The 1st day of the school holiday started with a short trip to Sydney for Felix as his robotic team qualified earlier this term for the Nationals. However 3/4 of his 4 member team couldn't make it. A couple of weeks ago, Felix recruited a very motivated and energetic friend who was willing to learn quickly and give a much needed helping hand while keeping his smile.
The two of them did great and presented proudly their project to the judges.
They came back tired but with a beautiful smile and a new Lego trophy. Their robot wasn’t the best, their app wasn’t the most successful but they brought back the “Gracious Professionalism” price which is an amazing recognition of their team spirit and as valuable than the two other categories judged during this competition (but to my heart maybe even more important!)
Here is a description from the Lego League Handbook:
"Gracious Professionalism means teams compete like crazy against challenges but appreciate and treat each other with respect. Your real opponent is the problem you're trying to solve - not any other team or person. Gracious professionals lend a heping hand to an opponent when needed because they want everyone to have a chance to compete. Even when a team wins the competition, they avoid treating anyone like losers.
In the long run, Gracious Professionalism is part of pursuing a meaningful life. You can enjoy personal success while also making a contribution to society. FIRST LEGO league team members will learn that they can succeed while still acting with integrity."
They now have 6 month to work harder on their robot as they qualified for the Indo-Pacific Internationals in July2017!