Alexander School Students Participate In State Lego League

Most schools in today's society have some kind of STEM program.  STEM  stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. It is an umbrella term used to group together those distinct but related technical disciplines. STEM curriculum blends those subjects in order to teach "21st-century skills," or tools students need to have if they wish to succeed in the workplace of the "future."

Alexander School takes it one step farther. As part of their STEM program they participate in ND FIRST. This is their 5th year of competition. ND FIRST stands for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.  ND FIRST is a competition divided into 3 different levels of competition.  Alexander competes in the basic level, which is FIRST Lego League.  Alexander's team is made up of 4th-8th grade students.  At competitions, students create a robot out of legos and have to program it to do specific assigned functions.

At the district level, 3 teams qualified for state. Two out of the three teams this year, were from Alexander!

The "Alexander Blot Bots #44658 placed 4th.. Members are: Taylee Hunsaker, Annabel Abell, Parker Schmidt, Barrett Kangas, Lydia Helminen, and Robert Hunsaker.

The Alexander Master Minds #44659 placed 2nd overall. Team members are: Luke VanWhy, Patrick Bailey, Jordyn Thorgramson, Xoe Stoner, Juliana Jones, Brooklyn Frye, and Lincoln VanWhy.

Neither team placed at the state level, but both Coach Erica Turnquist and Coach Drew Lebrun were proud of the students. "This is the first year that we have had both teams progress to the State competition. We are looking forward to next year and are excited to see what next year's season will bring," said Coach Turnquist.