Chelmsford Valley District Composite School's first ever robotics team earned a Rising All-Star Award at the FIRST LEGO League Provincial Championships at Durham College on January 19, 2025. The award celebrates a team that the judges notice and expect great things from in the future.
"It's quite impressive that CVDCS's first at FIRST captured attention," said Bruce Bourget, Director of Education for Rainbow District School Board. "We congratulate the students on their outstanding achievement and commend the teachers who coached them to success."
Robotics team members include Anna Charbonneau, Kiian Hannuksela, Dylan Lunham, Landon Massicotte, Gibson Scott and Hunter Thompson.
"We are quite proud of our students. Some of them had never done coding or computer programming before but were very excited to learn," said teacher coach Cassidy Richter. She added: "The team dedicated over 100 hours to researching, designing and honing their skills. Our Flyers are Rising All-Stars, proof that anything's possible with perseverance."
Chelmsford Valley District Composite School's first ever robotics team earned a Rising All-Star Award at the FIRST LEGO League Provincial Championships at Durham College on January 19, 2025. The award celebrates a team that the judges notice and expect great things from in the future. Team members include, from left, Anna Charbonneau, Dylan Lunham, Kiian Hannuksela, Hunter Thompson, Landon Massicotte, Gibson Scott. Also on the team are Hari Patel and Parthivi Patel.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) values:
Discovery: We discover new talents and ideas.
Innovation: We work creatively and persistently to solve problems.
Impact: We use what we learn to make our world a better place.
Inclusion: We respect each other and accept our differences.
Teamwork: We are stronger when working together.
Fun: We have a blast and celebrate our work!
"Our team demonstrated the FIRST LEGO League's core values throughout each step of the competition," said teacher coach Lynsey Davidson. "Students were thrilled for the opportunity to represent Rainbow District School Board among the best in the province."
FIRST competitions engage students in the field of STEM - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - and inspire youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills.
For the provincial competition, teams of up to 10 students in Grades 4 to 8 were tasked to design and build autonomous LEGO robots to complete missions on a competition table. Teams prepared robots that focused on solving real-world problems related to the theme "Submerged", such as coral reef restoration, retrieving artifacts from a sunken ship, or exploring a mysterious cold seep.
Teams competed in three 2.5-minute games. Teams garnered points as their robots completed missions or tasks by manipulating objects, activating mechanisms or moving items to designated areas.
Evaluations were based on four components, each accounting for 25 per cent of the total score. Three components - Core Values (teamwork, inclusion, impact, fun, discovery and innovation), Robot Design and Innovation Project were evaluated during the judging session, while robot performances were evaluated during the Robot Game.
To earn their spot on the provincial stage, the CVDCS Robotics Flyers 68973 took part in the FIRST LEGO League qualifying tournament in North Bay in December.
Of the 21 teams in attendance, the Flyers were selected as one of six to advance to the provincial championships. For their efforts, they also garnered the Engineering Excellence Award.
"On behalf of the entire school community, I extend sincere congratulations to the entire team who made us very proud on the provincial level," said Principal Patrick Hopkin. "I would also like to thank coaches Cassidy Richter and Lynsey Davidson for providing students with a learning experience they won't soon forget."
