April 15, 2004

Castillero's Super Nova Girls head to Atlanta
Team to compete in International Lego League Tournament

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

NASA could learn a thing or two from the Super Nova Girls—five Castillero Middle School students on a mission to explore the Martian landscape and its potential for colonization—an effort that has earned them numerous awards, including the coveted Director's Award for teamwork.

One of only two California teams invited to the Lego League Invitational in Atlanta April 15-17, the girls plan to build, program and maneuver their robot to an international victory—competing against an estimated 50 teams from around the world.

Their challenge—to visit the Red Planet and employ tasks that include clearing a solar panel of debris, hauling ice cores back to base and launching a Lego Mars vehicle back to Earth. Using science, the team focused on research and problem solving, creativity and design, strategy, performance and teamwork.

Three of the Super Nova Girls are former Los Alamitos students—once under the guidance of former principal Devin Blizzard, who is considered a pioneer in the area of elementary school robotics. With Jim Mori as their coach for five years running, the team has gained solid ground—proving that they are a force to be reckoned with in competition.

According to Mori, whose daughter Jennifer is the team captain, the team's biggest weakness in the past lay in their research project—but not this year. In an effort to simulate the potential for life on Mars, they studied the biosphere and simulated a habitation module—complete with plants for oxygen and carbon dioxide.

They added a frog to create nitrogen—the missing link, and then discovered that frogs would make perfect study candidates, as their ability to regulate their metabolic rate would suit the many climate changes on the red planet.

“This year they've hit on all four aspects and really preformed well,” Mori says. “The performance of the robot, their teamwork, their building and design and their research—they know what to do now.”

“They wouldn't necessarily have picked each other as friends, but they're all in this because they share a common goal,” explains mom Debbie Mori. “There's nothing else in elementary or middle school that really simulates teamwork. Even though they have different personalities, they all have different strengths, and they're all learning that very well.”

“I think this teaches kids who wouldn't ordinarily play on a team how to play a team sport,” adds Monique Rousseau's father Ben.

Kim Pettruzzelli admits that her daughter Kristen wanted to quit robotics in fourth grade, but gave it another try and now loves programming the robot. “Part of it was being on an all-girl team and having Jim coach,” she says. “They're having a lot of fun.”

Last week, the school honored the team during an assembly, when Principal Sandy Engel presented the girls with certificates acknowledging their accomplishments. “I would like to congratulate this team as they go forward to compete in Atlanta,” she says.

The trip to the tournament has been funded in part with a $1,000 grant from Wal-Mart, along with money raised during a recent car wash. But the lion's share of the school robotics program financing comes from Castillero Education Foundation sponsorships totaling $4,750—a significant investment, according to Janet Romero, one that has paid off nicely.