By Michael Ganci, Local Media Editor, Syntax, for The Bronxville School 

Mar. 2, 2016:  The Bronxville Clean-Up Crew, a team of 10 middle school students who are part of the school's FIRST Lego League Robotics team, placed fourth in the Robot Game at the Hudson Valley FIRST Lego League Tournament on February 6 in Poughkeepsie.

"As a first-year team, with only one member who had competed before, we looked at the tournament as a learning experience," said Lynne Torrey, a middle school teacher and the team's coach. "The students presented and performed as a team, shared responsibilities, and allowed everyone to contribute. The Bronxville Clean-Up Crew represented our school exceedingly well and is already looking forward to next season."

Every year, the FIRST Lego League releases a new challenge that is based on a real-world scientific topic. Teams of up to 10 students are tasked with programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field (robot game) and develop a solution to the problem (project) while guided by the FIRST Lego League core values. 

This year's topic was recycling. Students were tasked with building a robot that would either reduce trash or provide a solution for people to produce less trash.  

"Part of the students' challenge was to design and build a unique robot with Legos that successfully performed tasks in a timely manner to win points," Torrey said. "Not only did they innovate and problem-solve to get that robot to move according to plan, but in working so closely together, I think they discovered valuable qualities in themselves as they contributed to the team goals," said Torrey.

As part of the competition, the students presented their robot to panels of judges and talked about its design, mechanical specifics, and programming. Torrey said her students were focused, responsible, and accountable.

"There was a strong sense of determination to set up, prepare, and not let each other down," she said. "They asked for clarification when things were unclear, and when it was time to present, they were at their best." 

The members of the Bronxville Clean-Up Crew are Nicholas Baror, Yega Doma, Jed Donohue, Connor Huang, Annabelle Krause, Andrew Mager, Edward Phillips, Rachel Roberts, Ethan Sanna, and Amy Xiwen Xu, under the direction of Torrey and assistant coach Steve Krause. The after-school club was created to provide a place for students to explore computer science, engineering, and design skills in a team setting.

"My hope is for the students to have fun while immersed in a science, technology, engineering, art, and math experience and to realize that their accomplishments can potentially change the world," Torrey said.

Pictured here:  The Bronxville Clean-Up Crew, a team of Bronxville Middle School students tasked with building a robot that would either reduce trash or provide a solution for people to produce less trash.

Photos courtesy The Bronxville School