Nine teams from middle and upper divisions to compete at Michigan East Regional Championship.
Notre Dame 8th-graders Lee Lindsey and Josh Lyijynen were finalists on Jan. 27 and now advance to the regional championship. More photos below.
According to Jerry Palardy, a Notre Dame parent and team mentor, team #3333J started slowly on Saturday and barely made it to the playoffs as the last selection of the 8th alliance.
"But you would have thought they were the top seed, as they went on to upset the #1 and #4 alliances, progressing all the way into the finals," Palardy said.
"The Flubb Drive will now advance to the Michigan East Regional Championship, as will four other middle-school teams and four from Notre Dame's upper division. This year, the regionals will be held Feb. 10 at Monroe County Community College in Monroe, Mich.
For all of the students in the VEX program, this will be their first time competing in any type of VRC championship event, and enthusiasm is high, according to Palardy. He said that with this extra boost of energy after Saturday's performances, teams are working on improvements to their robots, building new gadgets, testing new game strategies, improving quality, and extending their autonomous programming.
"They are having fun, but learning and growing as they do," Palardy said. "If any of Notre Dame's nine teams do well at the regionals, they can advance to the state championships, which would be great. But even if they don't make it to states, they should be proud of how well they did this year." Ninth-graders Maya Judd, Nancy Frias, and Sophia Yeras score a mobile goal for their team (#3333S).
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." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by 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.