The Harker School is proud to have many students participating in the FIRST Lego League (FLL), a program for students aged 9-16 that releases a new FLL Challenge every September. Part of each challenge is the Robot Game, in which students participate by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field. Another integral part of the challenge are the FLL Core Values, which students must be guided by throughout the duration of their projects. These include learning together, honoring the spirit of friendly competition and displaying gracious professionalism and cooperation in everything they do.

Five grade 6 students from Harker formed a team called The Fruitest Five, and took home top prizes for the Robot Game and for their commitment to the core values. Kavita Tankha, parent of team member Aliesa Bahri, said, “The Robot Performance award goes to the team with the most points earned by completing robot missions, and the Core Values award is given for teamwork and gracious professionalism. The judges called out the ‘girls in pink’ for their enthusiasm, inclusiveness and teamwork.” The other members of Fruitest Five, Anooshree Sengupta, Aria Coalson, Maya Kumar and Jessica Susai, along with Sengupta, overcame a nervous moment early in the competition when a loose connection in their robot caused it to stop working. Everything was smooth sailing from there on out, and the team came out on top, moving them to the East Bay Championship Round.