The Grandview Noise Makers team.
Click on the above image for more photos from the tournament.

December 18, 2024 — A team of Grandview Middle School students competed in the High-Tech Kids FIRST LEGO League Regional Tournament on Dec. 14 at Holy Family High School. The FIRST LEGO League, which introduces science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to children through fun, exciting hands-on learning, is intended to be a feeder program for the successful robotics team at Mound Westonka High School.

Grandview’s Noise Makers team included sixth-graders Colin Brown, Ben Kromenhoek, Lincoln Letnes, Joshua Mills, Samantha Norton, Owen Smith, and Samuel Zayden. The regional event allowed teams to showcase their robot designs, programming skills, and innovative project solutions.

The Noise Makers won a pair of awards at the competition. The Rising All-Star Award is given when judges expect great things in the future. They were specifically impressed with the team’s use of a successful color sensor code and a rubber band to help the robot move around obstacles.

The team was also the Motivate Award winner, which goes to teams who motivate those around them. The judges were impressed with the team’s “piercing scream cheer, which was impossible to miss.” The team was encouraged to keep up their positivity!

Participants in the FIRST LEGO League experience real-world problem-solving through a guided, global robotics program, helping today's students and teachers build a better future together. The program inspires young people to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding and design skills through hands-on STEM learning and robotics.

The teams have been meeting weekly since the start of the school year under the guidance of parent coaches Breana and Nathan Norton.

“We are so happy the judges saw our team's innovation and enthusiasm,” said Breana. 

For more information, visit www.firstlegoleague.org.