BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT —  Shining Mountain and Bethel Middle School students are prepping for a new level of competition.  The Shining Mountain Lego Elites and Bethel Middle School DawgBotics robotics teams recently advanced to the state championships, after posting high marks at a qualifier in December.  The Lego Elites received the top prize – Champions Award and another award for Robot Performance. DawgBotics took the Core Value Award. Both honors included automatic births to state.

Bethel Middle School and Shining Mountain have an impressive history in robotics competitions.  In 2009, Shining Mountain’s Lego Elites received regional honors for Robot Performance and Robot Design. Then, in 2011, the SME team took the regional Research Award and the state Teamwork Award. Last year, the Lego Elites placed fifth in the worldwide FLL Global Innovation competition, with their Phage Force innovative idea project. Bethel Middle School’s DawgBotics received regional awards for Teamwork in 2009. And, in 2011, the team took both the Robot Design and the Champions Award.

Other Bethel area teams to receive awards at the recent FLL regional, included:

• Mechanical Design Award  – Final Frontier, Frontier Middle School
• Strategy and Innovation  – Tech Dragons, Cougar Mountain Middle School
• Inspiration Award – Fungineers, North Star Elementary
• Judges Award Rookie of the Year – Tiger Robotics, Thompson Elementary

Over 700 community members and about 80 volunteers (students and judges) attended the regional competition in December at Spanaway Middle School. Of the 34 teams that participated, 14 were from the Bethel area.