ACWORTH Ten Cornerstone Preparatory Academy students worked like a well-oiled machine last semester by building a robot that took home the first trophy for the schools robotics team at a regional competition.

The fifth- and sixth-grade students from the private kindergarten to 12th grade school in Acworth joined forces to become Stormbots Cornerstones first Lego Robotics team this school year.

The team took home its first trophy, celebrating the teams good sportsmanship, at a Georgia Institute of Technology-sponsored competition in December in Roswell, the first the team had participated in.

Students programmed a robot no bigger than a shoe box to perform tasks such as pushing, pulling and grabbing small objects, said team member David Baines, an 11-year-old fifth-grader from Kennesaw.

In addition to programming the robot before the competition, the students created a five-minute skit to perform for the competitions judges.

Theres a lot more to (robotics) said fifth-grader Isaac Sanchez, 10, of Acworth.

Teams had to present a problem and solution for an environmental issue that affects both animals and humans to satisfy the competitions Animal Allies theme.

The Cornerstone teams skit addressed the possible extinction of honey bees, which is predicted to severely impact humans, said David.

After (honey bees are) extinct, (mankind) will have less than four years of life left, he said.

The skit featured fifth-graders Madelyn Beatty and Sarah Sanabia dressed as bees while fifth-grader Keaton McCollum performed in a head-to-toe yellow outfit as pollen. Patrick Garner, an 11-year-old sixth-grader, performed in a beekeeper outfit provided by Kennesaws Hometown Honey.

Cornerstone won the core values award for their teamwork, and their robots performance landed the team a ticket to a super regionals competition.

The team finished its season after competing in the super regionals on Jan. 14.

With the season over, the fifth-graders are buzzing to continue building the team next year and bring home more trophies.

Cornerstone Prep has an enrollment of 480 students and was founded in 2004.

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Cornerstone Prep robotics team brings home trophy in first year - MDJOnline.com