SIKESTON -- Scott County Central High School's new robotics team is filling a niche some of its students may have been missing.
"No one club is going to grab everybody, but it's nice to have that variety so the kids can migrate to where they feel most comfortable," said Cristy Crites, coach/administrator of Scott Central's robotics team, Steampunks.
Scott Central received a $1,500-FIRST Robotics Teams Grant from the Monsanto Fund during the 2016-2017 school year. Other local donations also helped start the team, which includes STEAM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.
"Our season started, and they had nine days from the time the box arrived, to build a robot and to put it on a playing field," Crites said.
Her team of six students just fell into place, Crites said.
"They built this robot. It hadn't had any life to it and when we got there at the qualifier in Cape, some team helped program our robot. Five minutes before it started, our robot moved. Then we competed in three or four matches. It was like your baby taking its first steps," Crites recalled.
The robotics team is a disciplined club, Crites said. Members must meet grade, attendance and behavior requirements, she said.
"They get a big binder of instructions and flip it one page at a time," Crites said. "We got this big box full of parts and they have two phones and and Xbox controller. You write software and code to tell that phone what to make your robot do."
Crites said her students have taken to building their robot like a fish to water.
"Every year it will get modified, depending on the tasks that the new game requires and we don't know what those are yet," she said, adding the current robot will follow the team's captain and co-captain who are sophomores until they graduate.
For Crites, who is the K-12 art teacher for the district, the implementation of the robotics team has been a blessing in disguise.
"Everything has just fallen into place," Crites said. "These kids are excited and want to interact with each other and the other teams."
This year the team has a total of nine members. Team coach is Linda Venable and mentors are Robert Cook, who is also a Scott Central board member, and Mitchell Crites, who is an application developer.
The kickoff of the new First Tech Challenge Robotics Program season is set for Saturday at Southeast Missouri State University. Scott Central's team no. 11965 will be represented, Crites said.
"It's huge. All the schools from our area and the state can attend. You get a 24-hour preview of what the game is going to be. For kids in gaming, this is huge," she said.
There will be an explanation of what each team's robot needs to do and what's new with the organization, Crites said.
Team captain Caleb Hunt and co-captain Sarah Turner said they're looking forward to getting a fresh start this year and participating in the entire season.
"Last year we didn't have much time to do it and at the competition we didn't know what to expect so we just tried our hardest and we succeeded," Turner said.
They expect to do more and better this year.
The team even has a group chat and message ideas back and forth with each other, Hunt said.
The students said they learn as they go.
"We have a lot of character because we are a team and we work together and are willing to share ideas and go over things we need to go over," Turner said.
The teens agreed it's all about the team work.
"This club is better for learning about mechanics and teamwork and how everyone can contribute to one project," Hunt said.
Last year the members stayed almost every day after school and met on Saturdays and Sundays.
"We meet as much as they want," Crites said. "This isn't my robot; it's their robot."
Crites said she's witnessed students take charge and assign roles to each member.
"This is all without any effort on my part and that's the cool thing," Crites said. "I've been a teacher forever, but this this is incredible."
The students also learn about "gracious professionalism," Crites noted.
Then, in June, the district was awarded a $6,000-U.S. Site Grant from the Monsanto Fund for the 2017-2018 school year and will create a STEAM lab for all preK through 12th grade students. The robotics team will be able to work on their robot in the STEAM lab, but also teachers can take their classes to the lab for learning opportunities regardless of subject matter.
Crites said she gets goosebumps thinking about the impact the robotics team has made on the school and some its students so far.
"We're a basketball school. That's no secret. I am an alum; I went to school here for 12 years," Crites said. "You have this group of kids -- and I was one of them growing up -- who don't fit that niche. I have kids who I've barely heard their voices in my class. They come to school and do what's expected of them and they go home and they're just quiet. So this is team has helped them find their voices."