Four sixth graders from Coast Episcopal School are traveling from Long Beach, MS to Long Beach, CA to compete at the Western Edge FIRST Robotics Invitational, May 28-31. The MS Gulf Coast students, competing as the CES Robo-Raiders, will join approximately 90 teams at this First® event featuring both First®Lego®League and First®League Tech Challenge teams from around the world.
Teams participating in this international competition must present and defend their engineering design process to judges, clearly communicate their ideas, and demonstrate how they tested, refined, and improved their robot through trial and error. Students learn that failure is an important part of innovation—analyzing what went wrong, adapting their designs, and trying again. By collaborating with and learning from teams with different approaches and perspectives, the Robo-Raiders will further develop critical skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and resilience. These experiences help prepare them not only for future STEAM opportunities (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) but also for the challenges of real-world collaboration and leadership.
“This is an incredible honor and exciting opportunity for our students and Coast Episcopal School. Our Robo-Raiders will present their engineering design process, collaborate with other teams, and further develop critical skills in problem-solving, communication, and teamwork,” state Robotics Coaches Tarah Herbert (and Makerspace Teacher) and Megan Martinex (CES parent and robotics mentor), “This experience will broaden their perspectives, strengthen their problem-solving skills, and further inspire their pursuit of future STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) opportunities.”
The CES Robo-Raiders, Porter Bates, Hutson Lambert, Augustine Martinez, and Isabella Wood, are part of a Coast Episcopal School after-school program held in the campus’ Seemann’s Makerspace that expands on the foundational robotics and coding instruction all CES students receive. The program provides a hands-on environment where students develop problem-solving skills through building, coding, and collaborative design.
The Robo-Raiders first came together in the 2024-2025 school year when the four-member team first competed in the FIRST LEGO LEAGUE (FLL) Challenge. Throughout their rookie year, the team embraced the core values of FIRST, demonstrating innovation, teamwork, and perseverance while continually improving their engineering and coding skills. Their hard work at the qualifying tournament resulted in the team earning the Core Values Award, advancing them to the Mississippi State Championship.
At the state competition, they faced a significant challenge when one of their robot motors—after performing correctly during two practice matches—failed during their first official match. With only minutes before their next match, the team quickly disassembled their robot during the opening ceremony, replaced the motor, and rebuilt the robot in time to compete. Their determination and teamwork allowed them to overcome the setback and continue competing.
The Robo-Raiders continued to build on that success in the current 2025-26 season. They won the Champion’s Award at their qualifying event, recognizing their performance across all areas of the competition. In preparation for the Mississippi State Championship, the team often spent extra time refining their robot game—sometimes even staying in from recess to design new attachments or improve mission code. At the state competition, they finished 7th overall and earned the 3rd Place Robot Design Award.
In addition to the focus on their own competition work, the Robo-Raiders also serve as mentors to the Coast Episcopal Fifth grade team, the Beach Bots, with whom they share competition strategies, help troubleshoot missions, teach coding techniques, and encourage their younger teammates while also learning from them in return.
A CES Robotics Fundraiser has been created to help offset travel expenses. The Robo-Raiders can be supported with the purchase of a ticket that may result in a summer Gatlinburg getaway. Information regarding the fundraiser can be found here: CES Robotics Fundraiser
