Firestone Hosts Middle School Goodyear STEM Day
On Saturday, April 21st, Firestone High School hosted Middle School Goodyear STEM Day. Here many different companies and organizations set up booths or activities that help students learn about the values of STEM. Firestone Engineering students volunteered to lead the different groups to stations with a variety of activities centered around STEM. Some of the Firestone students also volunteered at the Firestone game station, Fruit Frenzy. They also ran a station informing students about VEX Robotics.
Firestone Hosts Boat Races!
This year marks the 14th annual boat races hosted by Firestone, and the 2nd annual in the new school building. There are 6 divisions that can compete in the race: Middle school, 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, faculty, and board members. The teams are each given a card board box sponsored by the River Valley Paper Company, from there they have the challenge of creating a boat that can be used to complete a course designed by the Firestone seniors. The race teaches the laws of buoyancy as well as problem solving and team work. These "tech challenges" are one of the ways that Firestone has continued to bring the values and skills that robotics teaches to Akron for over 14 years.
For more photos go to the media page.
For more photos go to the media page.
Firestone Qualifies for Worlds!
Teams 7316D and 7316F officially qualified for a place at the Vex World Championship! They both managed to do this by being one of the top teams in Ohio for skills. This marks the third time Firestone will have a place at worlds, and the first time that Firestone takes multiple teams to this prestigious championship. The club cannot be more proud of these two teams. In the following weeks the teams will be hard at work improving and perfecting their designs, programs, and strategies.
A big Thank you goes to our favorite sponsor, the GPD Employees Foundation. To learn more about them, follow the link below.
GPD Employees Foundation
For more information about high school worlds, please follow the link below.
https://www.robotevents.com/
A big Thank you goes to our favorite sponsor, the GPD Employees Foundation. To learn more about them, follow the link below.
GPD Employees Foundation
For more information about high school worlds, please follow the link below.
https://www.robotevents.com/
Mr. Spak Wins Teacher of the Year!
The club's adviser was recently awarded "Teacher of the Year" at Firestone. He is now apart of the top four teachers in the district who may win at the district level. The members of Firestone's PLTW Program are all hoping that Mr. Spak is recognized as "Teacher of the Year" at the district level.
Firestone Takes On States
The six Firestone teams competed this Friday and Saturday for a chance to go to worlds. The club cannot be more impressed with our accomplishments this time around. Team F chose an alliance for the quarter finals, and then played a great game. Team F later won the energy award! Firestone team A was awarded with the innovation award.
The Litchfield Largos are Going to Worlds!
At the middle school Ohio states competition, held on March 2nd and 3rd, the middle school team that Firestone hosts and mentors earned a spot at worlds by winning design! They were also tournament finalists. We wish them luck at worlds and cannot wait to see how many more improvements they can make.
Please follow the link below to be sent to the "Robot Events" page for middle school worlds.
www.robotevents.com/
Please follow the link below to be sent to the "Robot Events" page for middle school worlds.
www.robotevents.com/
All Six Teams Qualified For States
This marks the 2nd year in a row that all 6 "7316" Firestone High School Robotics teams are qualified to compete in the Ohio state Vex Robotics Competition. The 6 teams will be competing on March 9th and 10th for a spot to go to worlds. Firestone is looking forward to what states will bring.
The following awards at states will give teams a spot at worlds:
Excellence Award
Tournament Champions
Design Award
Tournament Finalists
Robot Skills Champion
Tournament Semifinalists
Please follow the link below to be sent to the "Robot Events" page for states.
https://www.robotevents.com/
The following awards at states will give teams a spot at worlds:
Excellence Award
Tournament Champions
Design Award
Tournament Finalists
Robot Skills Champion
Tournament Semifinalists
Please follow the link below to be sent to the "Robot Events" page for states.
https://www.robotevents.com/
Kalahari Vex Robotics Competition 2018
For the first time in club history, Firestone Robotics competed in the Kalahari Classic Indoor Water-park Multi-State Event. Through the weekend Firestone competed against the 102 teams that participated. At the end of the 2 long days, Team A won the states qualifying design award. The middle school team that Firestone hosts and mentors also won the middle school design award, which qualifies them for states. The teams were able to take a trip to Kalahari's indoor water-park during their night off from competing. Overall it was a very exciting and rewarding weekend.
The Second Annual Firestone High School (APS) Vex Competition
On the sixth of January we hosted our very own Vex robotics competition! Four of our teams (A, D, E, F) as well as the Litchfield team made it to quarter-finals! The competition was a great end to winter break that had been partially spent in the club's six hour meetings spread throughout the two weeks. This competition also kicks off this month's robotics competitions, the club will be participating in three competitions (three weekends in a row) during January.
FIRESTONE HIGH SCHOOL ROBOTICS 2016-2017
Annual Boat Races 2017
Every year, the Firestone High School Project Lead the Way hosts the APS Cardboard Boat (and Tin Foil Canoe) Races. Students from schools across the district compete in boat races.
Every team gets one roll of saran wrap, one roll of duct tape, and one cardboard pallet. The juniors in the PLTW program at Firestone have a special set of materials for tin foil canoes. They receive a roll of tin foil, a roll of duct tape, a ball of twine, a limited supply of hot glue, and balsa wood. Check the rankings to see how they all did. |
Rankings |
First Annual Firestone High School (APS) Vex Competition
For the first time in the history of our club, Firestone High School hosted the first Akron Public School VEX Robotics Competition. Forty teams from all around the state of Ohio gathered to compete against each other and see who go home with a win. The competition went extremely well and Firestone had a big success. Overall, four out of the six Firestone teams were in the top eight, and two of the six in the top fifteen. All six of the Firestone teams made it into the quarter finals, with teams 7316A and 7316E in the semi-finals. Team 7316B won the Design award, and team 7316D won the Excellence award, qualifying them for states, totalling two out of our six teams qualified for States.
Lock-in 2016-2017
From September 16th to September 17th, this year's six VEX Robotics teams holed up in the engineering room to build their robot over the course of the night. Teams were supposed to enter with a design for their robot and leave with a fully functioning, or at least constructed robot. Those expectation may have been a little high, but with some tweaking in the coming weeks, our teams should be ready for the new competition season. With the help of parents taking rotating shifts watching us, the lock-in went off without a hitch. Now that team rosters have been solidified and robot work has begun, now we can get to know our new club members and see what returning members are up to.
Special thanks to Micheal Ison, who came in the preceding week to teach our senior programmers more about programming in C and to offer suggestions on how our code can be improved.
Special thanks to Micheal Ison, who came in the preceding week to teach our senior programmers more about programming in C and to offer suggestions on how our code can be improved.
Firestone High School Robotics 2015-2016
-During this year our club reached new heights, taking four teams to the state competition, one to the VEX worlds competition while winning awards at both.
-A couple engineering program traditions were missed out on this year, due to the construction of the new building. The annual boat races did not take place, disappointing many, but rest assured it will be returning for the 2016-2017 school year.
-Middle School Robotics had an eventful year, with two competitions. The old robotics competition where teams collect ping-pong balls and launch them into goals, and "Fruit Frenzy", a competition using VEX Robotics parts and rule sets, but with differing objectives and layouts.
-A couple engineering program traditions were missed out on this year, due to the construction of the new building. The annual boat races did not take place, disappointing many, but rest assured it will be returning for the 2016-2017 school year.
-Middle School Robotics had an eventful year, with two competitions. The old robotics competition where teams collect ping-pong balls and launch them into goals, and "Fruit Frenzy", a competition using VEX Robotics parts and rule sets, but with differing objectives and layouts.
World Champions!
Team 7316E has returned from the VEX worlds competition, bringing home a judge's award. From April 20th to April 23rd, team 7316E competed at the worlds competition, winning four matches and losing six in their division. Of all the teams in their division, team 7316E had the best interview, earning them the judge's award. With this award comes the honor of being the only high school in Ohio to win a major international award this year and they attended a proclamation ceremony where they were recognized by the Akron City Council.
Along with team 7316E's success at worlds, the competition for nex year has been released, so we're revving up for the new season. Check out the VEX RC tabs for more details on the new game, VEX "Starstruck". But before we move on to next year, we have a great year to reflect on, so check the blog for a recap of our 2015-2016 Vex robotics season.
What went on at Worlds?
7316E returned champions, but what went on at competition? 7316E would feel a mix of elation and hard-work through the 3 days that worlds lasted, captured in the slideshow below. Competition was heated and we're happy to welcome them home in victory.
Off to Worlds
We are proud to announce that our Firestone Team 7316E has qualified for Worlds!
Not only did they qualify but they also took home the state championship.
We know that 7316E will do a phenomenal job at worlds representing Firestone.
Go Falcons!
Not only did they qualify but they also took home the state championship.
We know that 7316E will do a phenomenal job at worlds representing Firestone.
Go Falcons!
States
This year a record amount of Firestone teams went to states! Four out of the five teams competed and one has a qualification for Vex Worlds. All of our teams made it to the elimination rounds and although they all got knocked out, they deserve congratulations for their efforts so far. Check out the blog for more info on what went down.
Robotics club lock-in
October 7, 2015: This year, in order to leave more time for programming later in the robotics season, our robotics club decided to hold a lock-in at Firestone. Students would design their robot in the week leading up to the lock-in, then build it during the night. On October 3rd, 27 students came in and spent the night building and testing their robots. The lock-in lasted from 3:25 PM to 12:00 AM the following morning. By the end of the lock-in, 2 robots were fully functional and the other three had completed their drive trains and were working on their flywheels.
FIRESTONE HIGH SCHOOL ROBOTICS 2014-2015
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Operation Essex OutreachThe club's first community outreach project!
Run by former Club Secretary, Erica Kraus, with assistance from Current President Chris Wertenberger, the summer outreach program started on July 30th, 2015. The students are revamping the playground and courtyard at Essex Early Learning Preschool on Winhurst Drive. To support the group, click here. |
Goodyear STEM Career Day
This past year, Firestone was lucky enough to be counted among the presenters at the 2015 Goodyear STEM Career Day!
While the majority of presenters were from industry and university, our '2014 Worlds Team' was the only high school to be invited to host a table. We focused on the merits of Robotics and Engineering foundations in High School, as well as the upsides to programs like Project Lead the Way and VEX Robotics. Hopefully all the middle schoolers that took flyers will apply in the future!
The senior Engineering Design and Development boys also opted out of their traditional senior project to compete in the Goodyear Rube Goldberg Competition, securing an Honorable Mention for their use of robotics in their machine. (See it here.)
Left to Right: Steven Edwards, Kerry Holmes, Jasper Nitzsche, Tyler Stallsmith, Christopher Morris, Erica Kraus and Alex Horwitz (graduated seniors)
While the majority of presenters were from industry and university, our '2014 Worlds Team' was the only high school to be invited to host a table. We focused on the merits of Robotics and Engineering foundations in High School, as well as the upsides to programs like Project Lead the Way and VEX Robotics. Hopefully all the middle schoolers that took flyers will apply in the future!
The senior Engineering Design and Development boys also opted out of their traditional senior project to compete in the Goodyear Rube Goldberg Competition, securing an Honorable Mention for their use of robotics in their machine. (See it here.)
Left to Right: Steven Edwards, Kerry Holmes, Jasper Nitzsche, Tyler Stallsmith, Christopher Morris, Erica Kraus and Alex Horwitz (graduated seniors)
Annual Boat Races 2015
Every year, the Firestone High School Project Lead the Way hosts the APS Cardboard Boat (and Tin Foil Canoe) Races. Students in the PLTW Program not only compete against each other, but students from STEM High School, Garfield High School, Buchtel CLC, Jennings Middle School, NIHF Middle School, Litchfield Middle School, Roswell Kent Middle School and East CLC.
The rules? One roll of saran wrap, one roll of duct tape, and one cardboard pallet. As far as tin foil goes, the juniors in PLTW receive a roll of tin foil, a roll of duct tape, a ball of twine, a limited supply of hot melt glue, and balsa wood. Who will sink and who will swim? Last year, our overall winner was the Firestone Faculty Team of Mr. Rob Sveda and Mr. Will Meyers, who also won for Adults. High School Champion was Firestone Team 7, Tin Foil Canoes was Firestone Team 17, and Middle School Division was taken by Bucthel CLC Team 1. |
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"Engineering, Cleverly Disguised as Fun." |
pROJECT LEAD THE WAY PROGRAMFor all non-VEX related topics, and things related to the Project Lead The Way Program, please click on the link below to leanr more about our program and the classes offered.
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We'd like to extend our thanks to the people and organizations that have helped us along in the past and those who continue to support us: