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The Woods Academy

Where curiosity and confidence thrive.

First Lego League Qualifier Success for The Woods Academy!

First Lego League Qualifier Success for The Woods Academy!
Mrs. Megan Mullally, 5th and 6th Grade Teacher

On Saturday, January 14, The Woods Academy Robotics teams, B.O.B. (Best of Bots) and Clickin’ Chickens, participated at the FIRST Lego League (FLL) Qualifier held at Universities of Shady Grove in Rockville, Maryland.  Twenty-four teams competed. Clickin’ Chickens was one of only six teams to survive that Qualifier and advance to the FLL Maryland State Championship, which will be held on Saturday, February 25 at UMBC in Catonsville. All are invited to attend and cheer on the Clickin’ Chickens!

The Woods Academy in Bethesda, MD has a winning robotics team.

Clickin’ Chickens

(left to right) – Coach D’Ercole, Soraya Farid, Lucy Barker, Sara Holmes, Rohan Patel, Megan Holmes, Coach Mullally, Mentor Ava Scafide

The Clickin’ Chickens won first place in Core Values, which is given to a team that best demonstrates the FLL Core Values of Inspiration, Teamwork, and Gracious Professionalism throughout the Qualifier.

Private elementary school in Bethesda, MD - The Woods Academy - has a robotics team.

B.O.B. (Best of Bots)

(left to right) – Dylan Clark, Drew Clausen, Syrus Farid, Diego Cross, Kye Driscoll, Darren McCarthy, and Conor Smith

B.O.B. (Best of Bots) had a lot of fun during practices. Here they are posing with their mascot, Germy the Worm.

Each year the teams are presented a unique challenge facing today’s scientists. The 2022 Superpowered Challenge compelled teams to focus on energy. They researched and presented their own innovative solutions for a way to improve the storage, distribution, and/or usage of energy. The Clickin’ Chickens developed a bus powered by compressed air and shared their idea with the judges in an entertaining skit. B.O.B. (Best of Bots) conceived of the Worminator 3000, an improved composter that would use worms, water, and warm air to compost food scraps, and the chemical energy from the food would be used to help plants grow. In addition, they spent numerous hours using LEGO MINDSTORMS technologies to design, build, and program autonomous robots.

The Woods Academy 7th grade elementary students practice their innovation robotic program

(left to right) - Soraya Farid and Megan Holmes practicing their innovation program.

Elementary students at The Woods Academy participate in a robotics competition

(left to right) – Drew Clausen and Kye Driscoll during their second match in which the B.O.B. team scored an impressive 170 points.