Le Grand Elementary School students compete in robotics championship tournament
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Two robotics teams from Le Grand Elementary School competed alongside nearly 40 others in the FIRST Lego League Central Valley Robotics Championship Tournament on Dec. 11 in Clovis.
Alongside the students from Le Grand, teams from Fresno, Kern and Madera counties participated in the annual event as well, according to a news release from Merced County Office of Education.
This year marked the fourth that Le Grand has fielded a robotics team and the second time they have competed in the Central Valley Championship Tournament.
The FIRST tournament is aimed at inspiring youth to be science and technology leaders and innovators by engaging in mentor-based programs, according to the release.
Skills in science, engineering and technology are taught that foster technical abilities as well as well-rounded life skills, like self-confidence, communication and leadership.
“It’s important that we prepare our scholars for a rapidly changing world,” Scott Borba, superintendent and principal of Le Grand Elementary, said in the release.
“Robotics teaches our kids not only coding and engineering, but collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity as well. It’s been exciting to watch our school grow from one team with six scholars to two teams with seventeen!”
Borba is an advocate for integrating computer science into schools and serves as a board advisor to the non-profit CS is Elementary, the release said. The nonprofit’s goal is to provide universal K-5 computer science education to every school nation-wide.
“It’s about equipping our scholars with the necessary skills to participate in a global economy, especially our historically underserved populations.” Borba said in the release.
“Valley kids are as brilliant and capable as any kid, anywhere and deserve the same opportunities as kids in urban and more affluent areas.”
