number of paper cups we go through on a daily basis for medication distribution. These boys are not afraid to be authentic with anyone. That is enough to win in my book!

Core Values: The boys are judged as a team on how they cooperate together, whether or not they are “professional”, and if they are “gracious” with one another. We believe that they will be heads and shoulders above the competition since they practice cooperation and grace on a daily basis!

Lego League - Cherokee Creek Boys Boarding SchoolRobot Game: The game this year has to deal with picking up trash with the robot they have created. The boys program the robot in order to complete the tasks at hand. They will score points for the tasks they complete.

Needless to say, there is a lot that goes into the Lego League Competition. Our Lego League teams have had wonderful success in the past. Let’s wish the boys good luck as they tackle Lego League Regionals in Seneca on Saturday!

posted by Judy Leslie in Academics,Activities,Lego League and have Comment (1)