MONTESSORI PUPILS WIN LEGO ROBOT CHALLENGE
WICKLOW Montessori Primary School are Kings and Queens of the Robot Wars after finishing top in a challenge based on a real-world scientific problem.
Eight pupils attending the Wicklow town school were the overall winners of the Robotics First Lego League 2017.
The winning pupils were Charlie Clarke, Lucy Doherty, Luke Fitzpatrick, Michael Mooney, Ava Paris Neiland, Ciara Nolan, Callum O’Reilly and Daniel Walton.
The students travelled to Galway on Saturday to compete with 23 schools from all over Ireland consisting of 208 children in all.
The 11-year-olds’ achievement is made all the more remarkable considering they were competing against some students aged up to 16 years of age.
Each Challenge has three parts: the Robot Game, the Project, and the Core Values.
Teams participate in the Challenge by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field (Robot Game), developing a solution to a problem they have identified (Project), all guided by the First Lego League Core Values.
The Montessori entry focused on how we as humans interact with animals.
The problem they identified was the cost of equine therapy for families who have a child with autism and the fact there are no such facilities in Wicklow town and surrounding area, the nearest location being Festina Lente in Bray.
‘ The pupils really got behind the project and put a huge amount of work in,’ says their teacher Erika Gallagher.
‘It was quite an achievement to be considered the best group out of 23 and now they can’t wait for the international finals.’
The winning team will now travel to Bath in the UK this June where they will represent Ireland alongside 29 other countries in the International Competition Finals. THE GO NEON RUN in Wicklow town is a one of a kind 5K night run taking place on March 4.
Last year some 400 local families participated in the event.
The Go Neon Run is all about having fun while enjoying the benefits of exercise and achieving your goals.
The event starts and finishes in the environs of Leitrim Place Wicklow town.
It then follows a well lit out and back loop along the paved section of the Murrough coastline and the new Wicklow Town Port Road turning at Knockrobin. The route will have public lighting throughout and will also be well signed and marshalled.
The run has been designed for all ages and all possible fitness levels.
The run starts at 7.30 p.m. and a Neon Wonderland will open an hour before the run starts, giving you the opportunity to touch up your face paints, glow in our music area, while listening to great music and capturing the moment in the Go Neon selfie room ready for the brightest 5K you are ever likely to run.