Mapletown students show off winning robot
MAPLETOWN — Two students from Mapletown High Schools’ robotics team presented its undefeated robot, “Twisted Metal,” to the Southeatern Greene School Board on Monday.
The 7th annual Bots IQ competition was held at California University of Pennsylvania on Friday. Teams competed to design and build robots with accessories and weapons in a double elimination tournament.
Team members Cassandra Rockwell and J.T Dulik said they believed their wedged robot was successful because they used belts instead of chains during the assembly, and their robot could spin.
A wedged robot is a combat robot that features a ramp. Rockwell said that even if “Twisted Metal” happened to be flipped over, the robot was built with wheels on both sides so that it could continue to move.
Travis Weston, a member of the robotics team, was operating the robot during the competition.
The team will go to Westmoreland County Community College for finals on April 13 and 14.
The project was sponsored by Tygart Industries Inc. in Carmichaels.
In other business, Mapletown High School is the proud home of a WPIAL Hall of Fame inductee.
Athletic director Linda Messich announced that 1990 graduate Derek Bochna was nominated for the WPIAL Hall of Fame for his athletic talent during his high school career. Bochna will be formally inducted this summer.
“Not only was Derek an excellent athlete, but he was class valedictorian,” said Messich. “I think Mapletown has a right to be proud of him.”
Bochna played football, basketball and baseball for Mapletown, and went on to Pennsylvania State University, where he continued his athletic career.
In another matter, the board voted unanimously to approve curriculum and software updates that were tabled at the February meeting.
Director Janet Pennington said that the curriculum for two new computers courses includes multimedia I and II for the first and second nine weeks. Web design will be taught the second semester.
The Adobe premium CS5 software not only upgrades the curriculum in web design, but also contains the software for teaching the two new multimedia courses. The cost to the district is $11,448.
In another unanimous vote, the board agreed to enter into a four-year lease for 300 laptop computers from Dollar Bank Leasing at a cost not to exceed $159,000, at a $1 buyout. The laptops will be obtained by PartStock.
Business manager Patrick Sweeney said current laptops that are still in good shape will go to Bobtown Elementary School.
The board also agreed to approve a contract with NovaCare Rehabilitation Inc. to provide athletic services for the 2012-13 school year at a cost of $27,000.
NovaCare will provide a certified athletic trainer for all sports, and the appropriate personnel recommended for home athletic events.
The next board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. April 23.