Bristol middle‑school Royal Bees drone team wins all‑around middle‑school title, qualifies for regional competition

Board members recognized members of Bristol’s Royal Bees drone team, an offshoot of the district’s Technology Student Association, and heard students describe the coding, piloting and teamwork elements of the competitions.

Students on the team identified themselves by name and role: Natalie Wozniak (team captain and autonomous lead), Zoe Bianco (lead pilot and teamwork lead), Emma Gady (lead pilot for piloting skills; sixth grade) and Blake Monson (co‑coder; sixth grade). Zoe Bianco explained the three field challenges – autonomous coding, piloting through an obstacle course and a teamwork mission that requires two teams to collaborate on moving objects through an obstacle course. Blake Monson said the interview portion of competitions draws extensively on the team's logbook and their ability to explain what they learned.

The team reported that on March 22 they competed at a regional meet at The Gilbert School in Winsted against 22 teams from middle and high schools, reached the semifinals in the teamwork mission and earned the all‑around middle‑school championship. That finish qualified the team for Northeast Regionals at Fairmont State University in West Virginia; the students said they hoped to raise funds to attend.

Board members and audience members congratulated the students. The board noted the team’s work as a model for student engagement in technology and STEM activities and encouraged community support for fundraising to attend regionals.