Students from FMS and EMS were well represented at the FIRST Robotics Vermont State Qualifier competition on Saturday, December 13, in Shelburne. Four teams from FMS and two teams from EMS took part in the 19-team competition, which was made up of students in grades 4-8.
Each team had to give a 10-minute presentation about an innovative invention or idea that they developed to solve a problem for archaeologists, followed immediately by a second presentation about their robot design and coding process. This was followed by 10-15 minutes of follow-up questions from the judges, who were from GlobalFoundries and Lockheed Martin.
Next, each team had to use their robot in a competition to solve as many ‘missions’ as possible in two and a half minutes. These missions highlighted the coding and robot technical design.
Made up of students who were taking part in this type of competition for the first time, each of the teams demonstrated confidence and courage in showing their learning, both in creating the robots and in their prepared presentations.
Two FMS teams (the Milky Way Falcons and the Bot Builders) and one EMS squad (Robotic Eagles) advanced to the state competition in January! Out of almost 100 teams competing state-wide, only 36 advance to the state meet. The Vermont State Championships will be held on Saturday, January 17, at GlobalFoundries in Essex Junction.
Also, congrats to one of the FMS coaches, Robert Carpenter, who received the Coach/Mentor Award. This award recognizes a coach or mentor who demonstrates exceptional motivation and guidance while teaching and exemplifying the FIRST Core Values: Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Fun.