Grade 7 students put their engineering and teamwork skills to the test during a VEX Robotics competition at the Lloydminster Public School Division office.
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The May 1 event marked the second year many of the students have taken part in robotics competitions, with new challenges introduced annually by VEX Robotics.
“This is their second opportunity to participate in the competition, but each year the competition is different,” said Cornelius Krahn, the division’s educational technology consultant.
This year’s challenge, called “Mix and Match,” required teams to stack coloured pegs into towers and move them onto matching mats for points, with bonuses awarded for multi-colour combinations and successful placement.
In addition to the main competition, students also tackled an individual obstacle course set up in a hallway, featuring tasks such as stacking, sorting and navigating a robot through a series of challenges.
Preparation for the event spanned roughly three months, with students meeting twice a week after school to design and build their robots. Krahn said the machines have grown increasingly complex.
“The last year’s robot took probably about three to six hours to build. This one took us almost 12 hours,” he said. “It’s a lot more complicated, a lot more parts to it.”
Five teams competed in total, including four from College Park School and one from Bishop Lloyd Middle School. Each team used a similar robot design but relied on strategy and co-ordination to gain an advantage.
Krahn said the program offers significant educational value beyond technical skills.
“Robotics is the future, and so we’re exposing them to things they might encounter in the workforce later on,” he said. “There’s teamwork, communication, problem-solving and attention to detail.”
Lloydminster Public School Division office on May 1. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
For students like Lennox Martin, a Grade 7 competitor from Bishop Lloyd, the experience has been both challenging and rewarding.
“It’s been good,” he said. “Learning how to drive it and learning what type of competitions there are.”
Martin said watching other teams helped him adapt to the unfamiliar challenge, noting teamwork is essential for success.
“For the later competitions, you need teamwork for talking to get more points,” he said.
Ava Wray, a Grade 7 student from College Park School, said her interest in robotics began with a girls-only coding program earlier in the year.
“I was very interested in it, because you can make pets and all this stuff, and I thought it was very cool,” she said. “So, that later led me to join robotics club.”
Wray said building and coding the robots remain her favourite aspects of the program, despite the added complexity this year.
“It’s been very difficult,” she said. “But I personally really like the coding part, and building it is my favourite part.”
Organizers say the competition will continue to expand, with plans to include Grade 8 students next year as the program grows.
Winners of the robotics competition will receive medals, while the top team will take home a trophy for their school.
College Park School’s Krack Jacks take first place, Bishop Lloyd’s Destroyers took second and College Park School’s Rippers took third.
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