Source: Coronado Unified School District
Coronado Middle School sent five robotics teams to compete in the First Lego League (FLL) Qualifying Tournament on November 5, 2022. The tournament was the first official event of the FLL season and the teams competed under the leadership of CMS Robotics founder and head coach Roberta Lenert.
“We swept the tournament with our best finishes ever! CMS Robotics put on an amazing show and made a huge impact on all of the teams in attendance. I couldn’t be prouder!” said Lenert.
The FLL creates an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in real world, hands-on STEM challenges by building autonomous LEGO robots that perform a series of missions and address real life engineering challenges. Teams are evaluated in four equally weighted categories: Robot Design, Robot Game, Core Values, Innovation Project.
There were 19 teams competing to move on to the regional competition which will be held the first weekend in December. All five CMS teams earned advancement to the regional event where they will compete against the best robotics teams from Southern California to go on to the Southern California Championships.
The five CMS teams, comprised of five or six students per team, all took high honors: Robo Tritons, first place Overall; Nado Bots, first place Innovation Project; Triton Tribe, first place Robot Game; Robo Royalty, second place Innovation Project; Triton Troopers, second place Core Values.
The Robo Tritons, the team that won the entire competition, is an all-girls team. “All of our teams work so hard to prepare for these competitions and I am so proud of all our teams! A huge shout out to the Robo Tritons for winning first place. Go Tritons!” said CMS Principal Brook Falar.
In addition to Lenert, the teams are supported by assistant head coach and NASA Engineer Pete Waydo, community mentors Mayor Richard Bailey and NASNI XO/CO Newt McKissick, and a team of two dozen coaches, mentors and engineers who volunteer their time to coach students on everything from coding and programming to public speaking, design, 3D printing and other engineering skills.
The Coronado Middle School Robotics program is one of the most successful programs in the district and one of the most prestigious in Southern California. The program has grown tremendously in the last few years, even during the pandemic. “The student applications and interviews nearly double every two years, and it is so difficult to limit the students we can accept from our growing pool of interested students,” said Lenert, adding that the program has 40 students this year.
CMS Robotics is sponsored by Coronado Schools Foundation, Amazon, Qualcomm, and High Tide Bottle Shop & Kitchen in Coronado.
Source: Coronado Unified School District
