News Detail
MS robotics teams excel at VEX IQ event
The RE Middle School robotics team REBotics – Catherine Buckner ’24, Charlotte Kennedy ’24, Chloe Alfonso ’24, Fiona Oberg ’24, Gracie Hucks ’24 and Victoria Paraoulaki de Miranda ’24 – finished third in the Robot Skills Challenge and won the Engineering Design Award at the second-annual VEX IQ Robotics Florida State Qualifying Tournament at Ransom Everglades on Dec. 2.
Andre Joseph ’22, Dashiell DeStefano ’22, Max Vallone ’22 and Erick Gross ’24 finished in eighth place overall. Two other teams competed under the direction of RE Middle School Science Department Coordinator Gustavo Palacios: Joseph David ’24, Rebecca Ferrer ’24 and Victor Labaut ’24; and Gaurav Gajavelli ’22, Gideon Shaked ’22, Jan Trauer ’22, Josh Buttrick ’22 and Mihir Pabby ’22.
This was the first tournament for all four teams. By winning the design award, REBotics qualified for the Florida State Elementary School IQ VEX Challenge Championship Feb. 11. The team of Pablo Rodriguez '23, Luca Trebotich '23, Victor Eng-Perez '23, Sofia Paraoulaki de Miranda '23 and Diego de Lope '23 also qualified for the state meet by winning the Teamwork Challenge at a Nov. 11 tournament at Jose De Diego Middle School.
VEX IQ tournaments include four major competitions: Robot Skills Challenge, Teamwork Challenge, Engineering Design and STEM Presentation. The skills and teamwork matches were held on six VEX IQ fields and conducted under the supervision of head referee Jim Oxsalida with the help of scorers and field setters Pedro Miranda, Dr. Shyam Gajavelli, Dr. David Adaikkalasamy, Shovan Bhatia ’18, Sofia Paraoulaki de Miranda ’23 and several other volunteers.
Team notebooks were evaluated for engineering design by Head Judge Stephanie Lewis along with Lorenzo Vallone and Bert Hucks. STEM projects were scored by RE science faculty Robin Escobedo, Dr. Kelly Jackson and Jay Salon. The winners in each of these categories, along with the Teamwork Challenge champions and the Excellence Award recipients, qualified for the state championship meet.
The tournament software was managed by Ben Rosenthal ’18 and the event was emceed by Bob DuBard, the Upper School robotics director.
“Thanks to Erick Ceballos and the maintenance team for facilitating another spectacular event at Ransom Everglades and to all the volunteers who were not named but made this extraordinary learning experience possible,” Palacios said. “Special thanks to Mrs. Sanchez, Mrs. Flasz Gross, Mrs. Forand and Dr. Daniel Alfonso ’95 for all of their contributions.”
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Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.
Ransom Everglades School®, The RE Way™, RE Pathways™ and Bowden Fellowships in the Humanities™ are trademarks of Ransom Everglades School.
Ransom Everglades School®, The RE Way™, RE Pathways™ and Bowden Fellowships in the Humanities™ are trademarks of Ransom Everglades School.