NISD elementary students compete in virtual robotics tournament

This school year, elementary students across Northwest ISD learned valuable problem-solving and coding skills through the Virtual Robotics Tournament “Merchandise Meyham," sponsored by the Northwest ISD Education Foundation. This is the foundation’s third year to sponsor the tournament.

“One of our strategic goals is to encourage future-ready students through high impact opportunities and we believe STEM plays a critical role in making sure NISD students succeed in college and future careers,” said NEF executive director Jennifer Burton.

In the tournament, students were presented with five robotics kits to choose from including a Lego Spike robot, Dash robot, Ozobot, Lego Mindstorm EV3 robot and a Lego Wedo 2 robot. After forming teams and choosing their robotics kit, students had about two months to complete their challenge and submit to compete against other schools virtually.

In each challenge, students created a robot prototype that could be driven, either by code or through an app, through a sequence of challenges to demonstrate a solution to improve the way products are transported and delivered from seaport to consumer. Once students perfected their solution, they filmed their robot moving through the course and submitted their video online.

“Robotics allows students to practice their lifelong skills of communication and problem solving,” said NISD Instructional Technologist Rene Egle. “Our virtual robotics tournament involves everything from planning, designing, developing a code to program the function of the bot, and a peer/self-evaluation evaluation.”

The teams that scored highest overall for their challenges were crowned the tournament champions. Teams could also win the Design Award for having the most creative and efficient robot mat course, the Go-Go Gadget Award for the creating the most unique or creative  accessories, or the Spirit and Sportsmanship Award for demonstrating the most enthusiasm and spirit for their team and others.

"We would like to thank the Northwest Education Foundation, NEF, in their continued support of tournament trophies, medals, and certificates,” said Mrs. Egle.

A complete list of award winners can be found below. 

Dash 3-5

Award	Team Name	Students	School
Tournament Champions	The Bobcat Hackers	Audrey Sanders, Kathryn Janese, Cody Conklin	Lakeview
Spirit and Sportsmanship (Tie)	Magnificent Brunos	Olivia Kimmel, David Williamson, Maddox Games, Kenzi Slayton	Nance
Spirit and Sportsmanship (Tie)	Superman Coders	Mason Josephson, Lylah Barriere, Ariana Ortega	Nance
Design Award (Tie)	Umm J.E.Y	Jemma Jordan, Emma Guevara, Yanna Obcena	Lance Thompson
Design Award (Tie)	Nance Team 1	Vivian Sorensen, Easton Jansen, Drew Howard	Nance
Go-Go Gadget Award (Tie)	Texas Roadrunners	Aarav Goyal, Colton Neal, Samuel Albert, Wyatt Albert	Cox
Go-Go Gadget Award (Tie)	Firebolt Dash	Sam Brown, Michael McHenry, Josiah McFarland, Ellie Jensen	Cox

Ozobot 3-5

Award	Team Name	Students	School
Tournament Champions	Party Express	Isaac Nyembwe, Julian Cantu, Carson Dukes	Sendera Ranch
Spirit and Sportsmanship	Sports	Jackson Rivera, Grayson Bourgeois	Lance Thompson
Go-Go Gadget Award	Color Coders	Branson Hurd, Bryleigh Hamby, Kathryn Adams, Linken Lowery	Hatfield
Design Award	Robo Nerds	Austin Lay, Caleb Mendez, Sophia Lucke, Owen Ehn	Cox
Design Award	The Amazon Delivery Gals	Brooklyn Meyers, Sophia Harden, Caitlyn Hardy, Laila Chavez	Granger

Lego Mindstorm EV3

Award	Team Name	Students	School
Tournament Champions	Avocados From Mexico	Maddy Cain, Natalie Wolf	Justin
Go-Go Gadget Award	Life as a Banana	Beckett Moore, Kolton Cruz	Lance Thompson
Spirit and Sportsmanship	Fire Breathing Ducks	Natalie Morillo, Sebastian Martir-Rodriguez, Cason Neal, Nathaniel Stamm	Hatfield
Design Award	Creative Coders	Daniella Falcon, Gabriel Hyman, Josh Thirey, Savannah Thirey	Hatfield

Ozobot K-2

Award	Team Name	Students	School
Tournament Champions	Boss Balls	Coleman Sanders, Cole Valenta, Nolan Conklin, Jackson Andrews	Lakeview
Spirit and Sportsmanship	Boss Balls	Coleman Sanders, Cole Valenta, Nolan Conklin, Jackson Andrews	Lakeview
Go-Go Gadget Award	The Glitter Girls	Baleigh Weigand, Bianca Rice, Addelyn Lowery, Emma Merilainen	Hatfield
Design Award	The Sparkly Crayons	Kinsey Thirey, Luciana Orbin, Ellison Tweedie, Elaine Yeboah	Hatfield

Lego SPIKE

Award	Team Name	Students	School
Tournament Champions	The Trailblazers	Dax Droege, Ben Tyler, James Ham	Granger
Spirit and Sportsmanship	Einsteiniums	Clark Jewett, Jonas Hollenshead, Layton Dillard	Lance Thompson
Design Award	The Fifth Graders	Evan McComber, Kolt Davis, Jackson Sarlo, Grady Knowles	Granger
Go-Go Gadget Award	The Gadget Girls	Greta Nordstrom, Bailey Morris, Kaitlyn Bernardo,  Lily Henkes	Granger

See additional photos on the district’s Flickr account.