Kids on the Blocks

Ninth-grade students from Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino recently advanced to the semifinals of the Lego robotics competition held at Legoland in Carlsbad.

The competition involved 40 teams from schools throughout the West in the development and design of doll-sized movable robots.

The students’ robots were built entirely of Lego blocks, with one block equipped with a microprocessor. The robots were programmed to simulate saving two astronauts trapped in a space station. Finesse and speed in movement were key in the competition.

“This is pretty darn sophisticated stuff,” said the students’ advisor, Jerre Reimers of Boeing Rocketdyne in Canoga Park. “These kids now know that they can build a robot and program it. I think in 10 years, these kids will end up working at Boeing or JPL [Jet Propulsion Laboratory].”

Reimers added that the students’ Lego robots were not too unlike the Sojourner robot that was sent to Mars a few years ago.

“It was a great experience,” said Jonathan Quinn, 14, who said he hopes to compete again in December at what organizers hope will become an annual event at the theme park.

It was the first year the national organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) has sponsored a Lego competition for potential engineers and programmers. For information on how to compete in future competitions, visit https://www.usfirst.org or call Jerre Reimers at (818) 586-8681.

KUDOS

Did you know that? A potential career as a journalist may be in the cards for William Mulholland Middle School student Travis Calloway, who has written an award-winning obituary of George Washington for a contest sponsored by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The Van Nuys student’s 650-word essay was selected over entries from 13 middle schools in Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, and the Antelope and San Fernando valleys.

Travis, 13, received a $50 government bond for his work and a chance to advance his essay in a statewide competition sponsored by the same organization.

Calloway’s obituary indicated that the first U.S. president was believed to have died at 67 years of age from a throat infection called quinsy.

Brains and brawn: Alex Holmes, a senior from Studio City’s Harvard-Westlake High School--who signed a letter of intention last week to play tight end for USC in the fall--has been playing more than football lately.

Last weekend, the 6-foot-3, 300-pounder was busy shooting hoops on the Harvard-Westlake campus with a team made up entirely of dwarfs. Holmes was recruited to play a game with the Los Angeles Breakers--a traveling team of dwarf men and one woman--against other Harvard-Westlake students. The game was arranged between organizers of Special Olympics and Harvard-Westlake administrators. “It was a lot of fun,” Holmes said. “I do this just because I enjoy it.”

Holmes works weekly with Special Olympics as a coach and mentor. He has also distinguished himself recently by scoring above 1,300 on the SAT.

“He is an incredibly warm human being, which is so great to go along with his [football] talent,” said Harry Salamandra, head of the school’s upper campus.

Perfect score: Junghi Kim, a junior at Paraclete High School in Lancaster, scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of the SAT.

Kim’s perfect score puts the 17-year-old in good company. Three other Paraclete students in the last five years have accomplished a similar feat. Small class sizes, after-school tutoring and the use of computers to reinforce classroom learning are some of the reasons for the Catholic school’s strong showing in math, said Bill Prinz, assistant principal.

Paraclete High school is owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles and is the only Catholic high school in the Antelope Valley.

EVENTS

Still time to sign up: The application deadline for the Music Center of Los Angeles’ tuition-free master classes with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic has been extended. The sessions are for 16- to 25-year-olds from 9:30 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. on March 12. Call (213) 202-2293 for information.