Macon Reporter

The Decatur Public Schools District 61 Board of Education recognized a number of students at its Jan. 10 meeting.

During the meeting, two different groups of students were recognized by the school board. The first group was the MacArthur Generals boys basketball team. The team participated in a 16-team tournament recently, entering the tournament as the defending champions.

During the finals, the Generals had a slow start, but by halftime they had managed to close the gap by scoring 20 points in the second quarter. With a final score of 57-52, the Generals defeated the Blue Devils and defended their title, winning their second tournament championship and becoming the first school to ever win two Collinsville tournaments back to back. The team was not able to attend the meeting because they were in another game that night, but the school board recognized all the athletes and wished them luck for the rest of their season.

The second group of students recognized by the board was the district’s First Lego League team. Calling themselves “It’s Electric,” the seven-member team is completely comprised of rookies. They named their robot Skippy, and in December they won first place for their innovative project. The team was recognized because they also qualified for the Tesla State Tournament at the University of Illinois-Champaign in late January.

"This is an awesome accomplishment for these young students," Maria Robertson, Decatur School District director of Community Engagement, said in the meeting.

The students, which have formed a tight team and made strong friendships among themselves, thanked the board for the recognition and explained their competition: The team is introduced to a problem at the beginning of the season, and they then spend time researching and presenting their solutions. They expressed their excitement at going to the Tesla tournament against 47 other teams from across the state and presenting their Best Innovation Research award at the state level.