Woods Robotics Teams Welcome First Mentor

Noah M.-OwlBots Researcher - 8th Grade

Today was a lively day in robotics practice. Both Woods Academy Robotics Teams, The Owlbots and The Green Machine, met in Mr. O’s classroom after school. After a hearty meal of Ledo’s pizza and Gatorade (probably not the healthiest choice), the programmers quickly went to work on building their robots. Throughout the room, programmers were fidgeting with Lego pieces, discussing how to do the missions, and then going back to make adjustments to the robots. Meanwhile, the research teams were preparing for the upcoming presentation by their first mentor, as well as giving the programmers creative suggestions not yet thought of. Soon the teams first mentor was ready to speak. She was the grandmother of a member of the team and a caretaker of an Alzheimer’s patient, her husband. The mentor, Mrs. Smith, spoke about the heartbreaking difficulties of caring for a loved one 24/7, which means giving up almost all of your own social life. The researchers took notes on small possible problems that could be solved. After a few more questions the programmers and researchers went separate ways for the remainder of practice, researchers going to Mrs. Cunnane's room while programmers stayed in Mr. O’s. The rest of the practice the researchers jotted down problems they could take on later, while the programmers continued feverishly working on the robots.

Programmer Winston Grenier explaining game board 

to new mentor Mrs. Abigail Smith