Note to Paul

October 1, 2015

I sent this to Nicholas' former physics teacher and robotics coach today:

Just a little something I wanted to share: Nicholas is doing well in college so far--As and Bs. Hasn't missed a class yet. Joined three clubs: one that builds drones, one that builds solar-powered vehicles, and one that builds unmanned land vehicles. You know--the kind of stuff being on the robotics fab team has prepared him for. He does not love his required speech class, but his first speech was on a person deserving of respect and admiration. When I asked him who he spoke about, he said, in his very "Well, DUH!" Nicholas way, "Lake, of course. My teacher said it was an A or B speech, but he had to mark me down a little because I went over the time limit, because, well, there's just so much to say about Lake. So I'm fine with having gone over my time." So, you know--I thought you might like to hear that. smile emoticon

I'm sure he hears stuff like this all the time from his former students.  I'm sure he doesn't get tired of it. We are lucky to have had such a great mentor and role model for Nicholas all through high school.

Robotics Kickoff

January 3, 2015

Today was kickoff day for the 2015 Robotics season.  This will be Nicholas' fourth and final year working with the Buchanan High Bird Brains, and once again he'll be working with the fabrication team to build the actual robotic that the team will take into competition.  We're looking forward to an exciting season for Nicholas' senior year!

One of the things I think is pretty cool about the robotics team is that former members are life-long supporters of the organization.  As a matter of fact, both Buchanan's head coach and the head of the Central Valley First Lego League (the Lego robotics teams that are the precursor to high school robotics) are former Buchanan Robotics Team members, or Bird Brains, as they are affectionately known.  At today's kickoff, several former team members were in attendance to show their support and mentorship.  Many of them I was privileged to have in my A.P. Literature course over the years.  I got to snap a quick photo of some of my former (and current) kiddos:  Ned Ta, Emma Hansen-Smith, Carter Dana, and of course, Nicholas.  (Three years ago, two years ago, last year, and current, respectively.)

Pre-Season Robotics Tournament

September 13, 2013

Nicholas got to head up to Sacramento for the first pre-season robotics tournament this year.  Their robot did pretty well, but got knocked out in the semi-rounds.  Even though they didn't make it all the way through to the finals, Nicholas got to hang out with lots of good friends, including these lovely ladies.  Good experience, great memories!

End of the Year Robotics Party

June 26, 2013

Nicholas got to attend the end of the year robotics party today.  There was basketball, swimming, food, and friends.  I just love this group of people and the way they not only work together, but genuinely have fun together.

Robotics Fundraiser Night at McDonald's

April 4, 2013

Captain Obvious

March 22, 2013

My text conversation with Nicholas, who is at his robotics tournament in Davis this weekend:

Me: What's your job up there?
Nicholas: Safety Captain
Me: Cool. What do you have to do for that?
Nicholas: Make sure people don't die.

Fair enough, Son.

Central Valley Regional Robotics Tournament

March 3, 2013

Nicholas spent this past weekend with his robotics team in Madera.  Most of his work for his team's robot was in fabrication during build season, so he decided to be a field set volunteer during the tournament.  By the end of the weekend, his team's robot had finished 8th overall in a field of  Team 1671 won the Engineering Inspiration Award! They won an invite to Nationals in St. Louis and a $5000 grant from NASA. Great job Bird Brains!

Madtown Robotics Tournament

November 11, 2012

This was the kickoff to this year's robotics season.  It's not build season for this year yet, but the tournaments during November and December use last year's robots to get the kids back in practice and excited about the upcoming competitive events in early spring.

 The team went out for a late night snack at Denny's after the event, and this was Nicholas' bill.  Coincidentally, 1671 is the number of their robotics team!

CAL Games

October 15, 2012

Nicholas went on an overnighter field trip for the first robotics tournament of the year.  The kids took their robot all the way to the finals, where they ultimately ended up as the second place finisher--their highest finish in a tournament.  As always, Nicholas was a man of few words when I asked him how the trip was:  "It was fun, Mom."  His facebook status later on was, "Best trip ever!", so I'll take that as a good sign.

Robotics Is Back in Full Swing

September 27, 2012

Nicholas at one of his after school work sessions:

Nicholas and Friends

May 13, 2012

Have I mentioned how much I love the kids that Nicholas hangs out with?  This is a little snapshot during lunch, right after a sudden downpour.  The kids are pretty soggy, but still happy and smiling, just because.

Buchanan Bird Brains

April 6, 2012

I have been so incredibly impressed with the Buchanan Robotics Team--The Buchanan Bird Brains--this year. Nicholas, as a freshman, has been welcomed whole-heartedly and he feels completely at home in that group. In many organizations, the seniors might ignore the younger kids or find them superfluous, but the kids in this organization have made a pointed effort to be inclusive and to really mentor and train the underclassmen who will eventually carry on their legacy. And what a legacy it is! It is utterly astounding the level of expertise and professionalism that is evident in this organization. These are truly the kids who are going to go out into the world of engineering, programming, marketing, architecture, computer animation--any number of fields--and find themselves on the cutting edge.

Nicholas at the Central Valley Regional tournament. His job at the tournament was scouting out the other teams' robots to find optimal partner options for the alliance rounds. His experience this year expanded his interest from just the build team to CAD (Computer Aided Design) and marketing as well.

Robotics Wind Up

March 18, 2012

After a really spectacular showing in the qualifying rounds (undefeated), the Bird Brains made through to the semi-final round on the second day. Though they unfortunately got knocked out there, they still made this regional trip one of the best ever for Buchanan. They had the highest single-match score of the tournament (by quite a bit!), were part of the only alliance to manage a three-robot balance on the bridge, and tied for third overall in a field of fifty. Very impressive! I picked up Nicholas from the school at about 10:30 Saturday night after the three hour bus trip back home, and although he was still energized and excited from the experience (he came home with his robotics team shirt decorated with the buttons of about thirty of the teams represented), he was really quite exhausted, as we expected he would be. He gave us a brief account of the trip and humored us our questions, but then asked if he could go to bed. Poor thing was barely able to remain upright. He hit the bed and didn't get up until about thirteen hours later--and only then because I rousted him against his will. Clearly the hallmark of a successful trip! Tomorrow, it's back to the lab to build on what they all learned at this tournament and gear up for the next one in a couple of weeks. Nicholas is definitely looking forward to it.

Robotics Competition for Nicholas

March 17, 2012

After Day One of the regional robotics competition at Davis, Nicholas' team is 7-0 in team matches, and ranked #1 of 50 teams. The Buchanan Bird Brains are reaping the benefits of the months of daily hard work they put into this robot. I spoke to Nicholas the night before the competition, after a long day of set up and practice, and he was in fantastic spirits. He sounded like he was having a great time. I'm a little bummed that I wasn't able to take time off to chaperone, but I also love that Nicholas is getting a little taste of independence on this trip (surrounded by older students I trust, of course--the seniors on this team are such a great group of kids!). I'm looking forward to hearing how the kids and the robot perform at the finals of the competition today.

The Coolest Trophy

December 18, 2011

The robotics team that Nicholas mentored this year got him a trophy in thanks for his participation and hard work this season. I'm pretty sure this is the coolest trophy in our house right now.

On the Other Side of the Lego Fence

December 15, 2011Nicholas has been involved in Lego Robotics (FLL) since 4th grade, and it's been something that has given him such great opportunities to grow and mature. This organization helped him develop teamwork, creativity, focus, dedication, and communication skills, just to name a few things. He's also forged some pretty solid friendships with his teammates through the years. Now that he's in high school, robotics has moved from Legos (model-sized robots) to full-sized, fully formed robots. Our high school has a very large and active organization, with the juniors and seniors taking lead, while the underclassmen serve as essentially apprentices, learning the ropes and assisting when they can. In addition to learning about the transition from Lego robots to the bigger ones, the younger kids are often asked if they might be willing to mentor an elementary Lego team, since they have experience in that arena. When Nicholas was asked if he was interested, he jumped at the chance.

I wondered how Nicholas would do. He hadn't had much practice in the role of mentor, and as a teacher, I myself have pretty direct knowledge of how difficult it can sometimes be to help kids retain focus and energy for a sustained period of time, particularly when that group of kids is comprised of a large handful of ten-year-old boys. Since I didn't attend any of those robotics practices, I didn't really know how he was faring with his group of boys, other than Nicholas' assertions every week that things were going pretty well.

After a couple of months of weekly practice, the big state competition was upon them. Early on a Saturday morning in December, I drove Nicholas to the school for the big day. He proudly showed off his t-shirt, which was a gift from his young students--an honorary team shirt. He said, "Mom, I hope my kids do well today. They're really nice boys, and they worked really hard." I was touched by his maturity, and his investment in these kids. And while they didn't win, his team did, in fact, fare very well in the competition. He was a proud young man, and I was a very proud mama that day. Imagine how much prouder I was when a week or so later I received an email from the high school robotics coach. The elementary coach who had worked with the team Nicholas mentored took the time to send the high school coach an email expressing praise and gratitude for Nicholas' involvement with the team. His coach forwarded it to me (and the principal of the school as well) and I must say, just reading it made me teary with emotion. My little boy is certainly growing up.

Here's the email he sent:

Mr. Lake,

My name is Henry Fierro and I am writing to you about Nick Lutjens and his willingness to be a mentor for my robotic's team. I just finished my first year as a robotics coach for a group of Copper Hill's students (including my son) under the team name CH-600. Overall, my team and I had a great experience with the program and the Central Vally Championship Tournament. Back in September I inquired if my team could be connected with a mentor given my very limited understanding of the program. Through correspondences with CV Robotics (CART) and Benjamin Wong, Nick came forward to offer his assistance to my team.

Nick demonstarted a commitment to attend all our meetings in November (3-4 hours each Wednesday) and our last meeting in the first week of December. Nick was truly a valuable source of knowledge during his time with my team. He also has a wonderful personality that allowed him to connect very well with my team; as one student shared with me, "Nick's really cool to work with." Nick's efforts truly helped foster my team's interest and success in the program.

My intent of this correspondence is to express my appreciation of Nick's time with my team. I have to believe he made time for my team on top of a very busy school workload.

Please share my correspondence with your associates that follow Nick's advancement through Buchanan High.


Sincerely,


Henry Fierro
Team CH-600

Madtown Throwdown Robotics Tournament

November 15, 2011

Nicholas attended his first robotics tournament as a high school student not long ago. He has now officially graduated from Lego robots to the real deal. (Doesn't 'real' robots seem a bit like an oxymoron?) Anyway, Madera was hosting the event (thus, "Madtown"), and Nicholas volunteered not only to spend all day Saturday at the event, but also most of Friday as well for the set-up of the venue. Since the kids were out of school for Veteran's Day, Nicholas could have opted to stay home on Friday, sleep in, and play video games. Instead, this program has been such a positive and appealing activity that he gave that up to spend two extra days at school. Granted, it wasn't his school, but it was school, nonetheless.
Nicholas came home both days grinning from ear to ear. Although he is a freshman, and one of the low men on the totem pole, so to speak, he is never made to feel superfluous or in the way. The seniors and juniors on this team are incredibly welcoming. They have created an environment that is truly inclusive and educational for the new kids coming into the program. They recognize the strengths of the younger kids, and foster those strengths and channel them into the specialized fields within the organization that they are best suit to. Nicholas was able to catch a ride with a handful of older team members on the day of the event, and even went out to socialize with the whole group after the tournament was over on Saturday. This is really what mentorship and leadership are all about, and I am so thankful such a great group of kids is leading the way for Nicholas and all of the other freshman kids who have found their 'home' on campus with this organization.

Robotics Tournament

December 11, 2010

Once again, Nicholas competed in the Lego Robotics league this year. This will be his last year in this league; next year they move up to real robots and a much bigger playing field. He competed on a team with a few of his old friends who've worked with him before--Robbie and Ryan--and several new team members who had been a part of another team last year. We were lucky enough to get our friend Dave Locher to be the boys' coach, assisted by Jeff Janzen. As I have said before, getting a housefull of adolescent boys to focus, even for a short while, can be a bit like herding puppies or wrestling alligators. It's an adventure, to be sure, but can be a little fruitless on occasion and even slightly dangerous at times. And yet, these men, Dave and Jeff, signed themselves up for the task.



Oure team was called the Waffle Doctors this year. The challenge focus was Biomedical Technology/Engineering, hence the Doctors. Waffles? Mainly because Ryan likes waffles, and he was an avid advocate of including them in the team name. Random? Yup. But not so unexpected, if you know these boys. See the lab coats we had made for the competition? They even made me, Team Mom, Administrator for the 'interns' and M.D.s. Not bad for organizing snacks, huh?

The 8th grade contingent of the team: Robbie, Ryan, and Nicholas


The boys put a lot of time and effort into the design and programing of their robot. Unfortunately, our playing table didn't exactly cooperate with us, so we didn't fare as well as we had hoped in the actual competition, despite having had a couple of good runs in practice. They weren't too disappointed, though. They knew they had put their best effort in. We also took them out for a tasty team dinner afterwards, so they were pretty happy about that. Teenaged boys with full bellies equals contented kids.