Tic... Tac... Go! at Marshland

Last weekend, our Marshland School teams competed in the VEX Robotics Scrimmage at St Andrews College. We are really lucky this year to have three dedicated teams working hard to build and perfect their robots: Robobnix, Bob the Builders, and King Bobinators II. All names loosely based off our beloved "Bob" from the previous year.

This competition is about thinking on your feet, strategizing, and collaborating with teams you may have never met before. The challenge tested the children's ability to think critically under time limits, design a functional bot, and—perhaps most importantly—collaborate together showing our values of Aumangea, Ngātahi and Ako.

In addition to navigating the intricacies of robot design, our teams participated in two major aspects of the competition: the driver competition and the autonomous coding section. In the driver competition, the teams controlled their robots manually, showcasing their precision and skill, while planning and using strategy to have the most efficient use of their two minutes. In the autonomous section, they took things a step further—programming their robots to play the game on their own through complex code. To succeed, they had to ensure their bots could operate without human intervention, a real test of their programming and problem-solving abilities.

The results were outstanding! Out of 17 teams, Marshland teams placed second and third, a remarkable achievement. A huge ngā mihi (thank you) to Robobnix, Bob the Builders, and the Kind Bobinators II for continuing the legacy of the legendary Bob! Another huge thank you to our whānau who supported the children on the day.

We couldn’t be prouder and look forward to seeing what they accomplish next!