Published: August 12, 2008 10:16 am      

EDUCATION: Newfane middle school club will act as stepping stone to high school robotics team

NEWFANE — The Library Club is getting shelved for the 2008-09 school year and that’s making way for a Lego Robotics Club at Newfane Middle School.

The club will take part in the FIRST Lego League, a robotics competition that operates like the high school version. The high school robotics team, the Circuit Stompers, competes against other high schools by building and programming a robot to perform certain tasks.

Likewise, the Lego students will have to build a robot and have it perform certain tasks. FIRST is an acronym that means For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

The Lego club was approved Monday by the Newfane Board of Education, but the board first had to eliminate a club in order to make room in the budget. The Library Club was chosen because it did not have an adviser.

“This is the principal’s recommendation, this is substituting one club for another,” Superintendent Gary Pogorzelski said. “Middle school is the area when I was principal, where we want kids involved in clubs. This is a club we wanted for a long time.”

Middle school Principal Tom Adams had the Lego club on his wish list of clubs for the 2008-09 school year but it was cut in budget negotiations.

Part of the program will be funded by Charlottesville Masonic Lodge 73. The lodge donated $330 to get the Lego club up and running. The stipend for the club adviser is $760, the same as was budgeted for the Library Club adviser.

The Library Club can return with the next budget process, Pogorzelski said. Administrators in each school come up with a list of clubs and activities they want for their students, then it is up to the school board to decide which ones are budgeted.

When the 2008-09 budget was completed, Library Club had a line but not an adviser. The previous adviser was on maternity leave and wasn’t interested in continuing with the club. It did have some money saved, though, and the board voted to hold it in reserve until next year.

The Lego Club originally was started by the Boys and Girls Club in Newfane but that group wasn’t able to carry out the program, according to school board member Gretchen DeWitt.

“I really like that the school is getting into this,” she said.

Technology teacher Mark Franchini was named adviser for the Lego club.

Contact reporter Joe Olenickat 439-9222, ext. 6241.