Student Activities

Prout Robotics #1 Again

The Prout School’s robotics team ( called “Hyperion”), and its two alliance partners, finished first in this year’s Rhode Island state championships of the FIRST Tech Challenge. The event was held on February 9 at New England Institute of Technology’s Automotive Center in Warwick.

This year’s challenge was called “Rover Ruckus”, a nod to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that put the first humans on the moon. Robots were challenged to “descend from the lander”, “collect minerals from a crater”, and place the minerals in the “cargo hold”.

This is the second year in a row that Prout’s “Hyperion” team has claimed the state championship as part of a three-team alliance that won the final match after a full day of competition. Thirty-one teams competed at the event, including teams from Bishop Hendricken HS, North Kingstown HS, Barrington HS, The Wheeler School, Narragansett High School and Rocky Hill School. Prout also took home the Design Award, presented to a team that best incorporates industrial design elements into their solution.

The other two teams in the winning alliance with Prout were the “Cybears” from Shoreline Robotics club in Westerly and the “Gold Diggers” from Mt. Hope High School in Bristol.

Last year, Prout’s Hyperion team represented the state of Rhode Island in the “super-regional” competition in Scranton, PA. This year, the FIRST organization opted to eliminate the “super-regional” competitions. State champions now progress directly to the world competition. The “Cybears”, the captain of the Shoreline/Prout/Mt. Hope alliance, will go on to represent the state of Rhode Island at the world competition in Detroit in April.

The Prout robotics team is captained by seniors Isabella Abilheira and Andrew Ferreira and junior Eli Messer. Team sponsors include South County Health, Providence Engineering Society, Schneider Electric and Greenwood Credit Union. Mrs. Balcezak, Prout math teacher, is the team moderator.