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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2011)
14 schools november22 2011 Who Wouldn’t Want to Work on Robots? Vernonia high school is ex- cited to announce the creation of a robotics team as part of a national program to build valuable skills in the field of engineering. The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) com- bines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, de- sign a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program a robot to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. It’s as close to “real world” engineering as a stu- dent can get. As a first year team, Verno- nia has an initial group of motivated students just beginning to learn what the program is all about. Although they have launched, they are still welcoming new members, so any- one in 9th to 12th grade is welcome to join. The Vernonia group is accel- erating their team’s learning curve by visiting other high schools with active programs as well as inviting others to our meetings to share their insights and showcase their robots from previous competitions. The group has begun meet- ing regularly on Monday evenings at 6:30 in the VHS shop to begin learn- ing and practicing skills they will use once the full competition begins. On November 14 th members of the Westview High School team in Beaverton visited Vernonia to demonstrate the robot they built and competed with last year. The West- view team will mentor the Vernonia students throughout their rookie sea- son, offering advice and practical assistance as Vernonia attempts to construct their first robot. The robotics program will kick into high-gear in January with the announcement of the 2012 chal- lenge. Starting with a base kit, the team will have until March to build, modify, fabricate and program the robot to perform the task identi- fied. Each year brings a unique VHS Fall Sports Wrap Up The Vernonia High School Loggers have just completed one of the more successful fall sports seasons in recent memory. From a league championship in cross country to a trip to the state tournament in volleyball to a huge turnaround in the football program, it was a good season to be a Logger! Football—Head Coach Gordon Jarman had a lot to be proud of this season. The Loggers finished their season with three straight league wins, and walked off the field after their final victory over Neah-Kah-Nie believing they had qualified for the state playoffs. Unfortunately, the Loggers, who ended league play with a 3-2 record and tied for second place with Knappa and Portland Christian, lost out in the complicated tie breaker based challenge, so although the students will be unaware of the details until the announcement, they are cur- rently working hard on developing their skills in all aspects of design and construction so they can hit the ground running. When the build deadline is reached in March, the robot will be packed and shipped to a regional challenge site where the team will be paired with other teams from across the state for a day of friendly competition. A major part of making this program a success is the involve- ment of mentor volunteers who can offer their time and expertise. Our Vernonia team is also looking for adults with skills in fabrication, welding, design, electronics, pneu- matics and computer programming. If you have any questions or want more information about how to get involved, contact Mi- chelle Bero at (503) 429-5001. on point differential in head-to head competitions. The Logger’s season ended disappointingly when they found out that Knappa had defeated Portland Christian by more than six points. Still the Loggers had a turnaround season and restored some glory to a program that had suffered through two difficult winless seasons. “They finished strong,” said Jarman. “I think our kids played some very good football late in the year. As coaches we could see they had a lot of potential and we just needed to help them play up to their potential.” “We were happy how our kids finished— playing strong, as a team, as a unit, but we weren’t satisfied,” says Jarman. “We would have liked to have made the playoffs and we did everything we could— we won our last three games. Hopefully we can do better next year.” School Employees Rally to Support Co-Worker Vernonia school employees have rallied together to assist co-worker Roxanna Heath-Sherman who is battling cancer. Members if the OSEA Union—Vernonia Chapter, of which Heath-Sherman is a member, along with other school employees, held a Bake Sale and sold the pink tie-die tee shirts pictured here and wrist bands, raising over $900 to help Roxanna with medical and other expenses while she has been receiving treatment. “We’ve pulled together to help one of our own,” says school employee Karen Roberts. There are still some tee shirts available for sale—contact Roberts at the VHS office at 503429-7801. The newly formed Vernonia Robotics Team received a demonstration by Westview High School of the competitive robot Westview designed and built. Jarman is already looking towards that next season. “We lose seventeen seniors and they will be difficult to replace, but we should have a lot of outstanding skill players coming back next year.” Volleyball—Head coach Teresa Williams took her team to the state playoffs this season and faced the number one seed in the 2A division. Against eventual state champion Days Creek, the Loggers lost 3-0, but competed strongly throughout the match. “We didn’t play our best in this match, which was disappointing,” said Williams. The Lady Loggers led Days Creek by ten points in two different games, but let them both slip away. For Williams it was a bitter sweet end to the Logger’s season. Her girls met their season goal of The Alumni Were Back! VHS Alumni returned to the Logger Dome for the 11 th Annual Zack Attack Volleyball game, challenging the VHS Varsity Lady Loggers in a charity match to raise funds for the Zack Runboltz Memorial Scholarship Fund. The Varsity defeated the Alumni 2-1 and the Scholarship fund was aided. The Scholarship Fund hasnow raised over $55,000 total to assist graduating VHS seniors. continued on page 15
