A group of Upton Middle School students have set the new standard for excellence in robotics for the program.
For the second time in program history, all three Joe Bots teams – Maize, Blue and White – competed at the Michigan FIRST Tech Challenge State Championships in Grand Rapids. For the first time, two Joe Bots teams – Blue and White – reached the division finals last week as part of three-team alliances, with White team taking home first place overall alongside alliance teammates Fenton and Howell.
Additionally, Maize team won a 2nd place design award, the first award in program history. Maize team earned Winning Alliance – 1st Team Selected and Woodie Flowers Division Winning Alliance – 1st Team Selected, while Blue earned Marie Curie Division Finalist Alliance – 2nd Team Selected.
“We are especially proud of our teams this year. Watching them create innovative and exceptional robots and then iteratively solve issues as they were found shows our St. Joseph students’ strong science, technology, engineering and mathematics (“STEM”) abilities,” said mentor Kirk Goodwin, Assistant General Counsel for Global Innovation IP at Whirlpool, via a press release.
“Additionally, anytime another school’s team needed help, our students jumped right in and helped them, including helping Dowagiac with their robot build and programming. While not every team member may choose to be an engineer, their abilities to solve challenges will take them far in life. In short, after working with, and getting to know, these incredible young men and women, Michigan’s future looks bright!”
FTC teams are given a game challenge the first week of September in which they must design, build, program, operate and fully document their robot’s and team’s designs and strategies to successfully compete at qualifying events starting in October. At these events, more than 600 Michigan FTC teams compete for 72 available spots in the state finals.
The Joe Bots were the only teams from southwest Michigan to reach the state finals.
“The excitement around robotics K-12 grade is a testament to a record number of students out for robotics, all the hard working volunteers and the great facilities that SJPS has to offer,” said Upton Principal Chad Mandarino. “We truly are blessed at SJPS!”
The district also thanked more than 20 local volunteers who mentored the students, including those from Spectrum Health, Wightman, Tempus, Stryker and Whirlpool. The teams are financed through fundraising events, contributions from sponsors and the Saint Joseph Public Schools Foundation.
