Delco Lego team heads to world championship in Houston
MIDDLETOWN » Almost 150 youngsters from across Philadelphia and its suburbs recently gathered at Rose Tree Media District’s Indian Lane Elementary School in Middletown Township to compete in the First Lego League (FLL) Challenge Regional Qualifying Tournament, a robotics competition organized and sponsored by ArtSci Engineering Camp.
Technobots, a Delaware County community team, was crowned as one of the winning teams, securing them a spot to represent the mid-Atlantic region at the FLL World Championship in Houston in April.
The team consists of members Diya Iyer, Anjali Kumar, Maitreyi Vadigepalli and captain Adi Iyer.
Embracing the theme of “Superpowered,” the young team members were encouraged to draw on their creativity and research skills to tackle real-world, communityneed-based issues related to energy generation, its distribution and storage.
Not only do the students develop their technology-based skills through robot design and robot performance, but also through the innovation and core value components of the First Lego League that helps students to nurture important teamwork, problemsolving, and life-long learning skills.
The FLL Challenge Regional Qualifying Tournament was hosted by ArtSci Engineering Camp, a local summer camp spearheaded by two university engineering professors Dr. Anita Singh and Dr. Sriram Balasubramanian, who are committed to community outreach efforts and youth participation in STEM.
A total of 24 teams participated in the recent event with
the active engagement and support of over 36 volunteers. The event featured a youth leader, Yashvi Patni, vice president of the Young Talent and Development Foundation, who not only volunteered her time, but also helped raise funds for the event.
The team performances were scored in four key categories: robot game, robot design, core values and innovation project.
Teams were encouraged to demonstrate the core values of discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork and fun. The innovation project challenged the teams to identify a theme-based problem within their community and design an innovative solution to the problem, organizers said.
At this event, students showcased creative solutions to improve how energy can be generated, distributed, stored and used, with new inventions that included pet solar vests and a Flap-E design that utilizes the wind energy generated by passing cars on highways.
This one-day event had teams presenting their innovation project to the judges and their robot’s performance on the Lego mission field. The team competed to perform as many as 15 possible missions
within a time limit of just 2.5 minutes.
In addition to the FLL Challenge Regional Qualifying Tournament, ArtSci Engineering Camp also hosted the First Lego League Festival event in January at the Roosevelt Community Center in Middletown.
The Middletown Free Library served as a co-host by offering its space to the attendees for additional active engagement in STEM activities during the event.
A total of 23 teams of young explorers, ages 5-9, participated in this event.
The teams displayed their Lego models and presented their creative designs completing the “Superpowered” theme. The event was attended by 100 students, their families, and the coaches.
Hedgerow Theatre welcomes Last Chance and Rock Slyde
Hedgerow Theatre Company’s 100th season will include more than just theater, when it welcomes Last Chance back to the historic Hedgerow stageon Saturday, March 25 at 7 p.m.
Oldies trio Rock Slyde visits Hedgerow for the first time to open the special music concert.
Last Chance, the duo of Ingrid Rosenback and Jack Scott, has played all around the region, including three times at the prestigious Philadelphia Folk Festival.
They won a Folk Hero contest and were rewarded by opening the 2018 Delmarva Folk Festival.
They play exclusively original music. Both sing, and Jack plays guitar and banjo and Ingrid adds fiddle and harmonica. Last Chance also created the music for Hedgerow’s 2021 production of A Christmas Carol.
Learn more about Last Chance at http://www.lastchanceband.org.
Rock Slyde is a classic rock/oldies trio that has been together for over 25 years.
The band shape shifts to perform as a duo or up to a five-piece band. Playing the music that most everybody knows, and can sing along to, from The Beatles to the Monkees to Elvis and Roy Orbison.
Members of the band have shared the stage with The Dovells, The Orlons and Bobby Rydell. They welcome requests and audience favorites.
Patrons can enjoy a light reception in the lobby at the show.
Tickets cost $20 or $40 for a pay-it-forward ticket.
People can also opt to volunteer in lieu of paying or they can pay what they can afford. Tickets are available at http://www.hedgerowtheatre.org. Hedgerow Theatre is at 64 Rose Valley Road in Rose Valley.
Rose Tree-Media Optimist Club announces DCCC flea market schedule
The Rose Tree-Media Optimist Club has announced its upcoming flea market
schedule at Delaware County Community College, Marple Township.
The next flea market will be held Sunday, April 23. The rain date will be April 30.
If anyone has any questions, call 484-908-9662 or email optimistfleamarket@ gmail.com.
Other upcoming flea markets are slated for May 21, Aug. 20 and Oct. 8.
Cost is $50 for a single space and $90 for a double space. Mail check or money order to Rose Tree Media Optimists, Post Office Box 1892, Media, PA 19063 or make payment through Paypal @RTMOptimistClub
Penn State Master Gardeners ‘Winter Landscapes’ workshop in Smedley Park
Winter blooming plants add structure, texture, and color that can be appreciated through a window or out on the trail.
The public is invited to join the Penn State University Extension Delaware County Master Gardeners for an in-person, Second Saturday Session, “Plants for the Winter Landscape,”
10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 11 at the Smedley Park Environmental Center, 20 Paper Mill Road, Springfield.
During this session, people can learn about perennials, shrubs and trees that bloom in winter, adding interest to any winter landscape.
Early spring blooming plants, such as camellia, witch hazel, wintersweet, hellebores and more, will be featured.
Master Gardener Keith Robertshaw will share his knowledge with the Smedley Teaching Gardens as a backdrop. This session is open to all members of the community and is a way to spend time appreciating the natural beauty of early spring.
The registration fee is $10 for this face-to-face session.
The Second Saturday Gardening Series is a monthly series designed to bring garden enthusiasts together to share experiences and offer advice while learning helpful tips from the Penn State University Extension Master Gardening experts.
To learn more and to reg
ister, visit https://extension.psu. edu/plants-for-the-winter-landscape or call 1-877-345-0691.
St. Kevin Pioneers host trip to ‘Moses’
St. Kevin Pioneers will host a trip to Sight and Sound Millennium Theater in Lancaster to see “Moses,” on Tuesday, May 9.
Sign up for the day trip to experience one of the Bible’s most epic stories as God calls on Moses to lead his people out of Egypt and into the promised land. The show features spectacular special effects and live animals. Lunch is included at the Bird-in-Hand smorgasbord buffet.
Cost is $155. Pickup time is 8:15 a.m. and bus departs Bird-inHand
for home at 4:15 p.m. Pickup and return is at St. Kevin’s parking lot, 200 W. Sproul Road.
Payment due date is April 1. Checks can be made payable to St. Kevin’s Pioneers and mailed to 207 Robin Hood Lane, Aston, PA 19014. For more information, call Mary Nagle at 610-566-3239 or Betsy Boyd at 610-627-4991.
White Horse Village Foundation awards over $35K in scholarships
White Horse Village Foundation will award $35,425 in scholarships to 17 team members from the dining, finance, health care, human resources, life enrichment and mission enhancement departments.
The scholarship fund is supported primarily through donations by generous residents.
Since 1997, White Horse Village team members have received over $400,000 in assistance for higher education.
The scholarship application is a rigorous process. Team members must meet several eligibility requirements, including attending accredited institutions and submitting final course transcripts.
The 2023 recipients, their institution of higher education, and areas of study:
• Austin Atanmo, Thomas Jefferson University, health sciences
• Gina Bakey, Pennsylvania State University, recreation, park and tourism management
• Wloe Bargblor, Catholic University, nursing
• Allison Barusevicius, George Washington University, environmental and sustainability sciences
• Ashley Bowden, Wilmington University, behavioral sciences, certification in human resources
• Jeanne Burge, Temple University, journalism
• Kelli Foley, Villanova University, public administration/nonprofit management
• Henry Gjergo, Delaware County Community College, business management
• Cathy Hentschel, Western Governors University, accounting
• Laiba Khan, Drexel University, biology
• Andrew Lawrence, Bloomsburg University, secondary English education
• Shaneeca Mathis, Pennsylvania Institute of Technology, nursing
• Terri McCabe, Delaware County Community College, Microsoft Office specialist — Excel
• Jake Miller, Delaware County Community College, computer science
• Riley Price, Temple University, early childhood education
• Rose Schwartz, Temple University, statistical science and data analytics
• Rebecca Swartz, University of Pittsburgh, bioengineering
In 2022, White Horse Village established the White Horse Village Foundation Inc., a nonprofit to replace the White Horse Village Endowment Fund, which served as the nonprofit fundraising entity for the community for three decades.
The foundation provides support for campus improvements, financial assistance programs for residents, special community activities and educational scholarships for team members.
White Horse Village in Edgmont Township is an active senior living community offering a full range of living options and health care services. For more information, visit http://www.whitehorsevillage.org.