Eleven robotics teams from the Eastern Panhandle recently gathered at Shepherdstown Middle School on a snowy Saturday in February to put their robots to the test in a regional qualifying competition! The teams, representing five schools across the region, competed in this year’s Robotics Education and Competition Foundation (RECF) game, Rapid Relay.
Middle school students began meeting in September to design, build, and refine their robots to compete in the challenge. The game tasked teams with programming and driving robots to scoop up soccer-like balls and shoot them into one of four goals on an 8x6-foot playing field. Teams could earn extra points by successfully passing balls between their robot and their partner’s robot — a task that required precision and teamwork.
Throughout the season, students followed an engineering design process, documenting their ideas and progress in detailed engineering notebooks. During the competition, each team participated in interviews with a panel of judges, sharing their design choices, challenges, and game strategies. Faculty and staff from Shepherdstown Middle School and Charles Town Middle School generously volunteered their time to serve as judges and referees.
The eleven teams represented Shepherdstown Middle School, Martinsburg South Middle School, the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, Mountain Ridge Middle School, and Spring Mills Middle School.
Martinsburg South Middle School teams swept the event, taking home all five awards — including two spots in the RECF West Virginia State Championship this month.
This is the second year Jefferson County Schools has hosted a regional qualifier event. JCS remains committed to expanding STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) programs like RECF-affiliated robotics to help prepare future technology leaders to meet the needs of tomorrow’s workforce.
To learn more or support this growing educational opportunity, please contact Randall Short, JCS Robotics Coordinator, at randall.short@k12.wv.us