January 20, 2006

GREENGATE SCHOOL REPRESENTS ALABAMA IN THE JUNIOR FIRST LEGO LEAGUE COMPETITION IN GEORGIA

On January 14th, 2006, two teams from Greengate School in Huntsville attended the Junior First Lego League (JFLL) Southeast Regional Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. Even though First Lego League (FLL) competitions have been conducted nationwide for years, this is the first exposition at the Junior level (ages 6-9).   The Greengate School teams were the only school representing Alabama in the competition.

This Expo was only open to 21 teams in the states of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and was held on the Georgia Tech University campus in Atlanta, GA. Representing Greengate School were Sargasso Seekers team members Rosie Love, Michael Evens, Miller Cochran, and Megan Thurber coached by Greengate teacher Mrs. Marilyn Szecholda.

The Greengate students were so creative and enthusiastic in their initial concept design of a new sea creature. The teams then brought that creature to life by developing the story line of discovery and adapting that story to an existing ecosystem. The teams consisted of 5 students each. The first Greengate team, the Sargasso Seekers, discovered a new species of shark living in the Sargasso Sea. They named it the nailhead shark because of its similarities to the hammerhead and sawtooth sharks. 

The second Greengate team was called the Wildlife Warriors based on the actual Wildlife Warriors organization led by the CrocHunter, Steve Irwin. The team contacted Australia Zoo and received permission from the Irwins to use their images, Lego models of their equipment, and character adaptations for their team. As Steve Irwin's Wildlife Warriors, they discovered a new species of crocodilian called the Tasmanian Saltwater Gavial which had similar features as the Australian saltwater crocodile and the Indian freshwater gavial.   The Greengate Wildlife Warriors team members were Philip Hall, Lucas Copeland, Thomas Park, Micayla Aycock, Mackenzie Skelton coached by Greengate teacher Mrs. Crystal Williams.

Both Greengate teams applied all the elements intended by JFLL as teaching objectives in math, science, and technology. They took their concepts one step further through research into specific areas for their team job assignments. Both teams conducted further research during recent field trips to the Tennessee Aquarium and the new Georgia Aquarium.

While at the Expo, the teams discovered Greengate was the only school in the state of Alabama attending the Exposition. The teams were excited to be the first ambassadors to represent Alabama in JFLL.

About Greengate School

Greengate School is a private school in Huntsville designed for students with learning differences in reading such as dyslexia. The school was founded in 2002 with three students and has grown to an enrollment of 32 students in 2006.