SKY Robotics is a new FIRST robotics team
formed from the Blenheim Roboticats.
The four school team combines students from:
This exciting adventure will
unite the experience of the Roboticats with the exceptional talents
from the Chatham high schools and allow many more students to experience FIRST
robotics.
The name SKY ( South Kent Youth) robotics was chosen
because of where the high schools are located.
All of the schools are located in the southern part of Kent County in Southern
Ontario, Canada.
The addition of “youth” to the name indicates that we welcome students
from all grades
and it allowed us to complete the catchy acronym SKY.
We met once a week during the fall to get to know each other,
learn some of the basics of robotics and to develop a team spirit.
The group developed a sense of team and at the same time had some fun.
Having students from four different high schools is a real plus.
It is a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. The six weeks
went by in a blur.
The students worked long hours with the mentors learning a lot about design,
prototyping, programming and building the robot and web page design.
Our team philosophy has always been to have the students do as much of the work
as possible.
This year the students did a tremendous job of doing most of the work with the
build process.
One area that still needs some improvement is the CAD process.
We need to get more students proficient with this software.
There are many strengths to our team.
We have an eager, dedicated, and talented group of students.
Our mentors understand what FIRST is all about.
They have a great connection with the students.
Our parents take an active role on the team, helping out with transportation
and providing supper meals for the team.
Our sponsors provide us with the support we need
to run an effective program.
As our motto says we are “more than
the machine!!”