Students put robots to the test
Published 10:29 pm Thursday, December 9, 2010
Lynnwood High School hosted a FIRST Lego League regional competition last Saturday.
FIRST signifies “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” The New Hampshire-based nonprofit holds a variety of robotics and technology-themed competitions for students of all ages.
The 27 teams at Saturday’s meet in Lynnwood were among an estimated 14,600 teams nationwide participating in Lego League competitions for the 2009 season. Participants are ages 9 to 14 in the fourth through eighth grades.
After eight weeks of research, students brought their Lego block-based robots and put them through a series of challenges around the theme of gaining efficiency in transportation systems. Robots had to climb steep ramps, endure crash tests and travel narrow bridges with no guard rails, among other hurdles.
Winning teams that now advance to the state finals at Bellevue High School Saturday:
– Director’s Award: Team 4817 “Mindstorm AutoB.O.T.s” from Snohomish
– Design Award: Team 5348 “AI” from Woodinville
– Project Award: Team 6898 “Hawk Bots 1” from Bothell
– Performance Award: Team 9607 “Flying Flaming Fillies” from Kenmore Junior High School
– Teamwork Award: Team 5272 “Niyon Zoo” from Alderwood Middle School
Not advanced but also winning one of two Judges Awards was Team 9994 “We Come in Pieces” from Northshore Junior High School.
All featured students in seventh and eighth grades. Coaches included two Mountlake Terrace High School seniors, Brandon Crader and Michelle Stone.
Teens invited to sign no-text pledge
Forget using that thumb to tap out a text message. At a basketball game Thursday, teens instead will be asked to wear a yellow thumb band as a sign of their pledge to not text and drive.
Allstate Insurance is bringing its “Home for the Holidays” campaign to the boys basketball game Thursday between Edmonds-Woodway High School and host Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek.
At 6:30 p.m., staff in a trailer will play music, serve food and cocoa, and hand out prizes. Teens who take the no-text pledge also will add their thumb prints to the trailer.
Allstate Foundation research found that distractions, including texting, are the leading cause of teen car crashes.
New directors take seats
Two newcomers were sworn in and took their seats on the Everett School Board at Tuesday’s meeting.
Jeff Russell, an Everett pastor, replaces longtime board member and immediate-past president Sue Cooper, who decided not to run again after 25 years on the board.
District watchdog Jessica Olson, who has a lawsuit pending against the district, replaces incumbent Karen Madsen, who served on the school board since 1997 until her defeat in the November election.
Everett plans for long-term
The Everett School District will hold a series of community meetings over the next 20 months leading up to a revamped strategic plan, laying out goals and direction for the 18,000-student district.
School board members and Superintendent Gary Cohn, who took office this year, will seek comment and input from the public on a variety of topics, including diversity, graduation rates, the boy-girl achievement gap, all-day kindergarten and more. The eight “environmental scanning activities” will take place through March 2011. Specific dates are not yet set.
A large-scale “visioning event” in fall 2010 will seek to draw together hundreds in the community to help with planning.
Edmonds teacher to travel to Asia
Lakeside School teacher and Edmonds resident Robert Mazelow was recently awarded a grant to participate in a teacher-exchange program. Mazelow will spend two weeks in Kazakhstan in April, team-teaching at a host school, giving presentations, visiting parents groups and participating in other education-related activities.
The Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is implemented by IREX, a nonprofit.
Initially surprised he was assigned to Kazakhstan, Mazelow soon became intrigued at the idea of experiencing a place where few outsiders venture. “The country seems to be going through a profound transition from being part of the former Soviet Union to an independent country with oil wealth,” he said in a press release. “I am excited to open my world up that much wider.”
Councils will advise Cohn
Two new councils approved by the Everett School Board at its Nov. 17 meeting will help Superintendent Gary Cohn guide financial and equity decisions.
The Fiscal Advisory Council will be made up of 15 to 20 appointed members and offer recommendations about financial priorities and cost savings.
“I am used to working with this kind of financial advisory group who, over time, gain a solid understanding of the complexities and ‘big picture’ nature of school finance,” Cohn told board members.
The Equity and Access Advisory Council, which may get a different name, will be made up of an unspecified number of appointed people who reflect the district’s diversity. The group will build on the work of the recent Diversity Task Force and, as a first step, address achievement and graduation rate gaps.
LHS jumps to rock contest
Lynnwood High School’s pep band is among 33 from the area competing in a classic-rock showdown sponsored by The Rock Wood Fired Pizza &Spirits and by KZOK 102.5 FM.
The band performs an arrangement of Van Halen’s “Jump” in a video posted at therockwfp.com/category/botb-2010/. The band’s video features trampoline jumps, skateboard tricks, a slam dunk and a starring role by the Royals mascot.
Prizes include a $10,000 grand prize, $5,000 second prize and a handful of $750 pizza parties.
Text-voting runs Jan. 5 to Feb. 2 and will determine finalists, with a panel of judges deciding the winners Feb. 5. Winners will be announced Feb. 8 on KZOK.
