LYNN — Two teams from North Shore Christian School qualified for the Robotics World Championships after their big wins in their latest competition in Worcester last weekend.
The clean sweep for both the middle and high school divisions of the invitation-only Southern New England VEX IQ Robotics Championship put North Shore Christian School firmly on the map as a high-quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) school on the North Shore and in Massachusetts.
Both teams, the elementary Brobots and the middle school Steam Punks, will next travel to the Robotics World Championships, which will be held in Kentucky from April 26-28.
“In addition to all the hands-on learning that goes into designing and building the robots, these tournaments provide a microcosm of real-life experiences for our kids,” said Coach David Cook.
“They have to make complex decisions quickly, under pressure and in front of large crowds. These kids not only discover what they’re capable of technically, they also learn how to work in teams, how to win well and how to lose well, what it means to encourage and to be encouraged. This program is as much about building character as it is about building robots,” he said.
Representing the Brobots are elementary students Ralph Gerber, of Peabody; Brendon Sharwood, of Saugus; Nicholas Saia, of Saugus; and Gabriel Barbosa, of Lynn.
The Steam Punks are made up of eighth graders McLaren Cook, of Wenham; Mattias W’Gebriel, of Saugus, Sebastiano Dimodica, of Saugus; and seventh grader Matthew Chatterton, of Lynn.
The aim of the K-8 school’s robotics program is to instill a lifelong interest in STEM by providing fun, engaging and hands-on opportunities that allow students to explore and experience the content areas.
