Finley Robotics Team Gains Momentum
The J. Taylor Finley Middle School V-3 robotics team is gathering steam. Meetings of the group have attracted nearly 70 students and have created what appears to be unstoppable momentum.
Finley’s robotics team captured the Rookie of the Year Award at last year’s FIRST LEGO League competition in Central Islip. FLL judges also named Finley as the “Team to Watch” after its exceptional debut performance.
“The FLL tournament is an annual, international sports-like challenge for children ages nine to 14 to test their creative robotic skills by using science and technology with the help of adult mentors,” according to the organization’s website.
“We are looking to build on last year’s accolades,” said Michael Ferreira, a Finley technology teacher who is the V-3 team advisor. “The robotics club gives students a chance to program and build robots to help them learn. But, students are doing so much more than just programing and building robots. Students are learning about science, engineering and technology skills, skills that inspire innovation, and foster lifelong skills including self-confidence, communication and leadership.”
Mr. Ferreira is assisted by retired Finley teacher Ed Parry, science teacher Donna Moro and technology teacher Brian Reynolds, who is the high school robotics team’s faculty advisor.
“Students in the club have a chance to choose their path,” said Mr. Ferreira about Finley’s V-3 team. “The club is sub-divided into six groups. Each group is run by student officers. Groups include builders, programmers, project, marketing, and fundraising. Students are able to find something they are interested in, and collaborate with others.”
Each FIRST LEGO League challenge has three parts: the robot game, the project and the FLL core values. “Teams of up to ten children, with one adult coach, participate in the challenge by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field (robot game), developing a solution to a problem they have identified (project), all guided by the FLL core values,” Mr. Ferreira explained.
“Gracious professional” is required of all FIRST teams and team members. “It’s a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community,” Mr. Ferreira said.
Past FIRST LEGO League challenges have been based on topics such as nanotechnology, climate, quality of life for the handicapped population, and transportation. “By designing our challenges around such topics, participants are exposed to potential career paths within a chosen challenge topic, in addition to solidifying the STEM principles that naturally come from participating in a robotics program,” according to the organization. “Team members also learn valuable life and employment skills, which will benefit them no matter which career path they choose.” FLL provides students with an opportunity to compete against 25,000 teams in about 80 countries.
“Thanks to the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education we were able to buy seven EV3 robot kits,” Mr. Ferreira said. “The kits will be used in the classroom for every seventh grade student. They have allowed the club to grow from eight students last year to over 65 this year.”
The Rotary Club of Huntington is once again getting behind the Finley robotics program. “The Rotary has been gracious enough to support our competition team by funding this year’s game board and entry fee for the competition on January 31,” Mr. Ferreira said.