Desatechs team members Shalom Obiago (left) and Owain Guinn are shown participating in the Robotic Design and Performance category as teammate Vincent Mincey watches their progress.

The winning team poses with their coaches outside of the DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts.

The DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts robotics team, Desatechs, captured the second place trophy in the DeKalb County District’s Qualifying Event for the Lego League Robotics Competition.  The match was the team’s first-ever district competition.

Twenty teams representing middle and elementary schools from the district entered the competition in December at Arabia Mountain High School. Wadsworth Magnet School for High Achievers received the Champion’s 1st Place trophy, while Midvale Elementary School took home the Champion’s 3rd Place award.

The Desatechs will now compete in the Regional Super Qualifier event on Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, where 40 teams will compete. This year’s theme is Food Factor. Each team had to identify a problem in the area of food contamination or safety, research the issue, and demonstrate how the problem might be solved through robotics.

The Desatechs selected Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) as its problem. They learned that honeybees are disappearing in every continent of the world, but scientists do not know how bee colonies are being contaminated.

The team’s coaches said they are extremely proud of the students’ research project.

“Robotics organically enhance literacy curriculum. It is embedded with endless critical thinking and problem solving opportunities. Robotics is also a natural student motivator; children are instinctively drawn to it,” said Head Coach Carla H. Kabwatha, a language arts teacher. “The team is comprised of extraordinary individuals, and I expect greatness from each of them.”

Said Assistant Coach RiChelle Bolton: “Robotics is a way for these intelligent students to utilize their creativity to solve problems and for their voices to be heard.”

The Desatechs are in the process of recruiting the entire DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts student body for their cause. The goal is to make every student in the school a Bee Ambassador. By teaching others what they have learned through their robotics research, planting bee-friendly flowers on school grounds, and making a commitment to spread the word about the importance of bee health, the Desatechs hope to make a difference in their community and their world.

Members of the Desatechs include 7th graders Thalia M. Butts, Shalom Obiago and Owain Guinn; 6th graders Vincent Mincey, Rekaree Campbell, DeBorah Ault, Jahleesa Phelps, Brie Turner, MaShayla Brown and Jay Shannon.