Bartlett High, Tefft students succeed during Technology Day
Bartlett High School's robotics team earned first place and Tefft Middle School students earned second place during the 14th annual Technology Day, a state conference hosted by Illinois State University.
Forty students from Tefft Middle School and Bartlett High School attended the event Oct. 10 to compete in Engineering Design, Structural Technology, Invention/Innovation and Transportation Technology, and Robotics challenges.
"Congratulations to our middle and high school students for their impressive success at Technology Day," said U-46 CEO Tony Sanders. "U-46 is proud of our students for pursuing their interests and demonstrating high levels of critical thinking and ingenuity."
Bartlett High School juniors Kyle Calvert and Brandon Pepa and seniors Ron Mikulecky and Nathan Sparacino placed first at Technology Day for the second year in a row.
As members of the STEM/VEX Robotics Club, led by teacher Gary Cotie at Bartlett High School, these young men were also named Illinois State Champions for the VEX Robotics National Competition and the Technology Student Association State Champions last year.
Tefft eighth-graders Kennedy Venable, Meher Mirza, Amber Weaver, and Mimi Amadei earned second place in the robotics challenge.
Initially concerned that their robot was not as strong as their competitors, the Tefft students modified their robot's design with help from the Bartlett team, ultimately advancing to the championship round with Bartlett High School.
"It was a true joy to see these two groups of students collaborate to solve problems," said Candace Quetsch, teacher and TSA club sponsor at Bartlett High School. "We look forward to further opportunities for the two schools to work together."
Tefft eighth-graders David Zepeda and Kyle Paas earned first place in Engineering Design, a timed competition where students create a device that protects an egg from breaking when dropped from a height of at least 10 feet.
Students are judged on the device's ease of accessibility, drawings for the reproduction of the device, and the effectiveness of the solution.
"Communication, brainstorming, team work, creativity, and problem solving skills were combined to complete the engineering challenges," said Beth Michels, teacher and sponsor from Tefft Middle School. "We are proud to witness our students transform into future engineers."
More than 400 students from 21 middle and high schools across the state competed in Technology Day. U-46 students who participated in the event are robotics and STEM club members.