LAMOINE, Maine — When learning the basics in school, often times it's skills like creativity, resilience, and ingenuity that are a challenge when incorporating into a lesson plan.
That's why hundreds of schools join in each year for the SkillsUSA competitions each year. For some students from Lamoine Consolidated School, it's already opening doors for them.
Fifth-grader Benjamin Baldridge, sixth-grader Jordan Chan, and seventh-grader Ian Frost all earned gold this past March in Bangor for the state championships, when they competed for the Team Engineering Challenge.
Now, the three are prepping for a trip to nationals in Atlanta, Georgia, making them the first middle school team in state history to be sent.
"They're adults in training. These are all super important skills that you don't necessarily get from math class," school principal Dawn McPhail said.
The students say often times it's having an open mind, thinking out of the box, and good teamwork cooperation that help them thrive as a team.
"They'll go into a room, [and] they have no idea what's going to happen. It usually starts as a written test," Miranda Engstrom, a teacher who has been coaching the team since October of last year, said.
To prepare for competitions, the group works on practice problems similar to what they believe will be asked of them when it's game time.
The three competitors are currently fundraising for their trip in June. If you would like to help them get there, they will be hosting a bottle drive and car wash at the end of May.
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