"Powerful- that pretty well describes it all the way around," said Katie Quiring, GEAR UP resource teacher at Swain County.

The programming was powerful; the performance was powerful; the teamwork was powerful and it all centered around power, according to Quiring.

Robotics teams from Macon, Swain and Jackson County secured first and second place in several divisions in North Carolina's First LEGO League State Competition in Greensboro Dec. 1. Their mission was to solve "Power Puzzles" and to program their robots to utilize new ways of producing power. Some 63 teams from North and South Carolina competed.

The Scotts Creek team placed first in team spirit, Macon Middle's team placed first in creative presentation and Swain Middle's team placed second in robot design. Cherokee Middle School, whose team was NativeMachines, also had a strong showing.

"Here are students, powerful in their own right, who came together as a unit working toward the same goal," said Sherry Tilson, Macon's GEAR UP resource teacher.

The GEAR UP programs are federally funded by a grant administered by Southwestern Community College. GEAR UP provides sixth through ninth graders information and assistance they need in choosing career paths.

"It's great to see middle school students proud and excited to be on an academic team," said Quiring.

The concept behind the competition is to introduce students "to the fun and experience of solving real-world problems by applying math, science and technology."

In preparation for the state competition students first studied renewable and alternative energy sources, problems and solutions.

After they selected their particular technology, the students built and programmed their own robots. Susan Lanier, GEAR UP coordinator for Cherokee Middle School, said, "Part of the robots are built using LEGO bricks and other elements such as sensors, motors and gears. Teams get hands-on experience in computer programming and engineering principles as they construct their own machine."

Here's where the math came in, too, said Tilson, because the students had to calculate the equations needed for the robots to perform their functions like moving forward and backwards.

The robots then had to perform missions and meet certain specifications. Teams were awarded points based on the technical executions of each run, Lanier said. Missions included placing solar panels on a house roof or moving a self-designed wave turbine to the ocean. To complete the missions the students also had to build all of the modules for the robotics table, including wind turbines, a house, solar panels, a solar-powered satellite, a hydrogen car and a power plant.

"We believe that an important part of their preparing for the workplace is learning to work together as a team," Tilson said.

The judges said that Scotts Creek, who placed first in team spirit, "showed excellent professionalism in helping another team win an award."

According to the judges, Swain Middle's "use of the light sensor and combining missions" won them the silver in robot design.

The judges called Macon Middle's use of Adobe Flash to show conversion from conventional energy to solar energy "very impressive."

TEAMS: Scotts Creek Elementary- 1st place in Team Spirit.

Students: Anna Pierce, Maggie DeWeese, Lauren Powell, Kaitlyn Hudson, Spencer Traynham Coaches: Robin Hall and Amber Fox

Macon Middle- 1st place in Creative Presentation.

Students: Logan Gillespie, Kayla McLane, Cody Lee Keener, Danny Reategui Coaches: Sherry Tilson, Charles Yonce

Team GREEN from Swain Middle- 2nd place in Robot Design

Students: Jake Pierce, Nate Southards, Ben Cornblum, Devon Cooper, Mark Barker, Dominic Caprita, Michael Smith, Brooke McCaffrey Coaches: Katie Quiring, Angie Noland, Jim Sherrard

Cherokee Middle-NativeMachines

Students: Kiah West, Stephen Gammon, Devyn Smith, Frisco Javier, Driver Blythe, Gatlin Cruz, Taran Swimmer, Tagan Crowe, Monique Paul, Jessica Lambert Coaches: Scott Freeman, Liddell Shannon, Victor Argaz, Susan Lanier

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