Press Release from The Country School

The Country School’s middle school robotics team, Archimedes Aces, demonstrated exceptional creativity and technical skills at the recent Southington Showdown Qualifier FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Robotics Competition, securing second place in the innovation project category with a groundbreaking solution addressing underwater unexploded ordnance. The Archimedes Aces will compete in the FLL State Competition in Glastonbury on Saturday, Dec. 14.

The FLL guides youth through STEM learning and exploration at an early age. From discovering to exploration and then to the challenge stage, students understand the basics of STEM and apply their skills in an exciting competition, while building habits of learning, confidence, and teamwork skills along the way. At the Southington Showdown Qualifier, the FLL evaluated teams across three equally weighted components: representation of core values (discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork, and fun), performance of an engineered and programmed robot on a challenge course, and design and presentation of an innovation project related to the annual theme

The success of the Archimedes Aces is the result of their rigorous preparation since September, with students in 6th through 8th grade dedicating multiple days to their project each week. By participating in this year's competition, which featured the theme of “Submerged," the team developed an innovative project featuring a soft-robotic biomimetic tentacle arm and a sonar robot designed to detect and collect unexploded munitions from World War I and World War II lake and seabeds.

In addition to its regular club time, the team benefited from the knowledge and expertise of Dr. Robert Ballard and his daughter, Emily Ballard an alumnus of The Country School’s Class of 2012. Among the most accomplished and well-known of the world's deep-sea explorers, Dr. Ballard is best known for his historic discoveries of hydrothermal vents, the sunken R.M.S. Titanic, the German battleship Bismarck, and numerous other contemporary and ancient shipwrecks around the world. Following the initial virtual meeting with Dr. Ballard and Emily, Emily returned to her alma mater to speak to about her work on the E/V Nautilus and shared how robotics, especially remotely operated vehicles, impact the research which she and her father conduct.

While coaches Ben Taylor, Joseph LaMacchia, Brett Merrill, and Stephanie Johnson provided guidance throughout the team’s preparation, the project was fundamentally student-driven, showcasing the team's initiative and collaborative spirit. The coaches were particularly proud of the team's performance in the innovation project, praising the students' creativity and problem-solving skills.

"This is my first year working with the team, and I was so impressed with their ingenuity and self-direction," said Coach Taylor.

The Archimedes Aces are continuing The Country School's impressive robotics legacy, with teams from the school having advanced to the state competition for more than five consecutive years.

“These last few years and this year, it's been the creativity, dedication, and poise with public speaking that the kids have put into the project component that have been the differentiators,” Coach Johnson said. “They love building with Lego and are super capable with block coding, but it's how they step up confidently in the big moments on a larger stage that matters.”

This year’s team members include 8th-graders Lillian Clare of Madison, Will Cornell and Ava Kowalski of Killingworth, and Kieran Freeman and Nathaniel Schultz of Guilford; 7th-graders Neil Parwani and Luke Reach of Guilford; and 6th-grader Kyle Jacobson of Killingworth.

Founded in 1955, The Country School serves students from preschool through 8th grade on its 23-acre campus in Madison. The Country School honors students’ creativity, sense of wonder, and intellectual curiosity. The school’s integrated curriculum aligns rigorous academics with a commitment to character and leadership development. Learn more and register for a school day open house at: nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?.