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Glendale students move on to city finals in FIRST Lego League competition

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Photos courtesy of Sal Laurenzano

A group of Glendale students will go on to compete in the city finals of the FIRST Lego League (FLL) on March 16-17.

The team, called “FLLASH” (FIRST Lego League at Sacred Heart), is comprised of 12 students at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy. On Saturday, Jan. 26, the team competed at the Linden Renaissance Middle School (I.S. 192) in St. Albans for the FLL qualifier.

This year’s FFL theme, “Into Orbit,” sought to explore physical or social problems that astronauts would encounter on long expeditions in space. FFLASH identified that isolation and loneliness as a problem that astronauts would face, and built a Lego 3D chess board for the astronaut to bring to space. Each team also had to give a Core Values presentation and compete in the “Robot Performance” part of the competition.

FFLASH and 32 other teams had two and a half minutes to complete as many missions as possible. Their robot, called THE FLASH-EN-ATOR, ended the competition with 124 total points, earning them first place in the “Robot Performance” category and a “golden ticket” to move on the city finals in March.

“We have competed for six years, received several awards, and advanced to the New York City finals every year!” said Richard Mezic, team coach and founder of the school’s robotics club. “We are proud of our team. They are eager to learn and work hard and well together.”