Griffiths makes semifinals in robotic tournament

DOWNEY – A team of students from Griffiths Middle School advanced to the semi-finals of the VEX Robotics Competition recently held in Lancaster. It was Griffiths’ first time competing. “Although they were bested in the semi-finals, this first tournament was an encouraging start for GMS’ students as they return to the classroom to rethink their design and strategy for the next competition,” DUSD officials said in a statement.

Griffiths sent 16 students to the competition, where they designed a robot to complete specific tasks. The robots compete against other robots in a game-based engineering challenge.

Classroom STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) concepts are put to the test as students learn teamwork, leadership, communications and more.

Working with another team, Griffiths students competed in a timed competition against two other middle schools on a 12-inch by 12-inch playing field. Teams scored points by using their robots to place cubes in a specific location or build a “skyrise” tower using plastic cylinders.

“This may sound easy, but students must program their robot to run autonomously for a specific period of time before they have control using a remote device,” school officials said.

In the 42 pre-qualifying matches, Griffiths ranked eighth and 22nd, but in the double-elimination round they upset the second-ranked team, which propelled them into the semi-finals.

Griffiths students will compete again next month against middle schools and also high schools.

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Published: Nov. 13, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 31