6 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 10, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com Local students vanquish the Photo courtesy Peter Xanthus competition in Lego robot contest BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] @liamlaguerre Four Queens middle school teams were victorious in the NYC FIRST Lego robot building competition on April 4-6. The contest, which was held at the Jacob Javits Center, challenged students to construct robots from Lego blocks and navigate obstacle courses. More than 70 teams from the fi ve boroughs competed this year. The Hurricane Pandas of P.S. 94 in Little Neck won second place for the Champion’s Award, which is given for overall excellence and innovation. The Boogie Bots of Louis Middle School in Flushing won fi rst for the Project Research Award for the research and problem solving category of the contest, while Bleeker All-Stars of Bleeker Junior High School in Flushing won fi rst for the Robot Design, Strategy and Innovation Award. And the M.S. 261 Ryan Lions of Fresh Meadows won fi rst for the Robot Performance Award. “I’m very, very proud,” said Peter Xanthus, a sixth-grade science teacher at M.S. 261 who advises the school’s team. “It’s been six years here and this is the fi rst time we ever came in fi rst place.” As a part of the contest, children had to research and think of solutions together for when natural disasters strike, not only to introduce the students to engineering and robot building but also to teach the importance of teamwork. “You could be the most brilliant person in the whole,” Xanthus said, “but if you don’t know how to get our thoughts across to other people, you won’t get anything done.” M.S. 261 students won the Robot Performance Award after scoring the most points in the NYC FIRST Lego robot competition. Open House Saturday, April 12 at 1 pm High School Summer Workshops July 7 - 25 July 28 - August 15 Audio Recording, Filmmaking, Guitar, Musical Theatre, Vocal Ensembles College Summer Classes June 2 – August 21 New & Transfer Students Welcome • Affordable Tuition Magazine Names One of the Top 35 Summer Graduate Classes June 30 - August 21 Two & Four Week Classes • New & Transfer Students Welcome Music Business Programs in the United States 305 N. Service Road Dix Hills, NY 11746 www.ftc.edu 631.656.2110 • AUDIO RECORDING TECHNOLOGY • BROADCASTING • BUSINESS • E LEMENTARY TEACHER EDUCATION • FILM/VIDEO • JOURNALISM • MASS COMMUNICATION • MUSIC TEACHER EDUCATION • MUSIC BUSINESS • MUSIC PERFORMANCE • THEATRE ARTS
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