Local elementary school’s robotics teams earn top honors
Pictured: Evelyn, Emily, & Sawyer (Photo by Soquel Goodin).
Student-built robots qualify team for Southern California regional competition
– The Georgia Brown Dual Immersion School robotics teams won multiple awards during a regional robotics competition held Saturday, Dec. 13, in Santa Maria.
Forty-six robotics teams from across the Central Coast, from Paso Robles to Santa Maria and surrounding communities, competed in the Santa Maria Winter Wonderland Robotics Open Competition at Tommie Kunst Junior High School.
Teams spent months designing, programming, and building robots to compete in skills challenges that tested both remote-controlled and autonomous performance. Students worked in teams to pick up, stack, and move objects during timed matches, earning points based on strategy and precision. All robots were designed and programmed by students, with teachers serving as mentors in engineering, design, and teamwork.
Pictured: Hannah, Adrian, Rees, Yeshua, & Jupiter (Photo by Soquel Goodin).
The school brought two teams to the competition, including an elementary team made up of fourth graders and a junior high team made up of sixth and seventh graders.
With more than 30 elementary teams competing, the elementary team earned the overall teamwork champion award, the robot skills champion award, and the design award for its robot, nicknamed “Lobster.” The robot scored more than twice as many points as the next highest competitor.
By winning in Santa Maria, the elementary team qualified for the Southern California regional competition, scheduled for March 13–14 at UC Irvine. Performance at that event will determine whether the team advances to the world championship in St. Louis at the end of April.
The middle school team also advanced to the finals and earned the innovation award for the design of its robot, “Bot-Zilla.” The team recorded the highest autonomous score of all teams in attendance, meaning the robot operated solely using student-written code.
The teams, led by science teacher Jon-Paul Ewing, earned four top awards, more than any other school at the competition.
Pictured – top row: Sawer, Yeshua, Emily, Connor. Bottom row: Evelyn, Rees, Adrian, Jupiter, JP Ewing (Photo credit David Volle).
“It was a wildly successful day and I’m still processing what happened,” Ewing said. “Our students were fantastic—handling setbacks with maturity and showing outstanding sportsmanship with their fellow competitors.”
“I really enjoyed learning how robots work and getting to meet other kids from all over,” said Evelyn Maxted, a sixth grader on the middle school team. “It was so much fun.”
The competition marked the inaugural year of the school’s robotics program.
Launched in September, the program was supported through community donations. The Paso Robles Education Association donated $1,600 for competition kits. The school parent organization paid the $310 contest entry fee and $70 for a practice arena. Principal Cristina Velasco used school donation funds to cover team registrations and transportation costs totaling $500.
As the teams prepare for the upcoming regional competition at UC Irvine, they are working to raise $2,000 to help cover entry fees, travel expenses, and new pneumatic kits for robot upgrades.
Pictured: Emily, Jeseria, Sawyer, Evelyn & John (Credit_ Soquel Goodin).
“Our students are fired up, and I’m doing everything I can to keep up with their energy and ambition,” Ewing said. “They’re already brainstorming ways to make their designs even stronger for State. The community’s support makes all of this possible.”
Community members and local businesses interested in contributing may contact Ewing at jpewing@pasoschools.org.
Elementary team members include Rees Slover, Yeshua Angulo-Jimenez, Adrian Volle, Vivienne Abarca, Jupiter Ewing, and Hannah Thompson. Middle school team members include Sawyer Goodin, John Arevalo, Connor Ralls, Evelyn Maxted, Emily Bailey, and Jeseria Huffman.
The robotics competition is presented by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, an international organization that hosts robotics tournaments for students from elementary school through college. The program includes more than one million participants worldwide.
