FRC 7659 has had an eventful 2021-2022. Here is a recap of all the events we have hosted and participated in this year.

In October 2021 we had our first event: Engineering Career night! We heard from those who are currently working in the engineering field. Though the event was online our audience was from a multitude of a different teams and were filled with excitement about STEM!

Next we hosted drop in coding, we had younger participants work with scratch and taught them the basics of coding. We got valuable feedback from the kids who attended and we were able to share our love of coding with a younger audience.

Next in November we hosted STEM Day, STEM day is an event that is run annually for grade 5-12 at our school. Some of the activities the grades participated in are as follows Gr 5 make your own bouncy ball, Gr 6 Ballon Cars, Gr 7 LED Cards, Gr 8 CEMC Computer workshop, Gr 9 Ice cream making, Gr 10 Tinkercad 3D design, Gr 11 heart rate and blood pressure activity, and Gr 12 Women In White Coats Presentation.

In November we also hosted our annual Business Brunch. We hosted 40 participants and 5 speakers who are in the business field. We heard about their academic and personal journeys. This was our fourth annual business brunch and needless to say it was a success!

In December we hosted STEAM night for grades 5-8. They participated in activities such as driving the robot, making obleck, math colouring and making catapults. With a great combination of pizza and STEM it was an amazing night!

In March 2022 we had our first competition at Humber College. The team had a great mix of veterans and first-timers on the playing field.

In May we hosted our annual alumnae chats. We had 6 alumnae speak to participants gr 7-12 about their post secondary journeys and how robotics has shaped them as a person. Participants and panelists participated in a Q&A during the session. This event is a Team 7659 staple and was a success.

We had our next competition in April at St Mary’s. This was an eventful competition as we won the Engineering Career Inspiration Award. The team was ecstatic and full of spirit and drive for provincials.

We participated in the Ontario provincial championships from Thursday April 14- Sunday April 16. The team came dressed in purple and black and ready for three days of fun. We networked, made adjustments to our robots and competed in 12 matches with our robot climbing to the low and medium rung!

In May we hosted Fun with Tech, 22 eager participants from JK to Grade 9 came early on a Saturday morning to learn about robotics, coding and STEM. Participants were especially excited to drive the robot and make cards.

Also in May we participated in our schools Spring Cafe. The robot made an appearance while dancing to the Imperial March from Star Wars.

In June we had students attend FIRST’s Girls and Allies in STEM conference. We would like to thank FIRST Youth Council for running and planning such a wonderful event.

To wrap up the year our mentors came and we all had a celebration of the hard work done this year!

Team 7659 has had an eventful year and is ready for a restful summer before getting going for next year.

Our team has taken the time to practice coding and driving the robot! Friday, April 1st some team members went off-site to drive the robot in a field. We worked on troubleshooting any issues that came up, team spirit and, of course, we practiced driving the robot!

The team had a great time and we are all excited for the competition we have this weekend, Sunday, April 10th at St. Marys!

We would also like to thank FRC team 1360 for letting us use their practise space!

After nearly 29 months since our last in-person competition, FRC Team 7659 HNMCS Robotics has finally returned to the playing field! On Sunday, March 6th, 2022, Team 7659 attended Day 2 of the Humber College District Event, along with 16 other teams from across Ontario. The drive team, consisting of four students ranging from gr 9- gr 12, guided the robot through a total of nine qualification rounds throughout the day. Captain and Captain’s Advisor, alongside several other members, acted as support and worked on scouting in the stands. In this competition, the bot focused on lower hub shooting and lower-rung climbing, in addition to the autonomous drive during the initial period of the round. The team had a mix of first-time competition goers and competition veterans, providing an all-around great experience for the girls. Returning to the workshop, the team is diving straight back into the deep end, in preparation for their next district event on April 10th at St. Mary’s.

Some photos are included below.

The time has come for our 2022 season robot reveal!

See below for the video and do not forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel FRC 7659 HNMCS Robotics.

Build season has officially begun!

After collaboratively designing a plan and earning safety badges work for the robot has begun.

After 5 hours of CNCing at KTool, our climbing hook was cut.

Here are some other photos from the build season.

Some other highlights from building so far were that our grade 9’s were able to make their first cut on our new tools!

A first-time build student was able to have their custom design part milled and CNCed at KTool.

and drive tryouts are just around the corner! We are so excited to compete at our first competition on Sunday, March 6 at Humber College.

On Saturday, January 8, 2022, Team 7659 met virtually to celebrate the start of the 2022 competitive season! While the team initially planned to meet in person due to COVID restrictions, this was not possible. The theme for this season was Rapid React. The session began with a definition of kickoff and FIRST terminology for our new members. The screening of the kickoff video began, and afterwards, the team started brainstorming and strategizing for the upcoming season.

The team is excited about this season!

The fourth annual business brunch was a huge success where HNMCS Robotics in collaboration with Orbit Robotics hosted over 40 youth from grades 7 to 12 on Saturday 27 November, 2021. Business Brunch is an interactive event where graduates with connections to business careers speak with students to discuss their unique pathways to a career in business. This year, we had five speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds and universities. In addition to relating their academic journey, all speakers stressed the importance of networking by participating in non-academic activities in order to develop connections and create opportunities in the future.

Katelyn Kozma is currently finishing her PhD at the University of Toronto in cancer genetics and will be transitioning into a Management Consulting Role at Bain & Company in 2022. She encouraged students to diversify their skills as an undergraduate in order to create opportunities 

Jesica Kuruvilla is currently working for the Department of Management at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. She talked about the demand of people in finance and commerce in “new roles” of AI and science.

Maddy Beaudry who graduated from Queens Commerce and will be practicing corporate law at Torys LLP in Toronto after completing her law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School believes that “a business degree is a launchpad for whatever you want to do afterwards.” She said, “My business degree set me up for law school”, as the case-study based learning was a good experience for law school where you take rulings and apply them to current cases.

Kevin McKenna, who is currently a Senior Accountant who graduated from the University of Toronto, reassured students that, “working is an extension of school” as “you are not expected to have all the answers when you start” working but will be trained on the job.

Dorothy St.George, who is the director of Economic Development and Corporate Strategy at the Town of Oakville, described the possible range of career paths with a business, commerce degree.

Engineering Career Night is a great opportunity for students to meet with recent graduates and experts in the engineering field to learn about their education, work, career, and their experience. 

This year, we invited Tanya Parrag, a chemical engineer, Kim von Eicken, a civil engineer,  Darian Petrisca, an environmental engineer, Hilbert Li, a manufacturing engineer, and James Edgar, an algorithm engineer.

The students learned about how engineering prepared them for lifelong learning and adaptability, opened new possibilities and prepared them to tackle big challenges. They shared their insight on what the engineering field would look like in the future and the fruits of their labour. Lastly, they also gave insight on opportunities that could be taken and the practical benefits of different programs.

“Engineering Career Night was a good experience, and it was inspiring to see people who were also interested in robotics.” – Macy Glick, Grade 9

Over the span of three weeks, every Saturday youth were able to learn and create projects on a program called Scratch. Scratch is a high-level block-based website-based visual programming language targeted at children ages 8-16 years old. 

Youth from Holy Name of Mary College school and the greater Toronto area were able to participate in this Robotics Event. From making an account to creating an innovative game, all participants were able to expand their learning skills and most importantly have fun. Attendees had the opportunity to share their ideas, thoughts and projects which created a safe and inclusive environment for all. Both the leaders and students enjoyed this event giving positive feedback and smiling faces.