ST. GEORGE — With only 55 minutes remaining until the very first match began, the Gateway Academy Lego Robotics
team discovered their robot programming had been wiped by an overnight software update.
In that short time the team rewrote the mission programming and had it downloaded to the robot in time to take part in the first robotics scrimmage of the 2022-23 First Lego League (FLL) supercharged season.
Eleven students, two teachers and two community volunteers represented Gateway at the Atwood Innovation Plaza event on Saturday, Dec 3, 2022. In addition to competing in several scrimmage events, students were able to present their
innovation project on energy to a panel of judges receiving very positive feedback on their ideas and teamwork.
First Lego League and Lego Robotics as an after-school activity began this fall at Gateway Preparatory Academy. The Lego Robotics team was established quickly with the help of interested students, staff and a robust Donors Choose campaign. The first team, Gateway Greats Team Lego was registered early in the school year, but continued growth and interest led to
establishing a second team, Gateway Greats Team Robotics.
There are over thirty students participating in the program building four Lego Spike Prime robots including students from our Gateway Discoveries Program. In an effort to increase programming experiences in our computer science classes, the CS Discoveries coding class is also working on programming lego missions using the Lego Spike Prime robots. Within a class period, the practice of writing code to accomplish a specific challenge can be tested that class period on the assembled team robots.
Problem-solving with the opportunity for immediate feedback on the success of the program is engaging more
students in real-world practice. First Lego League at Gateway Preparatory Academy is ready for a supercharged season. For more information about opportunities at Gateway or with Gateway Discoveries, visit our organization website at www.gpacharter.org.
Amy Thorpe