The LMS Techno Waffles

Three robotics teams from LaBelle participated in the district level qualifying tournament on January 13 at Cypress Lake Middle School. The Atomic Narwhals, LaBelle’s only elementary team, worked diligently the past few months to earn points in three categories: Robot Games, Project, and Core Values. These three events are judged and the teams ranked according to their scores. Nan Akin, coach for Atomic Narwhals, explained that the team was able to reach several goals they set for their second season, including receiving exemplar scores in several judged categories. Although they are not advancing to the regional championship, they learned new skills related to science, technology, engineering, and math and will be better equipped to handle next year’s challenges.

From the LMS Robotics program, two teams attended the qualifying tournament where The Retro Robots and The Techno Waffles competed with each other and 17 other teams during the event. Though the teams are equally talented, the Techno Waffles were able to get their robot in gear during their runs on the competition table and successfully accomplished enough missions on the board to gain a golden ticket, advancing them to the championship event in Plant City on February 17. The Techno Waffles have several returning members from last year’s team and that experience was evident in how they presented their project in front of the judges and how well they worked together to demonstrate the Core Values of the organization.

The LMS Atomic Narwhales.

The teams at LMS are sponsored by several local businesses and organizations that made it possible for them to acquire new robot sets, pay for event registrations, and other costs. These businesses are Rock Enterprises, Inc., Jack’s on Joel, LLC, Johnson Engineering, LaBelle Fruit Company, LLC, Wal-Mart, Florida Power and Light, the Rotary Club of LaBelle, DUDA, and Ford. Special thanks also for the time, energy and effort put in by assistant coaches Tara Sherrod and Lori Richards.

Individuals or businesses interested in helping to sponsor the teams at LMS for next year can contact Greg Zimmerly at zimmerlyg@hendry-schools.net or by calling the school at (863) 674-4646.