Teams compete Saturday at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in the first VEX IQ robotics competition of the season.
Five Notre Dame VEX IQ “Bumble Bees” robotics teams had a busy but successful day Saturday at the Cranbrook Institute of Science as they scored well and brought home some well-deserved hardware.
Jerry Palardy, a parent volunteer who helps coordinate the teams and competition for the Bumble Bees, said he was very proud of the teams and their accomplishments. “But most of all, we had fun,” he added.
Notre Dame’s Team 3333Z (Sharp Shooterz) won the Excellence award, the highest award given, as well as a Driving Skills award, which qualified them them for the “states” competition.
Team 3333A (Robo-Raptors) won the Design Award and also qualified for states, team 3333S (Stingers) won the STEM Award, team 3333X (Panda Builders) and 3333W (ElectroKatz) also made it to the finals.
There was a six-way tie for the best programming skills score and four of those teams were Bumble Bees.
In the VEX Robotics Competition, presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, teams of elementary and middle school students (ages 8-14) are tasked with designing and building a robot to play against other teams from around the world in a game-based engineering challenge. Classroom STEM concepts are put to the test on the playing field as students learn lifelong skills in teamwork, leadership, communications, and more. Tournaments are held year-round at the regional, state, and national levels; local champions go on to compete against the best in the world at the VEX Robotics World Championship each April.
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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.