POTTSGROVE LEGO-OLOGISTS SCORE HIGH IN CHAMPIONSHIPS – The Pottsgrove Middle School’s Lego Robotics Team (above), mentored by gifted education teacher Deborah Frasca, placed second among 42 schools Saturday (Feb. 9, 2013) during the First Lego League Regional Championships held in Irvine Auditorium on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. The “Arthritis Avengers,” as proud mother Jeananne Lockey says they’re known, now becomes the go-to group that will represent the state during upcoming national competition in California if the first-place finishers are unable to attend, school Principal Bill Ziegler explained via Twitter. The league uses Lego-brand toy components in real-world science and technology challenges; teams design their own solution to a current scientific question or problem and build autonomous LEGO robots that perform a series of missions. Pottsgrove arrived at the weekend championships thanks to an earlier, first-place victory in a distinct qualifying competition. Behind the scenes Saturday (at right), the team was given public recognition on the auditorium’s stage, and was presented with its showcase trophy made of (what else?) Legos.

Photos from Jeananne Lockey and Pottsgrove Middle School