Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chatham students showcase middle- and high-school robotics; teams report state and national competition success
Summary
Middle-school Taco Cats and Chatham High robotics teams presented robots, research and programming work at the board meeting. Middle school FLL team reported fundraising for local river coalition and past championship finishes; high school FTC teams described multi-year success including state championships and world championship appearances.
Students from Chatham Middle School and Chatham High School demonstrated robots and described their season-long work during the board meeting.
At the middle-school presentation, coaches Jessica Leidis and James Hitchings described the Taco Cats (team number 34043), a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team that meets twice weekly and spends extra time during study halls and on weekends. Coaches and students listed awards across several seasons, including Robot Design, Engineering Excellence, and Motivate honors, and said the team advanced to FLL championships in recent years, finishing 11th and 12th out of roughly 80 teams. The Taco Cats said they had raised $2,160 this year for the Passaic River Coalition.
Students described their project work in this season’s theme on ocean exploration and how they built Chromebox, an autonomous robot with motorcycle wheels, a color sensor and a universal attachment system. Several students described coding techniques such as gyro-based heading control, use of sensors and experimenting with PID control and exponential acceleration to improve movement precision.
Julie Ryan, the high-school design and technology teacher who leads the high‑school program, said the advanced teams compete in FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). Ryan said Chatham’s high-school teams have advanced to state championships eight times in the past 10 years and to world championships three times, including a top‑10 world finish in the innovation challenge during 2021. The high‑school programs include classroom and after‑school work and students said they typically spend many hours weekly on build, code and fundraising; one team estimated members average 15–20 hours a week during season.
Students demonstrated robot movement on stage and described design iterations, 3‑D printed parts, custom attachments and fundraising and sponsorship efforts. A board member and audience members asked about sponsorships and off‑season work; students described continuing skills work and planning for the next season.
The board thanked the students and coaches and invited them to depart before the budget presentation.
