On Saturday May 9, members of Gill St. Bernard's Robotics Team Chaos participated in a live webcast with their regional robotics group to talk about their many achievements this year, as well as features and details of the robot the team designed. FMA+ is a weekly webcast that highlights accomplishments from FIRST Robotics teams from the Mid-Atlantic region, allowing teams to share their knowledge with other teams in a live chat Q&A after each presentation.
Team members Dylan Towle '21, Juliet Berzins '21, and Sarah Pambianchi '21 discussed the evolution of the robot built this year, trial and errors the team experienced, the progress of the team and its development, as well as future goals. Presenters incorporated visuals by showing images and videos of the team during the chat.
While this robotics season was unfortunately cut short, the team had many successes and accomplishments this year, and here are some of their reflections.
Dylan Towle '21
"Team Chaos went above and beyond my expectations. The team strategized and worked hard to get our robot built as fast as possible to tweak and tune it to perfection. This year's competition was tough, but the team rose to the challenge and did a great job working on the robot, the team structure and management, and the team award submissions. I am so thankful to be able to be a part of this team, and I cannot wait to get back in the shop."
Juliet Berzins '21
"As my first year on Team Chaos, I was really taken aback by the way this team worked together. I spent this season bonding with my other teammates and learning more about how the robots works. Even though we only competed once, we still got the experience and I was able to see what FIRST is about. I was grateful for the opportunity to be able to compete just once and to participate in FMA+! This was such a great way to stay involved in this community even during this time. I am happy to be a part of this team, and I cannot wait to see what else is in store for Team Chaos next year!"
Sarah Pambianchi '21
“I have really been missing getting to see my friends in the shop over this quarantine. This season we really came a long way, and that makes me proud. We met every goal that we set for ourselves over the season, we
had a lot of new involvement on the team, and even though our season was cut short I am happy that we at least got to compete once, and that we had the chance to be on FMA+.”
According to Head Coach Hayley Katz, "The students came into this school year with a lot of plans and goals, and they achieved almost all of them. We almost doubled our team in size, which is a testament to how proud our students are of this team. Even with COVID-19, we were able to end the year on a high note with the students being featured on FMA+. This gave them another opportunity to be recognized by the FIRST community for how hard they worked and how much their team has transformed in the past few years. I can proudly say how honored I am to be the head coach of this team. We will miss our seniors, and I am extremely excited to see how next year, and the coming years, will play out!"
Assistant Coach Carrie Johnson says, "I could not be prouder of Team Chaos this year. From day one all members worked together collaboratively, respectfully, and with a positive attitude. This robotics program offers students an opportunity to learn much more than just the mechanics of building a robot. There are so many opportunities to learn a variety of life skills and find what interests you. And we all have a ton of fun together too!"
Check out their awesome presentation on
YouTube. They are the first team to present! Well done, Team Chaos!