Nativity 6th, 7th, and 8th graders participated in a FIRST Lego League Robotics tournament this past Saturday, November 19th. There were 36 middle school teams there, from all over the Los Angeles area. Each team had the same events that they had to participate in: 3 judging sessions and 4 robot rounds. The judging sessions were interviews where the students did small activities to show off their teamwork and communication skills, as well as answer questions about their robot and the project that they researched based on the theme this season. The theme this season was Animal Allies, so the Nativity students focused their research on pigeons and how to feed them properly. The robot rounds consisted of running a robot for 2 1/2 minutes on a game field to perform certain Lego tasks autonomously.

“Overall, Nativity did very well and I think they had a really great time,” says Coach Jessica Nichols. It was an incredible experience for the middle schoolers to dip their toes into the waters of the benefits of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). They put so much effort into learning the ropes of programming for the first time ever, as well as working together as a team to research and put together an innovative idea to present to judges. Not to mention, Nativity shines when it comes to being respectful, knowledgeable, and excited about the work they are doing. “I am so honored to have coached these students this semester and up through the tournament. I could not be prouder and hope that they have learned as much this season as I have learned from them,” says Coach Jessica.

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