Teams of students representing both campuses competed at the VEX Robotics National competition held in Melbourne over the weekend where we were successful in gaining a position at the VEX Worlds naming Huon teacher Michael Rogers Teacher of the Year for his contribution to the field and his dedication to his students.
Having recently completed a Graduate Diploma in STEM education which Michael focused on Robotics, over the past year Michael has been a local leader in VEX Robotics, coordinating competitions for the North-East region.
This is the third year that the VEX Robotics program has been run at our college and has been welcomed by the students with now more than 70 students involved, the popularity of the program has represented the increase in interest in our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs offered across our campuses which showcase our well-equipped facilities and staff that are leaders in their field.
Year 8 students complete a 12 month course as part of their Robotics class which focuses on the fundamentals of robotics, completing a series of tasks that form the scaffolding of their future learning in the class, where they learn how to build and code the robot. Then in the second half of the year the students build a competition-ready robot which they then use to compete in a series of competitions which could see the students attend several events in our region and in Melbourne. A group of student attended an event in Canberra this year.
Teams of students represented our College from both campuses throughout the year at many competitions including at a regional, state and national level where they have had great success competing against the country’s best.
Felltimber VEX Robotics Team Ethan Livingston, Kobe Pothan and Jake Foster (absent) with their award winning robot
Michael and the Robotics teachers are committed to improving the program and the way that it is delivered to our cohort, having already designed a new structure which will see every student.
“It’s great to see our students gain confidence in their abilities as they progress throughout the year” Said Michael.
“VEX is an opportunity for these students to work together within a team, having a common goal” Said Michael, “it’s amazing to watch these students grow” Michael added. “There are so many benefits that we’ve seen come along whilst running the program, it’s a no brainer”.
Michael is hoping to continue to grow the programs presence within our region and across our campuses. Congratulations Michael and to the team for this tremendous achievement.
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