Alexander Public School's Lego Teams Capture Honors At Regional Competition

Alexander Public School's First Lego League (FLL) and Legendary Legos team are capturing awards as they continue to compete at competitions. 

Recently, the FLL team won the Core Values award during the Williston FLL Regional competition. 

"The Core Values Award goes to a team who displays extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit, knows they can accomplish more together than they could as individuals, and shows each other and other teams respect at all times," said Alexandria Rizzo, Alexander FLL Program head coach.

The FLL team also qualified for the North Dakota State FLL Robotics Competition in Grand Forks.

Alexander also has a second team called Alexander Legendary Legos. That team is made up of students in grades 6-8. There are 7 students on that team. They won the Innovation Project Award at the Williston Regional competition. 

The Innovation Project Award goes to the team who utilizes diverse resources for their Innovation Project to help them gain a comprehensive understanding of their problem; has a creative, well-researched solution; and effectively communicates their findings to judges and the community.

Alexander Public Schools started the FLL program in 2019. It is made up of students in 4th and 5th grade and introduces students to engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. 

"Each year, they are given a new robot challenge and they have to come up with a solution for the innovation project theme. This year's theme deals with cargo and transportation," explained Rizzo. 

Rizzo, Erica Turnquist, and Drew LeBrun (former FTC member) all help coach FLL teams.

"It makes me proud of what they have accomplished. They have put in their time and effort into their team, and it shows."