Ram Robotics
28595
Good Shepherd Lutheran School
28595
Good Shepherd Lutheran School
Grades 5-8 are invited to join Ram Robotics to program, build and operate VEX IQ robots. Students in teams will build and program a robot to compete in the new 2023-2024 VEX IQ challenge, Full Volume! Thousands of teams nationwide compete in this challenge to build and operate a robot in cooperative rounds in tournaments to get a chance to qualify to Vex Worlds, an international competition held in the USA in April.
Practices are held on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:45 in the STEM Lab (Students may begin at 3:15 if they are able to be dismissed from study hall). The season begins August 29th and ends in February with the state tournament for those who qualify.
Robotics is a team activity. Students are organized based on age, ability, and interest with consideration to the compatibility of the roboteers (robotics club members). They are given surveys on which roles they are most interested in and which roboteers they feel they are most compatible with. Each team will have a captain who makes some leading decisions, ensures the team follows their design process, documents the work in their engineering notebook, and has a few other responsibilities. Teams are usually organized into 3 or 4 members. Teams of 2 are possible and teams of 5 have been done, but getting all members involved is more challenging on a team of 5.
For beginners, we will go through the process of learning the basics of robotics and design their first creations based on models that VEX provides. Some basics of programming will be learned and practiced. Teams will collaborate because robotics is a team activity! They will also learn to be self-sufficient in working on their robot when their coach is with another team. Having 5 or more teams like we have had in the past is incredible! Yet, it's not common for one coach to run so many teams, so groups being independent and problem-solving whenever they can is important to this club as well.
Missing practice is not as serious as some other extracurriculars, but the kids are encouraged to make it to as many as possible. From September to February the rule is: if there’s school, there’s robotics. A calendar with all dates will also be on the Neo group.
This is an awesome extracurricular for students to grow. They learn, practice, and grow in Christian attitudes, self-reliance, problem-solving, collaboration, computer science, engineering, and other technical and social skills.
How is the robotics competition played?
With a score of 130 in individual skills, team 28595X ranked 384th out of the top 710 VEX IQ Middle School teams in the entire world! They are the Good Shepherd Ram Robotics team and first team from Sioux Falls, SD to ever attend the Vex IQ world championship!