Lakeside robotics team helps build STEM knowledge
Josh Beavers
Special to the Minden Press-Herald
With all the great things happening in South Webster this year, one in particular is a first of its kind. Lakeside Jr. Sr. High School is now home to its first robotics team.
Seventh grade science teacher Angela Glasscock has been instrumental in bringing the team to Lakeside. She is proud of the robotics team and has goals for the school and squad.“I am extremely proud of the students as well as thankful to the parents that are participating with us in this new adventure,” she said.
When the public hears the term “robotics,” they may think of R2D2 or something similar. This is a common misconception according to the sponsor.
“Robotics is an organization in which members work together to program our bots to complete a series of certain tasks,” she said. “These tasks are based upon similar tasks which we will see at competition. Our first competition was Saturday, Nov 3rd at the Bossier Civic Center. The event was brought by The National Integrated Cyber Education Research Center, the academic division of the Cyber Innovation Center.”
Currently, there are 20 members of the team with room to grow. “We have 20 members whom had to try out by demonstrating their skills with drag and drop coding, which is what we use to program our bots,” Glasscock said.
“These students come from a variety of backgrounds with various interests. They do tend to have an appreciation and aptitude for science and technology.”
Asked why she created the club, Glasscock said it is beneficial to the students and school.
“Mrs. St. Germain and I created this club to give students an opportunity to explore learning related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM),” she said. “This type of program can also benefit students later academically or career wise, since the field of robotics is growing.”