Elementary students from across Davis School District recently showcased their engineering, coding and teamwork skills during the VEX Robotics State Competition held at Syracuse High School.
“This is a student-led program,” said Bountiful Elementary School robotics coach Jessie Edwards. “We’re there to teach concepts, but what they choose to do with those concepts is up to them. A lot of people think robotics is just coding, but the biggest goal is personal growth, leadership and teamwork.”
A total of 32 teams from 15 district schools qualified to compete at the state event. Students worked in teams to design, build and operate robots while collaborating on strategy and competing for awards that could qualify them for the VEX Robotics World Championship.
“He loves the collaborative work with the teams, even though sometimes that’s challenging,” said Leslie, a parent of a student who attends Heritage Elementary School. “There’s creativity, but also the science of physics that he hasn’t gotten any other way. The teamwork is huge, and that collaborative experience is such a positive thing.”
Several Davis School District teams earned top honors during the competition.
• “Blue Thunddder” from Syracuse Elementary School took home the Teamwork Champion Award
• “Zhe Peoples with No Name,” from Syracuse Elementary earned a Teamwork Second Place and the Sportsmanship Award
• “Ctrl Alt Defeat!!!,” from Heritage Elementary School, also placed second in teamwork
“So here I am, hoping to get a high score,” said Creekside Elementary student Alex. “I’ve learned a lot about teamwork because of all the different teams you get to be with, and you get to talk about strategies that will get you a high amount of points.”
Additional district winners included:
• The Ducks from Bluff Ridge Elementary School earned the Judges Award
• The Scorching Scorpions from Creekside Elementary School received the Innovate Award
• The Terminators from South Clearfield Elementary School earned the Amaze Award
• The Glitch Girls from Syracuse Elementary School, received the Energy Award.
“Robotics is the best,” Alex said.
Congratulations to all of our teams.