Academics
Elementary

Boulder Country Day School teams with I Have a Dream Foundation to compete in First Lego League competition on November 18th

Through an anonymous Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity grant by a BCD parent,  Boulder Country Day School and I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County (IHAD) have partnered to form a combined First Lego League® (FLL) team. The grant funds transportation and course expenses for participating IHAD students and brings together students, technology, and BCD’s goal of inspiring students to reach their full potential. 
Over the last eight weeks, two teams of students ages nine to fourteen have worked together after school at BCD to solve a problemin preparation for the Regional Qualifier Tournament to be held on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at Heath Middle School in Greeley. The tournament is an all-day event with approximately 24 teams competing to see who gets the golden tickets to advance to the State Tournament held next month.

FLL competitions are designed to showcase real-world problems and develop in students innovate solution thinking – a critical 21st century skill. This year’s competition’s theme is HydroDynamicsSM and will all about water – how we find, transport, use, or dispose of it. Students are challenged to think like scientists and engineers. Teams will build, test, and program an autonomous robot using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® technology to solve a set of missions in the Robot Game.

According to Coach and BCD STEM Teacher Phil Mayhoffer, it is up to the students to make decisions, and engage in research, build the robot, and ‘solve’ the problem. His role is guidance - to keep the students on track and help them understand the problem so that they can create the solution. This supports a Core Value of FLL, “we work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.”

Mayhoffer reflects on the preparation that the students have completed so far this season, “They have worked really hard to make sure that their robot is ready for the competition. Like every year, this year’s challenge has forced the kids to think outside the box, prioritizing which tasks they can complete during our limited time together. I am sure that they will have plenty of fun and learn a lot from their experience at the tournament.” This supports another of the FLL Core Values, “what we discover is more important than what we win.”

BCD participates in the FLL competitions because it believe in the critical thinking skills it promotes, the Core Values of the program, and the ability for students to work together as a team.

See the Daily Camera article on the team here

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Boulder Country Day School    4820 Nautilus Court North • Boulder, Colorado 80301 • Phone - 303.527.4931 • info@bouldercountryday.org
Boulder Country Day School, where academic distinction meets education with character. BCD is a top rated, accredited private school in Boulder, Colorado where every child has the opportunity to discover their own unique excellence. Distinguished by small class sizes, outstanding faculty, engaging academics and a focus on community, our preschool, elementary and IB middle school teachers strive to create a well-rounded educational environment that balances traditional subjects with the arts, world languages, athletics and knowledge based units.

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