March 23, 2023

École secondaire Notre-Dame-du-Sault’s (Sault Ste. Marie) robotic team will be heading to Dallas, Texas, from April 25 to 27 for the VEX Robotics World Championship. No less than 800 teams from around the world will compete in this high-level robotics competition. The Notre-Dame-du-Sault team, made up of Sophie Barrette, Liam Spacek, Gabriella Gutierrez and Luke Dallaire, is led by coach David Spacek.

The team strongly competed all season in robotics tournaments locally as well as in Traverse City, Brampton, and Niagara Falls, and been won awards at each event. In Sault Ste. Marie, the team earned the Excellence Award, Skills Award, and Tournament Champion Award. In Traverse City (Michigan), the ÉS Notre-Dame-du-Sault students were presented the Judges Award and the Tournament Champion Award. In Brampton, they claimed the Think Award in recognition of their excellence in coding.

At the Provincial Championship held in early March in Niagara Falls, they stood out among the 62 competing teams and were one of the 16 teams to advance to the finals. As a result of their technical interview, they were awarded the Build Award which recognizes a robot that is constructed with a high degree of attention to detail required to hold up to the rigors of competition. Attached to this award was an invitation to compete at the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas.

The team’s goals for VEX Robotics World Championship in Texas is to be competitive and improve their drive and autonomous coding skills scores. Team members are currently looking at re-building the disk launcher system and adding proportional–integral–derivative control to the flywheel for improved accuracy.

The VEX Robotics World Championship tasks teams of students with designing and building a robot using their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The robot must then complete a variety of challenges that enable the panel of judges to evaluate its capabilities. In addition to applying STEM concepts, students also develop lifelong teamwork, leadership and communication skills.

The Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon offers a French-language Catholic Educational Program that is widely recognized for its excellence. The CSC Nouvelon provides a quality learning environment and academic program that runs from early childhood to adult education, with some 5,900 students enrolled in 27 elementary, 1 virtual school and 10 secondary schools.

Source:
Paul de la Riva
Director of Communications and External Relations
Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon
705-673-5626, ext. 294
705-677-8195 (cell)