Page 8 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, February 7, 2020 Local robotics teams on a roll (Editor’s Note: This article was submitted by Christine Saia of Saugus, the Director of Admissions and Community Engagement North Shore Christian School.) N orth Shore Christian School’s Lynn Robotics Club students competed in their third Southern New England VEX IQ Robotics tournament, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The middle school Steam Punks Team brought home the victory, competing against Saugus Christian School students continue winning ways at weekend Robotics tournament During the Finals, the Steam 22 other middle and elementary schools to win both the Teamwork Champion Award and the Robot Skills Champion Award. The team scored 107 and 114 points, respectively, achieving record-breaking totals for their region. The Competition consists of seven match play events during which teams must use their robots to complete specific tasks within one minute. Ten teams are paired together to battle it out in the Final rounds, one of which was the Steam Punks Team. Punks, with their partner team from Hopkinton, were the last team to compete and had to top a record-breaking score in order to claim the Teamwork Champion Award. The Steam Punks also earned the number 1 spot in the VEX IQ Southern New England Skills rankings. The team consists of seventh-grader Matthew Chatterton of Lynn, and eighth-graders Sebastiano Dimodica of Saugus, Matias W. Gebriel of Saugus and McLaren Cook of Wenham. NSCS’s elementary school team, The Bros, were awarded their second Judge’s Award this season, which is a special commendation for exemplary effort and perseverance in the face of unexpected setbacks during the event and for design and programming that exemplifies the future of Engineering and Robotics. The Bros have earned the number one skills ranking among the elementary school teams in the Southern New England region. The Bros consist of fourthgraders Nicholas Saia of Saugus, Ralph Gerber of Peabody and Gabriel Barbosa of Lynn and fifth-grader Brendon Sharwood of Saugus. Both the Steam Punks and PUTTING IT TOGETHER: Members of the Steam Punks squad develop a plan at a recent robotics tournament, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. They went on to beat out 22 other middle and elementary schools to win both the Teamwork Champion Award and the Robot Skills Champion Award. the Bros scored skills points for programming their robots to operate via remote control and autonomously, a complicated programming feat for students new to this arena. Coach David Cook notes “It’s amazing how the kids’ love of math and science blossoms when they get to apply it in the real world. It’s particularly powerful for students who struggle with these subjects in school to see for themselves how much they can achieve.” VICTORY IS THEIRS: The Brobots (3rd-4th graders) display their recent commendation from recent robotics tournament; from left to right: Brendan Sharwood, Nicholas Saia, Gabriel Barbosa and Ralph Gerber. Brendan and Nicholas are Saugus residents. Gabriel lives in Lynn. (Courtesy Photos to The Saugus Advocate) All three of North Shore Christian Schools’ Robotics teams have qualified to advance to the Massachusetts/ Rhode Island State Finals in Worcester on February 29. Winners of the state finals proceed to the World Competition in Louisville, Kentucky, in April. For more information, contact Patti Cook at 781-5992040. Rooted in historical evangelical Christian faith, North Shore Christian School, in concert with family and church, seeks to be a community that provides challenging elementary and secondary education. Through academic and biblical instruction, we strive to nurture each student’s learning and thinking, and equip them to serve God within their local communities and around the world. North Shore Christian School has campuses in Beverly, Lynn and Hamilton. Advocate Newspapers Free Every Week Everett, Malden, Revere and Saugus Call for Great Advertising Rates 781-233-4446
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