MEDWAY — Medway Middle School Principal Craig Juelis is pleased to share that Medway Middle School students received the Teamwork Champion Award at the VEX IQ Challenge Squared Away robotics competition in Hopkinton.
On Sunday, Jan. 19, the Medway Mashbots collaborated with Hopkinton Middle School’s RoboHillers-Gigabytes to build a robot using simple, snap-together VEX IQ parts to solve an engineering challenge that is presented each year in the form of a game. Together, the teams scored the highest points in the matches.
This year’s challenge, the VEX IQ Challenge Squared Away, was played on a 4-by-8 rectangular field. Two robots competed in the Teamwork Challenge as an alliance in 60-second long teamwork matches, working collaboratively to score points. Teams also competed in the Robot Skills Challenge where one robot takes the field to score as many points as possible. These matches consisted of Driving Skills Matches, which were entirely driver-controlled, and Programming Skills Matches, which were autonomous with limited human interaction.
The Medway Mashbots include sixth-grade students Sophie Anderson, Jake McDermott and Aaron Spallone and fifth-grade students Owen Brode, Noah Dorr, Ben Goodale and Dylan Taylor.
“I’m extremely proud of the Mashbot’s hard work and dedication,” said Mashbots’ team adviser Mary Ann Tourkantonis. “Challenges such as this one test children’s critical thinking, collaboration and project management skills. We are excited to see their passion for engineering and robotics grow as they continue to explore the world of robotics.”
The VEX IQ Challenge fosters student development of teamwork, collaboration, critical thinking, project management and communication skills required to prepare them to become the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers.
The Mashbots will move on to the Massachusetts/Rhode Island Championship on Saturday, Feb. 29, at Quinsigamond Community College.
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