All-girls robotics team advances to state championship tourney
Following its multi-award-winning finish at a recent qualifying meet, Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart's robotics team is preparing to compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge Illinois State Championship Tournament Feb. 25 at Elgin Community College.
This intense two-day event showcases the best robots developed and operated by teams of high school students that were entered in FTC qualifying events across Illinois.
The Wildcats team from Woodlands, an all-girls day and boarding college-preparatory high school in Lake Forest, won a total of four awards at the FTC Qualifying Tournament Dec. 17 at Highland Park High School, in which 23 teams from Chicago and suburban communities competed:
• Motivate Award, first place, in recognition of exemplary team building, team spirit and exhibited enthusiasm as well as being an ambassador for FTC programs and goals. The judges especially liked the robotics and engineering event for middle school girls hosted by Woodlands Academy Dec. 3 in which nearly 50 girls in grades 6, 7 and 8 spent a Saturday morning enthusiastically engaged in hands-on cooperative activities requiring the use of creative problem-solving skills.
• Inspire Award, third place, given to a team that truly embodies the "challenge" of the FIRST Tech Challenge program as well as being a gracious competitor.
• Think Award, third place, for demonstrating the removal of engineering obstacles through creative thinking.
• Rockwell Collins Innovate Award, third place, for bringing great ideas from concept to reality.
"I am so proud of our students for all of their hard work and dedication that was recognized in the form of these outstanding awards," Woodlands Academy physics teacher and Robotics Club moderator John Denman said. "Each one of our nearly 20 club members had a role in getting the team to FTC's Illinois State Championship Tournament."
According to Denman, they did so by serving on various committees including Building, Programming, Budget, Community Outreach and Social Media. The students now are working on how to better drive their robot to press beacon buttons to score points.
The robot is designed to use a scissor lift to hoist a yoga ball 30 inches above the floor. It also can knock the ball off its perch atop an approximately 44-inch-tall starting stand, and park on the starting stand or a corner ramp, all via programming.
"I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such brilliant young women on this robotics team," said Robotics Club President Elizabeth Bartusiak, a senior from Lake Forest. "Traditionally, girls are not encouraged to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), but Woodlands Academy provides the encouragement and resources needed for girls to explore robotics and engineering in a positive and supportive way."
According to the National Coalition of Girls' Schools, all-girl schools lead the way in graduating women who become scientists, doctors, engineers, designers and inventors. Research shows that all-girl school graduates are more likely to consider majoring in math, science and technology and also are more likely to consider engineering careers compared to girls who attend coed schools.
FTC is one of four programs offered by FIRST Illinois Robotics, a nonprofit public organization that provides programs and competitions designed to motivate young people to pursue education and careers in STEM. Specifically, FTC involves having students in grades 7-12 design, build and program either a Tetrix or Matrix robot.
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