Seaside Neighborhood School one of South's best
SEASIDE - Seaside Neighborhood School drove away with the Second Place BEST Award at the 2007 South’s BEST Regional Robotics Championship at Auburn University. Seaside was the only middle school that won a BEST Award.
The school also won First Place for Most Robust Robot (needing the least amount of repairs throughout competition day) and First Place for Best Spirit and Sportsmanship in the BEST Award Category Awards. The school’s robot placed seventh overall in the robotics games.
Ninety-two of Seaside’s 113 students and more than 40 adults traveled to Auburn for the competition. Competing against winners of robotics hubs from Connecticut to Florida, Seaside faced 46 teams from middle schools and high schools, and many with technology and magnet-based programs. Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and the University’s College of Sciences and Mathematics hosted the event.
Winning the BEST Award is considered the highest achievement any team in the competition can accomplish. BEST stands for Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology. The teams for the BEST Award are judged on a project engineering notebook, an oral presentation, an educational display or exhibit, judge’s interviews, spirit and sportsmanship, and robot performance.
After winning the Third Place BEST Award at the Emerald Coast Hub competition in Pensacola, students began immediately preparing for the South’s BEST Championship by making changes to their robot design, table display, oral presentation, and interviews. The students learned a valuable lesson in perseverance and teamwork as they put their heads together to make improvements in all categories.
“We could not have accomplished this great feat without the support of teachers, parents, board members, mentors, and the financial contributions of local businesses,” said school principal Cathy Brubaker. “The BEST competition was truly a joint effort of the entire community.”
“Our mentors included the Design and Build Team: Dan Brubaker who gave up many hours of vacation time to help with the design and construction of our robot, Mike Cox, Shelton Stone, and Kim Mixson; Table Display Team: Michele Myers, Mack Corley, Jennifer Weintraub, and Sharon Martin; Spirit and Sportsmanship Team: Jennifer Schwarzbach, Martha Stroop, Billie Gaffrey, Weidia Coutts, Serena Richard, Charlotte Sause, and Jim Ward; Oral Presentation Team: Elaine Parrett, Janet Taylor, Cydney Cunningham, Travis Schwarzbach; Engineering Notebook Team: Cathy Potter and Denise Findley; Fundraising and Outreach Team: Tess Cox, Martha Stroop, and Serena Richard. The following businesses assisted with financial support: St. Joe Foundation, Inc., Scott Runnels, DMD, Applied Research Associates, Onano, LLC, Cox Engineering and Construction, Charles Gaines, John Martelli, Mark and Rene Carter of Seabreeze Radio, Sun Landscape, Van Fleet, Destiny Worship Center, Jessica Duggan, 30A Cabinetry, and Shops of Grayton North, John M. Poole and James L.Elzey. Thanks to everyone for making Seaside Neighborhood School the BEST.”