MANITOULIN—Three cheers for the Manitoulin Bone Builders First Lego League challenge team!
“The team competed in North Bay on Saturday and made us so proud,” said Yana Bauer, mentor of the Manitoulin Secondary School (MSS) Manitoulin Metal #6865 robotics team. “Congratulations to their mentors Samuel (Pennings) and Dylan (Kuntsi, the latter who was unable to attend the competition this Saturday), who were nominated by the team for the Youth Mentor Award.”
“The robot and code performed well and consistently. They rocked the innovation presentation,” continued Ms. Bauer. “The team walked away with the Rising All-Star award. This award celebrates a team that the judges notice and expect great things from in the future.”
The team members included Gabe Hillyard, Theo Desjardins, Easton Lauber, Reese Sabourin, Greta Von Schmeling and Olivia McCormick.
There were 19 teams in the competition, with teams from all over Ontario, said Ms. Bauer. “The team did great, this was the first year we have had a team compete in that division (age 9-13), and this was the first time they had competed as a team,” she said, noting the team had started its season in September.
The name Manitoulin Bone Builders was chosen by the team as the event had an archaeological theme, said Ms. Bauer. “The team competed with the robot, had to solve an archaeological problem, and they made an actual functional app. They had made the app and sent it to an archaeologist for his feedback; and were provided several compliments on their work. We (as mentors) were very impressed.”
“The team had to make a presentation to judges at the competition and be interviewed. Samuel (Pennings) who had helped the team prepare over the last couple of weeks did an incredible job,” continued Ms. Bauer.
“It was an amazing event, and the organizers did a great job,” said Ms. Bauer. This age group is now done for the season until the program starts again next summer. Reece has now graduated out of this age group, and we are excited because she will be joining the MSS team next year. She’s been part of our (youth-juniors) program and is bringing an amazing package of skills to the high school team.”