HHRS Wins New Jersey Coast-IEEE Robotics Competition 2015

Highlands, NJ, May 12, 2015 - On Saturday, May 2nd, the annual New Jersey Coast-IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Robotics Competition was held at Brookdale Community College. Competing were 15 top high schools for a total of 44 teams from across New Jersey, with Henry Hudson Regional School (HHRS) taking top honors. Their solo team, led by HHRS teacher Ms. Nancy Shaffery, beat out local heavyweights such as High Technology High School, Red Bank Regional, Manalapan High School (8 teams competing) and Rumson-Fair Haven High School (7 teams competing).

The winning team consisted of 5 seniors: Jonathan Herrera, Christian Farwell, Matt Young, Ben Wason and Tim Valinotti. Frank McConnell won the t-shirt design contest that was held during Ms. Shaffery’s Photography and Art Design classes, but he did not participate in the robotics challenge. The students started planning their robot in September, 2014 during technology club and began the actual process of building and programming in January, 2015.

Ms. Shaffery said, “These students did an outstanding job! These boys worked hard, were very focused and I’m extremely proud of them and their accomplishment.”

According to the IEEE website, “The Robot Challenge is designed to engage high school boys & girls in a 2-4 month activity that closely resembles the work of a graduate engineer in the ‘real world’.” Students are judged on the ability to build a remote controlled robot, program the robot so that it walks across a course on its own, create and orally present a PowerPoint presentation explaining the engineering process and how it applied to the design of their robot, provide a written report and design team shirts (optional).

Lenore Kingsmore, Principal, said of the win, “This is another great example of how HHRS provides students with the same unique experiences and education they would receive from a private school. We’re incredibly proud of our students and teachers but I am most proud of the fact that each of these students learned their skills without being enrolled in engineering classes but through engaging math and science classes that provided problem-based learning and critical thinking.”

About Henry Hudson Regional School

Henry Hudson Regional School, a middle school and high school, serves the towns of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands from grades seven through twelve. It is located adjacent to Twin Lights State Park in Highlands, New Jersey, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook. Henry Hudson Regional School provides a personalized learning experience that enables students to meet and exceed all content area learning standards by maintaining small class size, securing low student-to-teacher ratio, utilizing highly engaging curriculum that fosters academic achievement in a changing global, technological society, and embracing a strong partnership with its community. Henry Hudson equips students with the skills needed to develop self-esteem and character, to communicate effectively, to think critically to solve problems, to learn respect for cultural differences and to work cooperatively with others. www.henryhudsonreg.k12.nj.us

Ms. Nancy Shaffery has been teaching Digital Arts at HHRS for 11 years and previously taught at Rutgers University, Monmouth University and Stockton College.

About IEEE

IEEE is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community through IEEE’s highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE, pronounced “Eye-triple-E,” stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The association is chartered under this name and it is the full legal name. To learn more about the association’s name, please read the History of IEEE. http://sites.ieee.org/njcoast/