From Purple Heart Elementary’s ROBASSADORS to Sun Ridge Middle School’s Energy Savers, 46 Socorro Independent School District robotics teams kicked their problem-solving skills into high gear to compete in January’s ROBOCOM 9.0 at Pebble Hills High School.
Capt. Walter E. Clarke Middle School’s team Clarke Cowboys Future Energy Sources won the competition’s top prize, the Inspire award.
Each year since 2015, ROBOCOM has challenged elementary and middle school students across the district to build interactive robots with Legos while learning more about programming, coding and teamwork.
“I liked how there’s a lot of teamwork, and we all have fun while working and participating,” said fifth-grader Karlene Rebidue, a member of Myrtle Cooper Elementary’s Solar Mates robotics team. “It’s not very hard (to program the robots). As long as you have instructions and pay attention to them, it won’t be very hard at all.”
Amid the cheers and applause from parents and friends, hundreds of students showcased their computer programming and critical thinking skills by putting their robots to the test during a series of missions that mirrored this year’s theme, Super Powered.
Stephanie Carrasco, SISD coordinator for Advanced Academics, said students were tasked with solving a problem related to how energy such as wind, water, or solar power is stored and consumed. She said the program exposes younger students to STEM fields and provides them with the skills to continue their robotics experience from elementary to high school.
“It’s more than just learning about robots or science,” Carrasco said. “It’s also about learning those team-building skills, collaborative skills, problem-solving, and tenacity. These things will take students further than just learning about coding itself. That opportunity is really what’s golden for our students. Because then they take those skills with them when they move into middle school and high school.”
Javier Beltran, a fifth grader at Robert R. Rojas Elementary School, said he has enjoyed participating in ROBOCOM the last two years. The future engineer hopes to continue taking part in the program when he starts middle school this fall.
“I feel proud of myself because it’s just the joy of being here,” Beltran said. “It’s excitement. You get to be with your friends. It’s nice.”
Javier Beltran’s mother, Evelyn Beltran, an LPAC/instructional aide at Rojas Elementary, said her son has not only learned valuable coding and programming skills, but the experience also has opened a new world of opportunities for him.
“He likes to learn more, so he’ll find videos or try to figure it out on his own,” Evelyn Beltran said. “He asks more questions like, ‘Why does it work like this? Why doesn’t this work? Let’s try something new.’ Socializing with his peers is another thing that helps him a lot with being in these types of activities.”
Teams were judged on how well their robot met the criteria and how successful it performed each challenge. As part of the competition, students also developed an innovation project where they researched a problem and then presented their solution to a panel of judges.
Prizes also were given for the robot challenge, innovation project and robot design.
Capt. Walter E. Clarke Middle School received the Inspire and first-place Innovation Project awards. The Inspire Award celebrates the team that fully embraces the ROBOCOM experience and core values while achieving excellence and innovation in robot performance, robot design, and the innovation project.
Jose L. Andazola, robotics coach and teacher at Clarke Middle School, said winning the Inspire award was the result of his students’ hard work and synergy.
“Everyone that partook in these robotic competitions, such as ROBOCOM, dedicated many long hours of strenuous work,” Andazola said. “We worked as a team, thought out each other’s strengths, and best of all, savored the journey along the way.”
Clarke Middle School was among the 20 top teams from ROBOCOM 9.0 that advanced to the FIRST Lego League (FLL) competition on Jan. 28 at the University of Texas at El Paso.
At the FLL competition, the students competed in various challenges showcasing their exceptional skills with technology and in teamwork, presentations, and professionalism.
ROBOCOM 9.0 winners
Inspire Award
Clarke Cowboys Future Energy Sources – Capt. Walter E. Clarke Middle School
Innovation Project Awards
1st Place – Clarke Cowboys Future Energy Source – Capt. Walter E. Clarke Middle School
2nd Place – Shocking Scorpions – Bill Sybert School
3rd Place – Galactic Buffs – Sgt. Jose F. Carrasco Elementary
Robot Design Awards
1st Place – Energy Nerds – SSG Manuel R. Puentes Middle
2nd Place – Robo Rattlers – Dr. Sue A. Shook Elementary
3rd Place – Rusty Robots – SSG Manuel R. Puentes Middle
Robot Challenge Awards
1st Place – ROBASSADORS – Purple Heart Elementary
2nd Place – Master of Puppets – Desert Wind Elementary
3rd Place – Energy Savers – Sun Ridge Middle School
Teams that advanced to the FLL competition at UTEP
Patriot Programmers – Benito Martinez Elementary School
Shocking Scorpions – Bill Sybert School
Eco-Conscious Cobras – Campestre Elementary
C.C. Future Energy Sources – Capt. Walter E. Clarke Middle School
Desert Wind Coltbotics – Desert Wind Elementary
Master of Puppets – Desert Wind Elementary
Mayhem – John Drugan School
Sound Blasters – Lujan-Chavez Elementary
AquaMoose – Montwood Middle School
Energizers – Montwood Middle School
Energy Needs – SSG Manuel R. Puentes Middle
Rusty Robots – SSG Manuel R. Puentes Middle
Purple Heart Elementary – ROBASSADORS
Coalbusters – Salvador H. Sanchez Middle School
Galactic Buffs 2.0 – Sgt. Jose F. Carrasco Elementary
Electro Wrangles – Sierra Vista Elementary
CyberStallionz – William D. Slider Middle School
Apollo 22 – Socorro Middle School
Energy Savers – Sun Ridge Middle School
Engineer Prodigies – Vista del Sol Elementary
Published March 13, 2023
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