WORLD CLASS ROBOTICS

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May 3, 2024

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here. 

Notre Dame Prep teams bring home two of the four awards won by Michigan schools at the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas. 

The VEX Robotics World Championship, presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation and the REC Foundation, began April 25 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. The annual event brought together the top VEX IQ Robotics Competition, VEX Robotics Competition and VEX U teams from around the world to celebrate their accomplishments and participate in the games.

Four robotics teams from Notre Dame Prep traveled this year to Dallas for the event, which is the largest robotics competition in the world, with more than 100,000 in attendance this year. Although it is a huge event, it is not easy to get in; only a small percentage of active teams worldwide qualify to attend. 

"Only four teams in Michigan won awards across all divisions in high school and middle school last week, and two of them were from Notre Dame Prep," said Jerry Palardy, NDP's robotics team mentor and coach. "We also are the only school in Michigan to have won awards last year and this year — actually, NDP has an awards streak going on four years!"

Since the Dallas event is an international event, teams from China, Columbia, Australia, Guyana, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, India, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Vietnam and many more, are regular competitors. 

"Part of the experience for the kids is meeting and figuring out how to work with other teams that don't necessarily speak the same language," Palardy said. "NDP Team 3333Y "Wynaut," David Ma (7th grade), Graden Grech (7th) and Thomas Binkowski (7th), actually helped their Chinese partners overturn an incorrect ruling. David translated while Graden presented their case to the referee, and the call was reversed. It was an amazing thing to witness."

All four of the teams from NDP had been to the world championship before. Team 3333W, "Power of the Square," consisting of Brooklyn Haddad (11th grade), Dino Acciavatti (10th) and Kevin Carter (10th), made their fourth straight appearance at Worlds. It was the second year for team 3333T, "Tornado Troopers," Steven Carter (7th grade) and Juan Pablo Turrubiartes (7th), as well as team 3333X, "Xtreem Bot," Chris Artinian (8th grade), Krrish Patel (10th), Caden Staniszewski (8th), William Platt (8th), and Patrick Riney (10th). Team 3333Y also made their second straight Worlds appearance.

 

 

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School 
Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.