Students from the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake School District showed off a few miniature technological marvels as part of the weekly morning series at the Joyce E. Hanks Community Center, 4575 E. Lake Road.
The 12 students make up much of the Brookside High School’s SMART Robotics Team, according to club advisor Val Rion.
A College Credit Plus English teacher for Brookside High and Lorain County Community College, Rion said she got into robotics from her husband, Mitch, and children Alex and Elliot.
“I kind of helped out behind the scenes for five years, or so as my kids,” she said. “They were involved in it, and my husband, Mitch Rion, is the intermediate advisor.”
Since taking over for Brookside math teacher Kevin Landi, who was the last middle school and high school advisor, Rion said she has tried her best to get as much exposure for her teams as possible.
On March 20, the Brookside SMART Robotics Team took over the Hanks Center to the delight of local senior citizens.
The presentation included robots designed to plow different materials via remote control, as well as one built to play disc golf with foam frisbees.
During the presentation, Rion explained that programming is a large part of the team’s activity, most of which takes place after school hours.
“Essentially, you write these commands for (the robot), and if something doesn’t work, you have to back and change one little number,” she said. “It takes a lot of patience and a lot of time and continuing to try to figure it out, until it actually does what you want it to do.”
According to Rion, the team attends meets all over the state as part of the VEX Robotics competition circuit.
“It’s a club, but it’s a program,” Rion said. “It’s three different grade levels, so we have the elementary grades four through six.
“We have a middle school program and a high school program. VEX Robotics runs a worldwide program, so we’re part of that.”
Rion stressed that the VEX Robotics competition truly is a worldwide endeavor, rather than a “World Series” type of event, only made up of groups from North America.
“We pay to register teams, and then we go to competitions throughout the state, and then … there’s a state competition to qualify to go to a world level competition,” she said. “I checked the other day for the countries; there’s China, Canada, Australia.”
One of Rion’s engineering proteges, Brookside High junior Kathryn Havanec, said that it takes a set of people with entirely different skillsets to get any robotic project up and running.
“It all depends on the team,” said Kathryn, 17. “Our team … every person has a specific role, but we all help each other out.
“”There are other teams where everyone does absolutely everything.”
Kathryn hopes to study marine biology at the University of South Carolina.
She explained to those in attendance at the Hanks Center that her role on the robotics team ironically is based in human-to-human communication.
“I am the communications manager, and I also take care of most things when it comes to being on the field with the other teams: strategizing, calling times,” Kathryn said.
Rion spoke highly of every one of her SMART Robotics Team members for excelling in the VEX program.
One of the high school’s teams, however, rose above the rest, and will represent Sheffield Lake among about 800 other teams from every corner of the world next month.
“We had a lot that were really close, but we ended up with one team that will be going to (the world championships),” Rion said. “I’ll be taking them to Dallas at the end of April.
“It’s very cool for them.”
