LIVERMORE FALLS — Regional School Unit 73 directors Thursday night approved the Spruce Mountain Middle School Lego League team’s request to attend the world robotics championships in St. Louis, Missouri, in April.
The 10-member team, Clan of Mor’du, is among 109 competing at the World Festival.
Teacher and team coach Rob Taylor said the trip would cost about $13,000 and members are fundraising and soliciting donations to pay for it. The event is April 26-30.
“There’s a ton of work to be done between now and April,” Taylor said. “We’ve been able to do it in the past and we’re hoping we can do it again this year.”
The students won the state championship Dec. 10 with a project theme of Animal Allies.
At Thursday’s meeting, the team gave a presentation on nuisance bears that destroy beehives. Beekeeper and Animal Control Officer Larry Lord of Jay had talked to the team about a nuisance bear he had killed.
“We always say that a fed bear is a dead bear,” team member Drew Delaney said.
Students said their original solution to prevent bears from getting into beehives was an electric cage around the hive. However, they discovered that the electromagnetic radiation would adversely affect the bees’ navigation.
So, the students proposed a portable metal cage inside the electric fence to prevent the electromagnetic radiation from affecting the bees.
In other business Thursday, the board:
• Accepted the retirements of Spruce Mountain Primary School first-grade teachers Terry Leclerc and Rhonda Bean, effective the end of the 2016-17 school year;
• Approved the nomination of Sikwani Dana as Spruce Mountain High School ninth- and 10th-grade science teacher for the 2016-17 school year, contingent on proper certification and Maine Department of Education fingerprint status; and
* Scheduled its next meeting for 6 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Superintendent’s Office.
“They did a great job.” — Spruce Mountain Middle School FIRST LEGO League teacher and coach Rob Taylor.
Comments are no longer available on this story