Rimersburg Elementary Students Compete in Robotics Coding Event

Aly Delp

Published December 7, 2018 5:32 am

Rimersburg Elementary Students Compete in Robotics Coding Event

HARRISBURG, Pa. (EYT) — Rimersburg Elementary students joined students from 24 other schools to compete in the Cyber Robotics Coding Competition hosted by Harrisburg University on Wednesday.

(Pictured, left to right: Dominic Campbell, Owen Terwint, Kya Wetzel, and Savana Libecco.)

Highlighting Pennsylvania as a national leader in computer science and technology education, Department of Education (PDE) Deputy Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Matthew Stem welcomed middle and high school students, including four students from Rimersburg Elementary School, to the finals of the Cyber Robotics Coding Competition hosted by Harrisburg University.

The Cyber Robotics Coding Competition is an innovative robotics tournament that excites and engages students in computer coding. It is a cloud-based simulation of virtual 3D robots that perform complex tasks and missions.

The statewide competition, which is open to students in grades 5 through 8 in the state of Pennsylvania, began with participation in “boot camp” missions which taught the basics of coding. The second round of the competition was a statewide qualifying round which began on Monday, November 12. This round was completed by the Rimersburg Elementary 6th graders in their science classrooms.

Schools were scored based on their qualifying round performances and 40 teams were selected to participate in the state finals.

The finals were held at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology on Tuesday, December 4, and Rimersburg Elementary had two teams selected to participate: Savana Libecco and Dominic Campbell were team “Coder Proz” and Kya Wensel and Owen Terwint competed as “Cool Coderz.”

The students traveled to Harrisburg on Monday, December 3, to take in a few sights before the final competition on Tuesday.

Pictured, left to right, front row: Dominic Campbell, Owen Terwint, Kya Wetzel, Savana Libecco; back row: Mrs. Shirey, Mr. Weckerly

Pictured, left to right, front row: Dominic Campbell, Owen Terwint, Kya Wetzel, Savana Libecco. Back row: Mrs. Shirey and Mr. Weckerly.

The finals lasted all day Tuesday, consisting of three rounds plus opening and closing ceremonies.

While the Rimersburg students didn’t place in the top three, they still had a memorable trip while building on skills that could be vital in the future.

“Coding skills are becoming an integral part of most careers as we become more and more dependant on technology,” said Debbie Shirey, the 6th Grade Science Teacher and Elementary Librarian at Rimersburg Elementary School.

“Every company relies heavily on computers and software to operate their businesses and as a result, there is a shortage of coders to meet our technological needs. Digital literacy is a necessary skill that our students need to be proficient in, and I felt that this competition was the perfect segway to teaching computer coding to our 6th graders. I am extremely proud of my students’ performance while at Harrisburg and it was an experience we will never forget.”

Computer coding is a fast-growing component within the Science, Technology, Education, and Math (STEM) fields and part of Governor Tom Wolf’s new PAsmart initiative. Pennsylvania now ranks second in the country for investments in K-12 STEM and computer education according to the Education Commission of the States. The governor also successfully encouraged the State Board of Education to endorse computer science standards for K-12, making computer courses available to all students. To further help students, Pennsylvania joined the Governors’ Partnership for K-12 Computer Science, a bipartisan initiative organized by Code.org.

Over the next decade, seven in 10 new jobs in Pennsylvania will require workers to use a computer and an estimated 300,000 jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math will be available in Pennsylvania this year.

Tuesday’s grand finale competition included 40 teams from 24 schools and took place during Computer Science Education Week, which is being celebrated internationally from December 3-9.

The top three teams were: