Dec 13 2017
On November 29th St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School hosted its Third Annual Robotics competition for elementary schools that participate in its High School Preparatory Program.
This year, teams had three months to program a Sphero SPRK Robot to navigate through a maze created by the Sea Robotics Team. More than 700 people attended the event, and it received more than 20,000 views via the schools Facebook Live Stream.
"We look forward to this event each year," said Father Reilly, Principal of St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School. "The program allows elementary school students to get hands on experience related to engineering, science and math, while at the same time allowing them to have fun."
Mr. Michael Consolmagno and Mrs. Jacqueline Lauria, both Associate Directors of Development at Sea, have been working with each of the elementary schools to prepare them for the competition.
"It's exciting to see the event grow each year," said Michael Consolmagno. "These teams work extremely hard on their robots and its rewarding to watch them showcase their skills in front of friends, family and their fellow competitors."
In addition to navigating the maze, teams were also judged on Programming, School Spirit, a Chariot Race, and Chariot Design. This year's judges were Sea's own Dr. Sara Guariglia, PhD., Dr. Christopher Ferrante, PhD., and Mrs. Linda Dombi, head of the Robotics Program.
At the end of the three-hour event, the St. Christopher's Rockin Robos took first place overall while Holy Rosary Twisted Tornadoes took second. The list of elementary schools who competed also included St. Rita's, Our Lady Help of Christians, St. Patrick's, Our Lady Star of the Sea, St. Adalbert's, and Sacred Heart.