The Moore County Public Education Foundation recently awarded seventh-grade language arts teacher Jilian Reynolds a grant to initiate the Elise Middle School Robotics Club.

Students learn about robotics and complete various activities during club periods. The club hopes to connect with the N.C. State Center for Robotics to enhance their learning experiences. A major goal for the future of the club is to compete at next year's N.C. FIRST Robotics Competition in Raleigh.

Students are already preparing for this competition by learning how to utilize the Lego Mindstorms Kits. Reynolds has always been fascinated by robotics.

"By incorporating robotics into education curricula, students will develop a passion for this exciting field and their future career options will be broadened," says Reynolds.

Students in the robotics club are currently excited about creating a line-tracking robot, which could assist teachers with attendance updates.

"The robotics club is great and it inspires me to be in the engineering field in the future," says seventh-grader Jeremy Patrick.

"I believe that the Elise Middle Robotics Program inspires students to do their best, follow directions, put ideas into action, and most importantly, have fun," adds Ashton Dillon.