Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2013
Julia Winer
Coordinator of Communications
(860) 509-3666
jwiner@crec.org
Two Rivers Robotics Team Fights Hard – Earns Strategy & Innovation Trophy
(East Hartford, CT) The CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School "Hurricanes" Lego Robotics Team proved to be
one of the strongest teams in the state at the First Lego League Championship on December 7th at Central
Connecticut State University.
Up against 47 other participating teams, the students spent the day competing before judges in 4 different
categories: robot performance, project presentation, technical judging, and core values. The Hurricanes scored well
in all 4 scored categories and took home a first place trophy for “Strategy and Innovation”.
Coached by Mr. Ebner, a teacher at the school, and Mr. Simone, a parent, the team consists of 7th graders: Hunter
Simone, Ben Poulios, Jacob Misbach, and Jonathan Trusz of Colchester; Dominic Ciancialo of East Hampton; and
8th graders: Jacob Dillon of Manchester and Zach Simone of Colchester.
Pre-engineering using Legos and the robotics NXT program is part of the curriculum offered at the CREC Two
Rivers Magnet Middle School. “I loved programming the Lego robotics,” shared Jacob Dillon. “I want to be a
software engineer someday."
The team had previously advanced from the New Haven First Lego League Tournament, which was held on
November 17th. At the regional competition, their combined score was high enough to advance them to the
statewide tournament. They were one of only 5 teams out of the 16 teams to advance to the next level.
The students worked hard over the past 2 months to prepare for the tournaments, meeting after school and during
half-days. They were thrilled to represent Two Rivers at the state level. "It was an awesome experience,” said Dillon.
“I'm proud of our accomplishments." Overall, there were over 250 teams participating in the statewide competition.
The Hurricanes placed in the top 5%.
CREC Schools are currently accepting applications for the 2014-15 school year. For more information about CREC
Two Rivers or about any of CREC’s 19 magnet schools, visit www.crecschools.org.
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The CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School’s location on the banks of the Connecticut and Hockanum Rivers creates a
living laboratory where students and teachers bring a shared sense of wonder to the exploration of our natural world. Students
research environmental issues, explore local environmental problems, and learn to design scientific experiments, models, and
prototypes resulting in projects worthy of state and national science competitions. Students learn to collect and analyze data,
collaborate, and justify findings in a conscientious manner. In addition to the emphasis on biology, physics, chemistry, and
earth science, students have a full middle school program available to them, including art, music, physical education/health,
technology education, and foreign language.
The Capitol Region Education Council was established in 1966. Working with and for its member districts, CREC has
developed a wide array of cost-effective and high-quality programs and services to meet the educational needs of children and
Capitol Region Education Council
www.crec.org
adults in the region. CREC regularly serves 36 towns in Greater Hartford, offering more than 120 programs to more than
150,000 students annually. CREC manages more than 35 facilities throughout the area, including 19 interdistrict magnet
schools. More information about CREC or CREC’s award-winning magnet schools is available at www.crec.org.
The CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School "Hurricanes" Lego Robotics Team
Capitol Region Education Council
www.crec.org