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Posts Tagged ‘robotics’

Robotics students shine in big city tourney

Posted in robotics, tagged , , , , , on December 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Ready to rule the robotics world. (Photos courtesy Alison Perera)

The whiz kids roll on.

The Coupeville High School/Middle School robotics squad went off-Island Monday, finishing 14th in a 25-team field at an interleague tournament featuring high-level opponents.

The “32-Bit Devils” threw down against schools “from Seattle, large inner city public schools, and family/community groups with big name corporate sponsors,” said advisor Alison Perera.

“Our students rocked everything thrown at them!” she added. “Our robot performed consistently, our driver performed consistently, we had solid content for our presentation and portfolio — we had goals and we rocked them!

“And even better, the kids want to keep going! When offered the chance to meet monthly for the rest of the year and keep building their skills, they are all over it.

“I am excited for the sustainability of this program!”

Perera and fellow advisor Logan Inces have an 11-member roster headed up by CHS juniors Lina Shelly, Haylee Armstrong, and Lindy Sylvester.

Sophomores Ryan Beaston and Noah Stribrny and freshman Frank Morrell are joined by eighth graders Ross Allred, Farrin Workman, Ash Prats, Hayli Marley, and Jade Peabody.

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Robotics squad back in action

Posted in robotics, tagged , , , , on November 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Ready to win the day. (Photos courtesy Alison Perera)

They’re powered up.

After competing in tandem with Oak Harbor for a while, Coupeville High School has launched its own robotics team once again.

The squad is officially FTC Team 32666, but they’re better known as the “32-Bit Devils” and they’re ready to shake up the robotics world.

School Board Director Alison Perera and physics/math teacher Logan Inces are the advisors, with 11 middle and high school students on the roster.

That group includes juniors Lina Shelly, Haylee Armstrong, and Lindy Sylvester, as well as sophomores Ryan Beaston and Noah Stribrny, and freshman Frank Morrell.

Eighth graders Ross Allred, Farrin Workman, Ash Prats, Hayli Marley, and Jade Peabody complete the team.

The 32-Bit Devils have competed in two league events in the FIRST Tech Challenge so far and currently sit sixth out of 12 teams.

Coupeville will step into the big time Dec. 7, when it attends a 26-team tourney off-Island featuring numerous squads from Seattle and Edmonds.

The FIRST Tech Challenge is “a robotics competition where teams of students design, build, and program small robots to score points in a series of fast-paced matches.”

Each match is played on a small court with two alliances (red and blue), and the alliances switch up with every match, meaning your partner in one round can be your rival later in the tourney.

This year’s game requires building a robot which shoots a wiffle ball into a standing goal.

L to r, it’s Alison Perera, Lindy Sylvester, Lina Shelly, Haylee Armstrong, Frank Morrell, Hayli Marley, Jade Peabody, Ross Allred, Farrin Workman, and Logan Ince.

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Morrell pursues track, tennis dreams

Posted in Track, tagged , , , , on June 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Frank Morrell will be a freshman at Coupeville High School in the fall. (Jennifer Morrell photo)

He wants to be one of the building blocks.

As Frank Morrell prepares to transition from middle school to high school, the Coupeville freshman-to-be is hoping he can help get the Wolf boys’ tennis program back up and going.

After many years of success, the net squad was sidelined by the double whammy of the pandemic and a battle for players after Coupeville’s move from 1A to 2B sent boys’ soccer from the spring to the fall.

But if Frank, the son of CHS cheer coach Jennifer Morrell, has a say, he’ll be out there on the court with a racket in hand.

However that develops, Pamela’s younger brother is also looking forward to continuing his track and field career.

Frank Morrell made his debut as an 8th grader, competing in the 110 hurdles, high jump, and 200-meter dash for CMS.

His plan right now is to continue in hurdles and high jump, with goals of hitting 20 seconds in the former and four feet, eight inches in the latter.

Morrell, who enjoys working on robotics and building Lego sets, picks the high jump as his favorite event, saying “It is very fun.”

Practicing and competing alongside his friends is a big draw for the rising young star, who continues to put in the work.

“Jumping is my strength, and I need to work on my speed,” he said, while hailing his dad “for always helping me improve.”

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CMS/CHS Robotics wants you!

Posted in Not sports? Tough!, tagged , , , , on June 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Build the future, today!

Well, OK, things don’t actually get going until September, but you get the point.

Coupeville schools are putting a big push on robotics, with a two-pronged approach.

They want to expand their middle school team, which is open to students in grades 6-8, while also developing their first team at the high school (9-12) level.

For more info, take a gander at the photo above and contact Alison Perera at aperera@coupeville.k12.wa.us.

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Whidbey Robotics Club wows the judges

Posted in Not sports? Tough!, tagged , , , , on March 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“Now, gentlemen? Now we take over the world!” (Photo courtesy Alison Perera)

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Overcoming issues with their robot, the Whidbey Island Robotics Club scored big at an event in Bonney Lake this weekend and is now off to the district championship.

The team, which brings together students from Oak Harbor and Coupeville, will be in Portland April 4-6, where they will square off with foes from two states.

There are three current Wolves involved, with Natalie Perera, Orion Liedtke, and Gabe Smith repping Cow Town, while former CHS soccer star Eddie Perera now attends OHHS.

The team’s trip to Bonney Lake was a wild one, as robot glitches threatened to derail the Islanders.

But the big brain bunch were picked by another team to form an alliance for the playoffs, which kept alive their district hopes.

The windfall which put Whidbey over the top, however, came when it received the FIRST Impact award, the most prestigious judged award in the tourney.

That alone was enough to send the Pereras and pals to Portland, as the award came with an automatic ticket to districts.

Tourney judges hailed Whidbey’s students, saying the award “is presented to the team judged to have the most significant measurable impact of its partnerships among its participants and community over a sustained period, not just a single build season.

“The winner is able to demonstrate progress towards FIRST’s mission of transforming our culture.”

Whidbey’s use of STEM skills was noted, as was the team’s non-robot work, which includes “building ramps and modifying gardens to ensure accessibility and inclusion.”

“They’ve also tackled societal issues head-on, making significant strides in menstrual equity and empowering student voices through legislation,” said the judges.

“These wild Islanders are the PURR-fect model for other teams to emulate!”

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