The Westlake High School VEX team Circuit Breakers earned the Sportsmanship Award during the recent Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) VEX Robotics Southern Maryland VRC Tournament held Jan. 21. From left are Zaynab Abdul-Kareem, Yarelis Cortez-Torrez, Maddox Cypress, Dion Dupree and Samuel McLaughlin.
LA PLATA, Md. – Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) teams competed in the VEX Robotics Southern Maryland VRC Tournament held Jan. 21 at the College of Southern Maryland in La Plata. Middle school and high school teams showcased their engineering know-how along with creativity, teamwork and problem-solving skills.
The Thomas Stone High School team Kaizen teamed with the SMRC Marauders, a community-based team, to become tournament champions and advance to the state competition held March 1 and 2 at Dundalk High School in Baltimore. Kaizen is coached by Miley Winters, a technology education teacher at Stone. Team members are sophomores Mitchel Bose-Cruz, Christopher Hill and Blake Testerman.
The Disco Ducks of Piccowaxen Middle School will advance to the state competition on Feb. 17 at Hereford Middle School in Baltimore. The team is made up of eighth graders Kai Scott, Elijah Merkle and Marcellus White, and seventh-grade students Liam Gibney and Drake Scott. Melissa Scott, learning resource teacher at Piccowaxen and General Smallwood middle schools, coaches the Disco Ducks.
Other CCPS teams earned awards at the event:
- Excellence Award (middle school) — Disco Ducks, Piccowaxen.
- Design Award — The Boehm of Our Existence, La Plata High School.
- Judges Award — Fantastic Falcons, Theodore G. Davis Middle School
- Innovate Award — Warriors, La Plata.
- Build Award — The Vexagons, John Hanson Middle School.
- Create Award — Rizzinators, Piccowaxen.
- Sportsmanship Award — Circuit Breakers I, Westlake High School.
The VEX IQ competition — tailored for teams made up of elementary and middle school students — will be held Saturday, Feb. 3, at Great Mills High School.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 27,765 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Kathy Kiessling, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.
CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).