Our middle school robotics team owes soooooo many community members huge thank yous for supporting us this year. You helped us learn how to participate in local government and how to take an issue and bring it through the public process, how to revise an idea after stakeholder feedback, and how to present our ideas in hopes of even a small part becoming a reality.
Our goal this season has been to make our community safer and more accessible through the addition of more crosswalks. It is also important to honor our community’s heritage with a Tlingit formline crosswalk and to show our inclusivity with the addition of a rainbow crosswalk. Thank you for supporting our community-wide crosswalk proposal.
After competing against 51 teams in Anchorage on Jan. 18, our team won Alaska’s third-place champions award!
We worked really hard during each segment of the competition, which lasted from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The day included three formal judging sessions with a teamwork challenge where we had to work together to help our blindfolded teammate put together a toddler jigsaw puzzle in two minutes and 30 seconds.
We presented our crosswalk project including a skit, and our robot design, coding and robot game strategy. During the afternoon we competed in the robot performance competition.
Our champions award was due to hard work and community support, helping us with our crosswalk project and numerous presentation audiences who gave us feedback about how to improve our speeches and presentations. Thank you.
We’d like to shout out an extra special thanks to:
Our robot coach, Greg Clem; our head coach, Mary Thole; Mayor Andrew Cremata; The Prickles FTC Team with coaches Andy and Mindy Ray Miller; former robotics coach Vivian Meyer; Borough Manager Brad Ryan; municipal permitting official Shane Rupprecht; Skagway Public Safety Committee members; Skagway assembly members; municipal comprehensive plan facilitator Barb Sheinberg; Public Works Director Tyson Ames; tourist information specialist Wendy Anderson; Tourism Director Cody Jennings; White Pass & Yukon Route Public Relations Director Jaime Bricker; Skagway Traditional Council members; Skagway Traditional Council Director Sara Kinjo-Hischer; Juneau Rainbow Crosswalk task force leader Steve SueWing; Mighty Munchkins director Mackenzie Ackerman, Little Cherubs child care director Linda Calver; Skagway High School drama, debate and forensics coach Kent Fielding and his team; Skagway Elks Lodge No. 431; Chezare Leipold for between school and practice smoothies; Juneau Douglas High School student Teilhard for being our competition Skype partner in December due to a lack of ferry transportation to get us to Juneau; Chez Leipold and John Hischer for competition-day nutrition and hydration in Anchorage; Skagway school teachers Courtney Ellingson, Michaela Stidham, Jessica Ward and Danielle McManus for letting us practice our presentations for you and for using your classrooms; School Activities Director Lee Thompson; and the Skagway school board and Superintendent Joshua Coughran for supporting robotics and STEM in our school.
Thank you for your support from the middle school robotics team. It takes a village, and our village always shows up with 110 percent to achieve great success.
Ezekiel Coughran, Lennon Jennings, Ayden Flores, Lina Hischer, Liam Ticarro, Rosetta Pring and Ale Flores
The Krosswalk Kangaroos
Team 46069
