Portland St. Patrick Catholic School

On Saturday, December 6, St. Patrick’s Rockbot Teams will head to the FIRST (For the Inspiration of Science & Technology) LEGO League tournament in Grandville where they will compete against 31 teams for the opportunity to advance to state competition.  Seventeen members (consisting of students in grades 4-6) will participate in this endeavor.

This year’s LEGO League challenge, established by the FLL tournament directors, is “Climate” what is unique about your community that is affected by the weather. The Rockbots chose to focus on the Grand & Looking Glass rivers Since Portland is known as the City of Two Rivers. In an effort to gain a better understanding of how the rivers affect our community, they toured the Portland Dam where Mike Hyland (from the City of Portland) provided significant information about the critical need to monitor the dam on a daily basis to ensure water levels are maintained and destruction is avoided. The team also visited WOOD TV-8 and spoke with Bill Steffen (chief meteorologist) who provided insight on the challenges of Michigan’s weather.

These 17 students have been working feverishly since September to build two robots to successfully perform missions designed by the FLL organization. In addition to the intense robot competition, each team must develop a formal presentation to be addressed to the tournament judges about there research project.

Team members include:
Daniel Bosworth, Samuel Hodge, Adam Brown, Eli Hoppes, Isaac Brown, Noah Pung, Nick Coyne, Brendon Schrauben, Brandon Fandel, Kendall Schrauben, Noah Goodman, Graham Smith, Connor Hengesbach, Brittany Thelen, Blake Hodge, Emma Trierweiler, and Alex Fedewa. The Rockbot Teams are coached by Doug Smith, Mike Coyne, Jim Goodman & Glen Pung with assistance from parent volunteers.

Good luck, Team!  We’re proud of you!

The Robotics League was brought to St. Patrick's in an effort to fill an extra-curricular need at the elementary level. The team is known as the ROCKBOTS – ie, Shamrock Robotics. The team has been at competition level for two years. In 2005, the team participated in the Zeeland Regional Tournament. In 2006, the team competed in the Grandville tournament winning high marks for teamwork and robot design. In 2007, the team has its sights on the State Tournament in Flint, MI. The Rockbot season runs from September to December. It is coached by parents. It is self-funded through parents and private donations.

The competitions are through the “FIRST LEGO League (FLL)” which is an international program for students age 9-14. It combines a hands-on, interactive robotics program and a research presentation with a sports-like atmosphere. Teams consist of up to 10 members and focus on such things as team building, problem solving, creativity, and analytical thinking.

Each year we focus on a research project based on specific scientific disciplines. The project consists of research, presentations and teaching others about the topic. The students make posters and models and may do power point presentations. Last year we studied nano-technology. The students learned about the science of how molecular engineering is being used to improve the quality of every-day life.  This year’s project is alternative energy resources.

We will be building a number of mechanical devices and models called missions. The missions are constructed from a set of Lego parts utilizing on- line technical manuals. Each mission will be set up on a four foot by eight foot mat and will need to be completed or used by the team’s robot. The robot will be designed, built and programmed by the students.

Each year we apply mathematics and science to constructing the robot and completing the research project. The students learn basic applications of math related to engineering principals such as speed and statics. The students will also learn basic physics such as friction, gear ratios, and their impact on velocity and movement.

The competition is a one day event where the team has three robotic competitions and three presentations. The presentations are technical (based on research), team work (based on how well the students work together), and a presentation where the students will have to demonstrate that they did the work.

At the regional tournament in 2006, the students were able to make changes to improve the performance of the robot within a confined time limit. They were able to double the score of the missions by rebuilding certain parts of the robot between competitions. They demonstrated that they were able to work together and perform under pressure. The students also did very well with a score of twenty four out of twenty five on the teamwork presentation. The judges were impressed with their ability to communicate and constructively discuss strategies and share ideas.

If you are interested in becoming involved in the St. Patrick Rockbot program, contact Don and Carol Gunderman at (517) 647-5383.