Notre Dame’s lower and middle-division robotics teams are preparing for the World Championships to be held in Louisville, Kentucky, in late April.
Along with many other Notre Dame teams, Bumble Bees Team 3333T (The Terminators) is heading to the VEX Robotics World Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, in late April. Team 3333T qualified for the VEX Worlds by virtue of their strong finish at the state championship, where they also earned the STEM Award and the Skills Award.
According to Louise Palardy, who helps mentor the Bumble Bees, the teams competing in the world championship will have 12 qualification matches where they are paired with a different partner team each match and perform STEM presentations, undergo interviews with judges on the design process and meet students from all over the world.
“Including parents and siblings, we expect to have 95 "Fighting Irish" at the Kentucky Expo Center,” Palardy said.
VEX Robotics is expecting 280 teams in the Elementary School Division (Grades 3-5), representing 17 different countries, including the United States, China, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Spain, Bahrain, Puerto Rico, Colombia, South Korea, Mexico, Egypt, Australia, Paraguay, United Kingdom, Ethiopia and India.
Notre Dame will have four teams of Bumble Bees in the Elementary School Division:
Team #3333K: Brooke Beaudoin, Lucas DiGrande, Auggy Villajuan, Andrew Chang
Team #3333T: Hills Howard, Hayden Howard, Sam Phillips
Team #3333J: Jeffrey Guo, Jose Turrubiartes
Team #3333N: Nathan Bloom, Paolo Fregoli, Zach Mylenek, Aidan Cusak
The Middle School Division (Grades 6-8) will have 308 teams representing 24 different countries, including the United States, China, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Bahrain, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, South Korea, Syria, Paraguay, Lebanon, Liberia, Finland, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Haiti, Chile, Turkey, Unite Arab Emirates, India and Russia.
Notre Dame will have five teams of Bumble Bees in the Middle School Division:
Team #3333A: Oliver Kayi, Jackson Kreiger, Ian Chang, Vlad Lovin
Team #3333B: Aaron Palardy, Jackson Plas, Will Schmit, Joe Lasota
Team #3333P: Teegan McLeod, Payton Beckman, Luka Cvetkovic, Ben Valade, Blake Banninger
Team #3333Y: Vanessa Larsson, David Brouns, Anthony Ghaith, Trevor Rowe
Team #3333X: Maddy Beaudoin, Valerie Nowosielski, Amishi Mahajan
At the VEX Robotics Michigan State Championship held earlier this year, the Bumble Bees were very competitive. Sixteen teams from Michigan recorded skills scores that ranked them in the top 100 out of 4000 teams in the world. Six of those teams were Bumble Bees, include three in the top 10:
#3333B – 3rd in the world
#3333A – 6th in the world
#3333X – 8th in the world
#3333P – 15th in the world
#3333T – 36th in the world, and 8th in the Elementary Division
#3333K – 83rd in the world, and 18th in the Elementary Division
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.