Hawkins' students headed to robotics championship

School board commends students’ knowledge

Kirk Boxleitner | Feb 23, 20230

At North Mason School Board’s Feb. 16 meeting, Hawkins Middle School Principal Robert Kalahan and Vice Principal Kevin Pattison introduced the robotics club and teacher Sommer Landers, who presented the robotics project that will compete at the Washington Technology Student Association State Championship in Seattle from March 22-25.

The school’s robotics team includes seventh-grader Alan Strange and eighth-graders Jackson Keller, Zanual King, Gavin McKee, Elizabeth Ordway and Yadira Solis, who are competing in the VEX Robotics programs “IQ” and “Off the Grid.” Winning teams from the WTSA State Championship qualify for the National TSA Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, from June 28 to July 2.

The students presented a timeline of their activities, which included weekly after-school robotics club meetings beginning in September, robot fabrication efforts in November and January’s deadline to submit videos of their working electronic robots and design notebooks.

The students’ robot, named “Frederick,” was a bit performance-shy in front of the school board, but the students stepped up to answer the adults’ questions. They explained that it takes much trial and error to design and program a robot to perform simple tasks that humans take for granted, including navigating three-dimensional space and manipulating objects around them.

The students have become well-versed in the practical and creative tasks that robotics require, from wheel design to conveyor belts. They said they continue to uncover flaws while working toward improved efficiency.

Students who presented to the school board don’t constitute the only robotics club at Hawkins, which hosts another weekly club devoted to LEGO robotics.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics conducts the FIRST LEGO League Challenge, Explore and Discover divisions, while VEX Robotics was named the largest robotics competition in the world by Guinness World Records in 2018.

Students reported the WTSA State Championship, scheduled for the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Seattle Airport, is expected to host more than 1,800 middle and high school competitors.

While VEX IQ focuses on more traditional robotics competitions, for which only authorized parts are allowed, the students explained that “Off the Grid” addresses architectural design.

The students explained that only the top 10 “Off the Grid” teams even make it to the WTSA State Championship, while only the top three in the “Off the Grid” and VEX IQ fields will proceed from the state to the National TSA Conference this summer.

Board members commended the students for keeping straight a lot of knowledge, and “spitting it right out” in response to the adults’ questions.