HNMCS Robotics had a busy couple of weeks. Prototyping of the pneumatic intake arm was completed and the team started to build the competition drive train. Electrical and pneumatic components were laid out on the belly pan and the build of the intake arm was started. Team 7659 is looking forward to the first competition in March at the ONT District Georgian Event!

For build weeks 2 and 3, our team members worked on building the field elements. They took time to measure the wood and used power tools including drills and an electric saw to build the charging station. The members also successfully created the key element of the robot.

For build week 4, we started drive practice. The students had so much fun practicing balancing the robot on the ramp which is starting to get more successful. We are working our way toward the FRC tournament!

After the virtual Kickoff on January 7 of the new year, our full team watched the game videos, read the manual, discussed game strategies, and started to work on design concepts. The team worked together and built field elements through after-school team meetings. The students were able to learn more about STEM, learn how to use power tools for the first time, and grow their creativity. It was great to be back in person and have after-school meetings, growing the bond in the team!

FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Challenge is the oldest of three divisions of FIRST LEGO League, and the stepping stone from middle school through FIRST Tech Challenge to the highest level of robotics competition, FIRST Robotics Competition Teams such as HNMCS Senior School Robotics team, FRC Team 7659. The robotics programs of FIRST are designed to inspire youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills through hands-on STEM research, mechanical design and robotics. 

On Saturday 17 December 2022, 24 teams from as far as Niagara Falls converged at HNMCS to compete with the best of the best. Teams spent the day competing in this year’s SuperPowered challenge. They presented their Innovation Projects where they designed and created a unique solution to a specific problem with energy. Teams designed and created a robot that competed in Robot Game missions through innovation in Robot Design, clear mission strategy and functional coding. 

HNMCS Senior School Robotics hosted one of the largest in Toronto, and advanced some of the highest-scoring teams to the Ontario Provincials. HNMCS Robotics delivered a flawless program for over 250 guests through the diligent work of the lead students. Sabrina, the Production Manager and team captain, worked closely with the Tournament Director, Dr. Kozma, and was the point-of-contact for all leads and judges. She was involved with all aspects of the competition, coordinated communications with teams and volunteers, oversaw check-in and produced event materials such as volunteer information packets. Sally, the Field Manager and team Business Lead, oversaw all tournament referees with a comprehensive knowledge of the season field setup, mission rules and challenge updates. Brigitte, the Pit Manager and team Technical Lead, organized the home base for teams during the event, scheduling teams for practice rounds, queuing teams for judging sessions and robot rounds and operating the concessions. Veronica, the Technical Advisor, kept technical systems functioning such as DJ, audio, PA announcements and computer needs so that the schedule was maintained throughout the day. Ainsley, lead Master of Ceremonies and team Communication Lead, brought the energy up in the robot field and created and sustained an exciting, fun atmosphere throughout the event. Together with Qi, a high school student from a neighbouring school, Veronica and Ainsley maintained the pace of the event and were consummate FIRST ambassadors. 

With the success of our inaugural event, HNMCS Robotics is looking to continue its tradition of promoting STEM with underrepresented youth by launching an all-girls off-season FLL Challenge Event.

“I would like to express my deep gratitude to you and all of the volunteers for the time and effort that you invested, both leading up to and during Saturday’s event, to help make the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Qualifying Tournament at Holy Name of Mary College School such an enjoyable experience for participating teams. I will never forget this exemplary inaugural event!”

Annika Pint, Program Manager, FIRST Lego League Challenge.

Team 7659 is ready and excited for Ruckus 2022 we have from October 21st to 22nd in Rochester, NY! We are building team spirit with our new members; one of the initiatives we’ve been working on is making matching team bracelets for the upcoming competition.

In other exciting news, our team has also started after school build sessions again! Every Saturday from 10 AM to 1 PM, we have been working hard to get our robot ready! We are also having drive practices with our drivers every Monday and Thursday.

All set for Ruckus… here we come!

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.