A school in southern Manitoba is preparing to host the province’s first-of-its-kind student robotics competition. This December, Morris School will be hosting the Morris Robo Rodeo VEX V5 Robotics competition – a first for Manitoba. “Excited, very excited,” said Hannah Klassen, a Grade 10 student on the Morris Robotics team. Over the past several months the team has been carefully designing, building and coding their robot from scratch, and now they are ready to put their creation to the test. “It’s growing. We are gaining interest,” said Joey Tiede, the school’s technology teacher and coach of the robotics team. Tiede said in the past few years the team has grown and evolved, even competing on the international level. But as of last year, trips south of the border have been put on pause. “So, we began looking for opportunities closer to home to compete,” he said. Several teams from Winnipeg and beyond will clash in Morris on Dec. 5 for the competition – pitting robot against robot in a series of challenges. However, Tiede said it is not all just fun and games. “Robotics is an excellent opportunity to develop those STEM skills, but not only those STEM skills, but the soft skills in general – things like teamwork, communication,” he said. Morris School Principal Mike Watson said the program has been a great way for students to get some hands-on experience beyond the traditional classroom setting. “I think it’s a great opportunity,” he said, saying it provides a more balanced education. “There’s an absolute place for numeracy and literacy. That’s the foundational learning that all of our kids need to have all the way through. Physical education’s in there as well. But if we can provide them with other experiences, I think that’s part of our job.” He’s not alone. Schools around the province have been getting on board this robotics boom. “Interest in VEX robotics has been growing quickly,” said Charlie Marks, president of the Manitoba Association of Education Technology Leaders (MAETL). He said more schools are trying out robotic kits for their students. He said Morris School had requested one through MAETL’s STEAM Library a few years ago. It provided the school an opportunity to try it out before budgeting to buy their own robotics gear. He said that kit is still available for schools to borrow. “Our kit is currently being loaned out to a Hutterian colony in the Prairie Spirit School Division,” he said. For the students at Morris School, eager for next months competition, they hope this is just the beginning. “This started like three years ago, now it’s grown to this,” said Grade 12 student Hassaan Mustafa. “We’re hoping that in the next couple years we can do a lot more. Like we want robotics to grow all across Manitoba.” Tiede said there is still room for more teams to join the competition next month. Anyone interested in learning more can contact him by email.
