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Plymouth North High School Issue 3 May 2025
Plymouth North Robotics Is Off To Texas! What the robotics trip entails, and how they got there By Lydia Canniff The Plymouth North Robotics team has always been a hard working group. Their numbers have dwindled down to only ten people but they continue to press forward to achieve their goals. In May, four of these students are going all the way to Houston, Texas to compete at Nationals! “This year a small group of Robotics Team students competed in the ‘Drones in School’ competition,” Mr. Carl Nielsen, robotics advisor and engineering teacher at Plymouth North said. Juniors Shawn DeCourcey, Jackson Burke and Ethan Borges, and Senior Caelan McNiff put in the effort that allowed them to go all the way to Texas. But, the competitions they competed in were not an easy win for them. “The team has competed in online simulator races along with virtual races in which we had set up a course in the gym. With the virtual races we had to submit videos. We also used it in our marketing video, team display, and our engineering portfolio,” Mr. Nielsen said. This consisted of Simulator Races, and “Virtual Races” in which they set up a drone racing course that is the exact field measurements required within the set of rules given. They continued to make sure that every drone was tested and ready to race. If anything was broken or needed to be fixed they proceeded to fix it.
Students on the robotics team are exhilarated to be able to go on this amazing trip. Using it as a way to connect with people with similar interests is a huge part of school trips like this. The team hopes to come home as National Champions. But, they must prepare to race in two days of competitions. That will be against other high school teams from all over the country that are just as good as them. “I am super excited to be able to meet other pilots and compete on a competitive level,” Junior, Shawn DeCourcey, project manager and designer for the drone team, said. “As well as make connections with other pilots,” DeCourcey said, seeing as this is an amazing opportunity coming down the road for him. However, along with this exciting trip, like everything else in the world there is a heavy cost. This cost being around $1500 per student. However, the team has come up with ways to assist with the financial burden. “The cost is being offset by corporate sponsorship and fundraising,” Mr. Nielsen said. They have reached out to businesses all around Plymouth in order to receive more donations to help fund those attending the trip. While there, from May 20th to May 24th, they will get the amazing chance to go see NASA! Everyone's wishing this small group good luck on their journey to Houston, Texas!
Photos of the Plymouth North Drone Team (Ethan Borges, Shawn DeCourcey, Jackson Burke, and Caelan McNiff), Logo, and Virtual Race(s). Photos courtesy of Carl Nielsen
Page 2 Benefits Show
Page 3 5th Grade Business Teaching Outside Discipline
Page 4 Art of Costume Design
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