Notre Dame’s VEX IQ robotics teams had an exceptionally successful trip to Louisville, Kentucky, this week. (More photos below.)
"We had a team of 4th, 5th and 6th graders qualify for the VEX IQ Worlds this past Sunday through Tuesday," said Louise Palardy, a parent and mentor for the group. The 6th-grade team, which was Patrick Soumo, Beck Silver, Jose Turrubiartes and Jeffrey Guo, were in the Middle School Engineering division and finished 16th earning them a spot in the finals. They finished 10th in their division!"
Notre Dame's 5th-grade team, consisting of Addison Barton, Dominic Sarti and Amelia Kayi, placed 7th in skills out of 400 teams and were third in programming in the world, a huge accomplishment, according to Palardy.
"The 4th-grade team, Auggie Villajuan, Andrew Chang, Lucas DiGrande and Sami Khouri, had an amazing time and worked hard very hard all three days," Palardy added.
"The technical skills and sportsmanship that VEX IQ Challenge participants show at such a young age truly inspire me," said Paul Copioli, president of VEX Robotics. "We can't wait to see what the future has in store for these bright students as they continue their education and move into the workforce."
The three-day competition was highlighted by the unveil of the new 2018-19 VEX IQ Challenge game – Next Level. Students will have a year to design a robot to play the game, which is now available here.
"Now our kids can start working on their next robot," said Palardy.
Also, officials noted during the competition that the VEX Worlds had secured the Guinness World Record's title for the world's largest robot competition.
The 4th grade team, left to right: Auggie Villajuan, Andrew Chang, Lucas DiGrande and Sami Khouri. The 5th grade team, left to right: Addison Barton, Dominic Sarti and Amelia Kayi. The 6th grade team, left to right: Patrick Soumo, Beck Silver, Jose Turrubiartes and Jeffrey Guo.
More about VEX Robotics
VEX Robotics is a leading provider of educational and competitive robotics products to schools, universities and robotics teams around the world. The VEX IQ and VEX EDR product lines span elementary, middle, and high schools with accessible, scalable, and affordable robotics solutions. Beyond science and engineering principles, a VEX Robotics project encourages teamwork, leadership and problem solving among groups. It allows educators to easily customize projects to meet the level of students' abilities as they inspire & prepare the STEM problem-solvers of tomorrow.
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
Follow Notre Dame on Twitter at @NDPMA.
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. Notre Dame's upper school 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 schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools 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.