Students from Gawler Primary School have won their way through to compete nationally at the FIRST LEGO League Explore National Festival in Sydney but need some community financial support to get there.
Last Saturday, the school hosted the FIRST LEGO League Regional Tournament, where nine teams competed, including Gawler Primary School's own Code Blue 1 and Code Blue 2 teams.
Code Blue 1 claimed the Championship Award after working to design, construct and program their LEGO robots to compete in a range of challenges that test real-world problem-solving and research skills since the start of Term 3.
The problem the school now faces is finding funds to fly students and staff over to compete in less than four weeks.
Member for Light Tony Piccolo MP is urging service clubs, community groups and local businesses to donate and help these children represent our region on the national stage.
“These students have put a lot of work onto their robots, and it would be a shame for them to miss out on competing nationally despite earning the right to,” said Mr Piccolo.
“For these children, it may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the reward-for-effort will encourage them to continue to strive to achieve in life rather than simply give up because something is out of reach financially.
“We’ve got to not only congratulate these students for what they’ve accomplished so far but show our support and help the youth of our region reach for the stars by removing barriers.”
The school has been competing since 2019 to encourage STEM education and creativity in their young students, taking out the Inspiration Award (2019), Engineering Excellence Award (2020) and Motivate Award (2023) and competing nationally in 2020.
Coach and teacher Luke Smale said students and staff have worked hard over the past six years and are pleased the hard work has paid off.
“We've been trying to keep up with other teams and are really proud of the efforts everyone has put in – the kids are obviously very happy, and the school community has shown their support,” said Mr Smale.
“We’ve got such a tight community that’s willing to put in the extra mile to get us where we need to and would love for our community to come together to support a small school and kids that may not have the opportunity to do something like this ever.”
Fellow coach and teacher Jo Umney said, “Each student and coach has spent more than 80 hours of out of school time into learning how to use the robot, decoding, developing the projects and their innovation.”
“It's so nice to see them rewarded with this opportunity, and it would be a great opportunity for all the kids to go.
“Most of them have never been to Sydney and just the idea of going to somewhere like that as part of a team…I think it's incredible.
“Hosting the regionals was a big thing for us to do, and to see the school staff, the school community and the kids rally around it, it was a humbling experience – we get so caught up in our day-to-day work, but I stood back and saw how lucky we are to be part of such a wonderful community culture that this school has.
“But if you could please donate – doesn’t matter how much you donate - every little bit counts.”
For those interested in donating, call Gawler Primary School on 08 8522 2988, email dl.0141.info@schools.sa.edu.au or contact the Light Electorate Office on 08 8522 2878 or light@parliament.sa.gov.au