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Robotics Team Brings Home Top Awards at Regional Bots Battle

The Ranney Upper School Robotics Team battled against 28 teams from across New Jersey and New York at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School on November 16 in a regional VEX Robotics Competition. Nine members attended:

Team 3815A “iRobots” included Raymond Moser ’15 (Shrewsbury) and Avani Bhatnagar ’15 (Holmdel). Team 3815B “Mad Techs” included Brandon Gioggia and Joseph Mullally ’16 (Red Bank). Team 3815C “The Harpies” included Ava Papetti ’15 (Colts Neck) and Coleen Ross ’15 (Morganville). Team 3815D “Project Icarus” included   Vasilios Nicholas ’16 (Holmdel) and Zach Sullens ’16 (Holmdel).

Freshman Benjamin Iglesia attended as well to act as the team “reporter,” taking notes throughout the competition. Advisor Chiara Shah and Parent/Mentor Mr. Raymond Moser also attended to support and coach the students.

Three of the four Upper School Robotics Club teams (A, B and D) qualified for the quarterfinals. Team B qualified for the semifinals and the finals, but lost in the final round, ultimately earning 2nd place in the tournament and also qualifying for a spot in the New Jersey VEX Robotics Championship. State qualification is the first step toward qualifying for the World Competition, which will be held in April 2014 in Anaheim, California. Twelve Upper School students, including team leaders Raymond Moser, Brandon Gioggia, Amy Winkler ’15 (Manasquan) and Vasilios Nicholas qualified for a trip to Anaheim last spring to compete in the 2013 global championship.

Robot 3815A, designed and built by Raymond Moser, won an Innovation Award, for the most innovative single design feature on a robot. The award recognizes “a specific, unique piece of engineering that exemplifies thinking outside of the box and innovative engineering design.”

Brandon Gioggia competed in a separate driver skills challenge, in which he had to drive his robot around the field for 60 seconds and score as many points as possible. He is currently ranked Number 1 in New Jersey in robotic driver skills!

Ranney School’s Robotics program has undergone amazing and unexpected growth across all divisions during the past few years. It started in 2010 when 10 students began an Upper School Robotics Club. Within a few months, the club had advanced to the semi-finals of a VEX New Jersey Qualifier Round Up Competition. And by the fall of 2012, more than 20 students were involved in the program and the Upper School Robotics team qualified for the VEX World Championship.

This year, approximately 10 students are enrolled in Robotics class, an elective that is now offered to 10th, 11th and 12th graders, and more than 40 students—15 of whom are freshmen—are involved in the Upper School Robotics Club. Middle School students are also participating in VEX Robotics during their activity periods this year, mentored by Upper School team leaders. In the Lower School, we have two First® Lego® League (FLL) robotics teams for the first time in Ranney history. Designed for children age 9 to 14, FLL teaches the students valuable skills as they prepare to compete in a regional tournament. In addition to building and programming MINDSTORM robots to complete missions on a playing field, each team must also research a real-world problem and then create an innovative solution to that problem.

The Upper School team will be hosting and attending more local competitions this winter. Come out and support them!

Related articles
 - Robotics Program Gains Permanent Lab, Equipment and Practice Field
  
 - Robotics Club Competes in World Championship
  
NOTE: Some members of the Upper School Robotics team were unable to compete due to the production of “Our Town,” which had live performances Nov. 14-16 (see related photos and videos on our Media Gallery).
 
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society.