Laser focus from the boys during Regional Mission work.

Our Bears have a winning streak going on, and we’re proud to let you know it!

Not only did they place 11th in the Robot Performance category in last weekend’s State LEGO League competition — their highest finish ever — but our own Coach Nick Linscott brought home Coach of the Year AGAIN! The presentation of this particular award has not been made at the State level since 2005, when Mr. Linscott was also  its recipient. Does it sound like we have someone special leading our boys? We think so!  Tommy remarked, “I couldn’t do this without my coach. He helped the team through everything. To us, it’s obvious why he won Coach of the Year.”

The always humble Nick refocused the accolades back onto the boys during an assembly Monday morning, honoring the team’s accomplishments. “Rick was a rock while driving the robot,” Nick said. “He was focused and laser sharp on accumulating points during the mission. Tommy made an amazing recovery when he attempted to place a tool on the robot and it fell apart in his hands. He reassembled it and got it on the robot quick enough to make some more buzzer-beating points for us.”

“Everyone had a great part in this and I’m proud of their accomplishment,” he added. Michael said the best part of the weekend was really, “when Nick got his award.”

“I feel happy and excited that our teamwork didn’t fail,” Vincent commented.

“I would never done this at a regular public school,” Eddie said. “I would have felt like I would be judged (badly for joining LEGO League) there.”

“Going to Columbia was one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had,” Dain remarked. “I’ve learned so much about technology while working with the robot.” Rick added, “It was a pretty cool experience.”

Only six more months until the 2012 Missions are released. Here on campus, we  can’t wait!

Vincent, Alexander and Dain help deliver the Team LEGO science presentation today before lunch

The LEGO League regional qualifier is tomorrow. This means that the Cherokee Creek LEGO Team has been working tirelessly to prepare for the different aspects of tomorrow’s competition: evaluation of programming, robot runs, expression of LEGO League values…and the science presentation.

The science presentation is a scripted skit the boys perform to illustrate their understanding of research they have conducted related to this year’s LEGO League theme, Food Factor. Our team has focused on hand washing as an aspect of food handling.

A sample of the team’s script has been included below. Check out the team’s instructions on proper hand washing technique (delivered in the style of rap, courtesy of Alexander’s musical writing skills):

Alright check this!
Wet you hands with clean running water
Use soap it don’t matter is it’s warma or colda
Scrub them well, backs too, under nails between your fingers
But be careful! The germs will keep clingin on!
So if you need a timer, twice you sing the Happy Birthday song!
Wash for twenty seconds, you got time to spare,
And after that you can dry your hands with towel or air! Word.

Introducing this year’s CCBS LEGO League team! Congratulations to (pictured above from left) Eddie, Rick, Alexander, Dain, Vincent, Tommy and Michael! Along with Coach (and Math Teacher) Nick Linscott, these gentlemen will represent CCBS at the regional qualifier this Saturday with “gracious professionalism,” a core value of F.I.R.S.T. LEGO League.

At Saturday’s event the team will demonstrate their knowledge of this year’s theme: Food Factor through a science presentation. They will also be interviewed by judges to gauge their professionalism and ability to work well together. And, of course, central to all of this will be the three robot runs, when the Bears will test their programming skills with a timed challenge course for their robot to perform.

We’ll keep you posted on the results.

GO BEARS!!!

Team RoboBears in Charleston

Team RoboBears (pictured above from left: Alec, Daniel, Dylan, Harrison, Alex, Wes, Jon and Ben) and Coach Nick Linscott represented themselves and Cherokee Creek very well this past Saturday at the LEGO League State Championships in Charleston, SC. Parents of team members came from all over the country to cheer on the Bears as they competed with 79 other teams in this year’s Body Forward Challenge.

This was a great experience all around. Students and staff were even able to fit in a trip to the beach!

Check out the video below of their first robot run early in the day. Alex and Harrison had a great run!

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The team with their certificate verifying their 4th place finish and eligibility for State Championships

Alex and Alec review their robot run with a judge.

In a rocket-from-behind finish, the CCBS team competed in the regional First LEGO League on Saturday and placed 4th overall – qualifying them for the State Championships in North Charleston on March 5th!

This will be the 6th year in a row that the CCBS team has competed at State, a consistency that this team modeled with gusto. The team stayed tight on details, giving them the edge for the last qualifying spot. Best of all for a very proud Coach Nick Linscott was getting to watch Alec, Alex, Ben, Daniel, Dylan, Harrison, Jon and Wes have fun in a traditional school activity with students from all over the county – even dancing! Special thanks to the parents who were able to be present and cheer. By all accounts, it meant a great deal to have your support.

We hope you will join us in congratulating Nick and the boys for their outstanding achievment!

GO BEARS!

The Team with Coach Nick Linscott

This year’s CCBS FIRST LEGO League team has been announced! Pictured above, from left: Alex, Alec, Dylan, Jon, Harrison, Ben (front), Danny and Wes. This team will be representing the school next weekend on Saturday, January 22, 2011 in the regional competition. Top finishers in the region earn a change to compete at state championships in March.

For more information about FIRST Lego League and this year’s Body Forward challenge, check out their website: USFIRST.org

Parents are encouraged to come and cheer for the team. For directions and a schedule, contact Nick Linscott. Nick can be reached via phone at (864) 647-1885 or email at nlinscott@cherokeecreek.net. We hope to see you there!