May
02
2013
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Mar
11
2013
Packer Robotics Brings Home Research Award at City Finals!Posted by Chris Kavanaugh in UncategorizedThis past Saturday, two Packer Robotics teams competed at the Javits Center in the City-Wide finals against 80 teams from across the five boroughs. The Middle School team, The Bearded Bobs, placed second for their research project, the “Senior Savior” app.” This is the same project that earned them the “innovation award” at the Brooklyn Qualifier. You can read more about the Senior Savior here. The third grade team, Grandpa Bob’s Whippersnappers, did not win any awards this time, but this is the first year that Packer has had students as young as third grade competing! Robotics coach and third grade teacher Maureen Reilly and former Packer Assistant Teacher John Dixon won the Volunteer of the Year award for their work as emcees for the past three years. The teams meet once a week for 90 minutes to compete in four competition domains:
This year’s theme is “Senior Solutions’” and teams are challenged to look at innovative ways to make our aging population’s lives easier and more healthy. The Bearded Bobs team is led by 8th grader Ben Difilippi, with mentors Roman Usatin and Maureen Reilly. They received some extra help from Keledy Kenkel and John Dixon – without their help, we may not have placed 2nd for research! The Bearded Bobs: The third grade boy’s team, Grandpa Bob’s Whippersnappers, is coached by Maureen Reilly and 9th grader Jared Chan, with help from Chris Kavanaugh. Grandpa Bob’s Whippersnappers: One last shout out to 12th grader Lily Fishleder for making time in her very busy schedule to serve as pit manager and cheerer on Saturday! Please give high fives to all the Packer Robotics kids and coaches!!
Jan
15
2013
Packer Robotics Team brings home two Research Awards!Posted by Chris Kavanaugh in UncategorizedThis past Saturday, four Packer Robotics teams competed at NYU Poly (in downtown Brooklyn) in a borough qualifier tournament against 44 teams from across Brooklyn. We earned two awards in research, which qualifies two teams to advance to the city-wide tournament against 80 teams from across all five boroughs at the Jacob Javits Center on Saturday, March 9th. The teams meet once a week for 90 minutes to compete in four competition domains: 1. A research project based on a real-world problem connected to the tournament’s theme. This year’s theme is “Senior Solutions’” and teams are challenged to look at innovative ways to make our aging population’s lives easier and more healthy. The Middle School Robotics team, The Bearded Bobs earned the“Innovation” award in research. The team partnered with Ben Difilippi’s grandmother and her caregivers to determine the many challenges they face with helping her lead an independent life at home. They created an app that can help make the communication connection between elders living at home and their caregivers more seamless. They shared their research with a senior center and there is potential to make this app an actual product! Stay tuned for updates on the future development of this innovative idea from the great minds of our middle school team. The Bearded Bobs team is led by 8th grader Ben Difillippi, and mentored by Roman Usatin. The Bearded Bobs:
The third grade boy’s team, Grandpa Bob’s Whippersnappers, won the “Presentation” award for their research on how Parkinson’s disease can be debilitating to an aging senior. Those of you who witnessed a preview of their research presentation at a Lower School assembly before break can attest to their depth of knowledge on the topic and their confidence when presenting their ideas. The boys partnered with their coach’s mother, Mrs. W., who suffers from Parkinson’s. They are developing a robot helper to assist her with everyday tasks. The judges not only honored their presentation style, but also commented on their infectious enthusiasm and support for one another. The GBW team is coached by Maureen Reilly and 9th grader Jared Chan. Grandpa Bob’s Whippersnappers:
Packer Robotics also had its first all girls robotics team, The Super Silly Senior Savers, with students from all three divisions making up the team. The judges at the event recognized their dedicated teamwork and knowledge of their robot’s strengths and the parts of their construction and programming that need to be improved upon. They also recognized the quality of research that went into their project on seniors having difficulty with transitioning from one place to another and the risk of injuries that happen if seniors fall. The girls demonstrated great enthusiasm, support for one another, and sportsmanship. The Super Silly Senior Savers team is coached by Mollie Yacano (12) and Lily Fishleder (12), and mentored by Roman Usatin and Maureen Reilly Super Silly Senior Savers
Lastly, the 4th grade boys team, The Age Agents, partnered with Ms. Turner, who had many helpful suggestions for researching problems of the elderly. The team decided to focus on the problem of seniors forgetting to take their medications. They designed a robot which they named the Portable Pill Reminder. It helps to remind seniors when to take their medications and in the correct dosages. The judges recognized that the boys did an exemplary job in researching other devices that do the same job, and in making improvements to their own invention. The Age Agents team is coached by Chris Kavanaugh, and 10thgraders Jasen Chan and Will Merrill. The Age Agents
Here are some pictures from the tournament! From the Hart Library Website: http://weblog.packer.edu/lslibrary/grade-level-links/fourth-grade-links/colonial-america-2/
Check back for updates on the work we are doing in our computer classes!
Check out this camp at NYU Poly in July, where students learn to use the Makerbot! https://www.poly.edu/node/7544 Happy Summer!
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