Freeport's Dodd Robotics Team Wins Award In County-Wide Competition

The Freeport Dodd Middle School's Robotics Team took second place in Long Island's "Lego League Robotics Tournament" at Longwood High School in Middle Island in January. The two-member team, David Bentley and Jeffrey Rodriguez, won in the category of "Research and Presentation," which required students to perform research, develop a solution, and creatively present their robotic-based creation to solve a problem dealing with the ocean phenomenon known as red tide. The two students' work was cited by one of the judges as showing "excellent insight into the topic."

Co-sponsored by the New Hampshire-based FIRST organization ("For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology") and the School Business Partnerships of Long island (SBPLI), the Lego program invited Nassau and Suffolk County students, guided by their teacher-mentors, to design and build an original robot. This year's challenge, "Ocean Odyssey," called for teams to research and present robotics technology solutions to help ensure the health, diversity and productivity of the world's oceans.

In addition to Benthley and Rodriguez, the members of Dodd's Lego Team who competed in the tournament were rodney Boykin, Alfredo Flores, Andrew Pardo, Steve Martinez, Keith Bedney, Joel Tapia, Evin Hendricks, Zachary Drew, Francisco Vasquez, and Carlos Perez. Also members of the team, but not able to compete, were Braedon Pelluso, Nowell Hammond-Gibson, Arthur Kindle, and Chris Sailsman. The team as coached by Dodd teachers James Wandzilak, Louis Inzerilli, and Jason Shonfeld.