Thursday, March 28, 2024

Rockenbaugh Robotics Places Second at Invention Contest

On Saturday, January 25,  Rockenbaugh Elementary School’s Robotics Club sent four teams to participate in the TCEA Area Inventions Contest. The teams included the following: “GSSH,” “Neat Freak,” “Team Sneeze,” and “Top Chef.”

The “Neat Freak” team won second place by creating a robot that will clean a room and has qualified to represent Rockenbaugh at the state contest at Deer Park High School in Houston. All teams developed and demonstrated critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving skills along with other 21st century skills such as creativity, imagination, curiosity, and innovation.

“These Rockenbaugh students have shown growth using this robotics program,” said coach Cindy Featherston, RES Gifted Specialist.  “We are really proud of our team and their accomplishments.”

  • Team Top Chef – Angeli Patel, Natalie Sanders, Jordan McConnell, Anna Villarreal
  • Team Sneeze – Brett Belleville, Charlie O’Bryan, Carson Lawrence, Hutton Seltzer
  • Team GSSH – Justin Sasek, David Guess, Ryan Strange, Alfred Hale
  • Team Neat Freak – Clark Hindman, Aurora Tong, Jack Clark, Eri Pilon

The Inventions Contest is an open-ended contest. Teams consist of two to four students. They create and develop a robotic invention to demonstrate a solution for a problem of their choice. The teams showcase research, robot performance, robot design, marketing, and presentation skills for judges at the TCEA area contests. Students approach their problem as a real team of engineers working together to solve their problem using the Engineering Design Process. Students in grade levels 4-8 competed in the Intermediate level competition.

A video to celebrate the students achievement is posted below:

RES Robotics -TCEA Inventions Contest 2013-14 from Cynthia Featherston on Vimeo.

RES Students Explore Life-Sized Art

Young explorers discovered their own cave drawing in Mrs. Taylor’s Art Class at Rockenbaugh Elementary School.

Students in kindergarten and first grade have been studying the cave paintings of Lascaux, France. The students created their own versions of cave art. Wearing a tool belt and headlamp, the young artists talked about all the different accessories necessary to explore a cave.  The classes then discovered their artwork inside their own paper caves.

Pictures from the lesson taken by Janet Taylor are featured in the slideshow below.

Carroll Teams Leave Their Mark at Odyssey of the Mind World Finals

2013 WGES OM Team

Four teams from Carroll ISD participated in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals Competition Thursday, May 23-26 at Michigan State University. A pair of  first time teams from Walnut Grove Elementary and Rockenbaugh Elementary placed in the competition.

2013 RES OM Team

827 teams from 12 countries competed at this year’s World Finals.

Each Problem and Division competes against an average of 50 teams and experiences a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet and share ideas and creativity with thousands (over 5600) of kids from around the world, all of whom who have worked incredibly hard to shine at the highest level.

Event highlights include:

  • The Walnut Groves Elementary Team competed in the Drama Problem/Division 1 and received an 8th place finish
  • The Rockenbaugh Elementary Team competed in the Vehicular Problem/Division 1 and placed 32 out of a field of 55
  • The Dawson Middle School Team competed in the Vehicular Problem/Divison 2 and came in 7th place
  • The Carroll High/Senior High School Teamcompeted in the Technical

    2013 DMS OM Team

    Problem/Division 3 and received 5th place

For complete tournament results, click here.

2013 CHS OM Team

RES Runners Lace Up

Photo from Run the Rock 2012

Run the Rock is one of Rockenbaugh’s biggest events. It is a true 5K race in every sense and is the culminating event for a year’s worth of running. Many students have run over 100 miles (a few over 200). The program is designed to keep students active for a lifetime. It also promotes good health, perseverance, goal setting and school spirit. 

“This event has been done every year since Ms. Pate has been at Rockenbaugh and is something our runners look forward to. For some it is the sole reason they join running club,” said Rockenbaugh Principal Lisa Young.

Photo from Run the Rock 2012

 

The race takes place during the school day.  This year it is scheduled for Friday, April 12 at 11:00 a.m. A registration fee is required to pay for the student designed race shirts, medals, water and racing goodies.  Run the Rock is not a school fundraiser. 

So far, 145 runners are eligible for the event. Many parents will run with them (if they can keep up).  Run the Rock also has approximately 50 volunteers at the ready to provide safety along the course, help with the hydration stations, record race times, hand out medals and goody bags. The volunteers will also help with set up, distribution of shirts and race numbers and the balloon arch.