On December 5, 2014, 20 students were nervously preparing for the next day because their team would be competing in a region wide Robotics competition against 36 other teams! For Big Picture, there was a very large team; they had 20 students and three teams! The teams were the Metallic Panthers, an all-girls team, the Jungle Knights, a boys/girls team, and finally, Panther Pride, an all-boys team. Even though the three teams were competing against each other, they still cheered each other on. The FLL (First Lego League) Robotics Competition was from 7:45-5:00, and there was food, music, and a bunch of pressure to ensure that all missions being performed for each trial would work properly. In the morning, every team went into rooms to be judged for how learning could be better, how well the robot was built, and to participate in a Core Values test of working together to accomplish simple team actions. The Judges graded the teams on very official looking rubrics! After the judging time periods in the morning, it was time to start competing with the robot. There were three trials so if a mission failed on one trial, you still had two other chances to get the points for it. Once all three trials were over, the students of Big Picture were very excited that all three of their teams were in the Top 12. Two of the teams learned they would be going on in the competition to compete in the State-wide Semi-Finals! Those two teams also got awards. The Jungle Knights received the Championship Award and Trophy, and the Metallic Panthers received the Research Award and Trophy. Even though Panther Pride won’t be competing, some members will still practice and help the other competing teams. Everyone is very excited that Big Picture will be moving on in the competition, and that they got trophies even though it’s been a little over a week since their victory. “I’m so excited!” said Laura, one of the Robotics Coaches. “We’ll have to get a trophy case!”

-Madeline Carter, Big Picture 8th Grade, Metallic Panthers