News at Buckley

Robotics Team Shines at Third Regional Competition of the Season and Junior Wins Dean’s Award at First Competition!

This year’s robotics team, led by captains Sienna S., Paul H., and Addison F., and club advisors Paul Barker and Nick Carrillo, spent hours after school and on weekends preparing for each competition. For the 2023 season, the team competed in three regional competitions: Port Hueneme, Orange County, and El Segundo. 

“The leadership of Sienna, Paul, and Addison has been instrumental in creating an atmosphere of learning, healthy challenge, and creativity,” says Barker. “The captains always looked ahead and never behind. The entire team embraced every challenge with a growth mindset.” 

A Breakdown of Events, by Barker:

PORT HUENEME
This year we were able to have a working robot days before our trip to our first competition, but when we arrived at Port Hueneme, we found out we needed to do more to our robot to pass inspection: 
  • Our arm was reaching outside the limit and we needed to program the robot to not function at those distances. 
  • Our wiring was not ideal and several times our robot lost contact with our drivers. We thought it was the batteries, but it was also the method we were using to wire the robot. 

Needless to say, we learned a lot and our spirits were high. My proudest moment was when Sienna S. won Dean’s List for the Port Hueneme Competition! 

ORANGE COUNTY
We found new challenges at this competition: 
  • We had to replace our arm as the gearing was so strong that it damaged the arm.  We replaced the arm and programmed the computer to stop just before the limit of the arm to prevent this. It worked and we never had this issue again!  
  • Our programming Captain was not able to join us, so the team jumped in and learned how to code the robot. 

It was a great learning experience for the students!
 
EL SEGUNDO
This was where we shined! 
  • Our drive moved from good, to the best driver on the field, at least that is what the winning team told us! 
  • We did not have any issues with the code or the robot, and ended up placing 10th out of 44 teams! 
 
At the end, Barker adds a special thanks to first-year faculty member Nick Carrillo for jumping in and making a difference as a mentor for the dedicated group of students. 

“As their mentors, teachers, and club advisors, we want to level up and do more because the students are so invested,” says Barker. 

Photos contributed by the Robotics Team.
 
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