School of Innovation students form LEGO league

Willoughby Eastlake Feb22
Spearheaded by coaches Kevin Gallagher, Tracy Hodson, Samantha Langan and Eric Wernet, as well as high school students, parents and engineers from the community, students meet twice a week at a special “game table” to build LEGO robots to handle real-world problems.

By Patricia Nugent

Anyone who believes that robots will one day rule the world should meet the 60 students from the Willoughby-Eastlake School of Innovation (SOI), who make up eight teams within the FIRST LEGO League competition.

Spearheaded by coaches Kevin Gallagher, Tracy Hodson, Samantha Langan and Eric Wernet, as well as high school students, parents and engineers from the community, students meet twice a week at a special “game table” to build LEGO robots to handle real-world problems. They take part in research, problem-solving, coding and engineering while navigating the missions of a robot game.

All 8 teams competed in the regional qualifier competitions that were virtual this year due to Covid. Two teams qualified for regionals and multiple teams won awards.

Principal Mike Samber reports this is the fifth year of the program at SOI.

The theme this year is Cargo Connect. The students build and program LEGO robots to complete real-world problems that are centered around how cargo is transported from place to place.

“We are proud and impressed by the creativity, teamwork and problem-solving by our students,” says Principal Samber. “We have had teams qualify for district, regional and state competitions in the past. We look forward to continuing building a positive FIRST LEGO League culture at SOI.”

The competition is part of an international initiative by LEGO that takes place in more than 100 countries with 679,000-plus students and 35,000 teams participating.

The league is in perfect sync with the SOI’s mission to provide students with a standards-based, design-focused curriculum that is centered on solving real-world problems and tooling students with 21st century STEM skills. Opened in 2015, the school currently has about 450 students in grades 3-8.

Look for these monthly stories to cover topics from grades K-12 in the Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools System. The four SOI FIRST LEGO League teams were sponsored by Rockwell Automation. Find out more at WESchools.org.

Categories: Lake County Arts & Entertainment