SCHOOLS
Wednesday, april 13, 2022
HerMisTOnHerald.COM • A7
Umatilla robotics team qualifies for global competition
yard sale fundraiser is
at the Umatilla school
district Office april 16
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Team Confidential, the
Umatilla High School var-
sity robotics team, is one of
the best robotics teams in the
nation, by virtue of a victory
at the FIRST Robotics com-
petition, the Pacific North-
west District Championship
this past weekend. Soon,
they may be recognized as
the best in the world.
Kyle Sipe, Umatilla
teacher and robotics coach,
explained
their
recent
achievement in which 50
schools were involved
April 6-9 in Cheney,
Washington.
“The kids won what
is called the Chairman’s
Award, which is the award
that, basically, is first place,”
Sipe said. “All of the other
robotics teams try to win this
award.”
He added that he was
very proud of his team, as
they set this goal “a long
Umatilla High School/Contributed Photo
Confidential team members pose with a banner on Saturday, April 9, 2022. The Umatilla High
School robotics team qualified for worlds this past weekend.
time ago,” and this team has
accomplished it. What was a
dream has become a reality,
thanks to planning and hard
work, Sipe said.
“This isn’t just a one-year
thing,” he said. “It’s not as if
we’re just doing good this
year. It’s been on our program
for a number of years. We’ve
grown it up in the last 12 years
to be at the level we are at.”
At the district champion-
ship, the junior varsity team
was also in competition.
That team was vying for
Rookie All-Stars honor. The
“training team,” as the coach
calls it, is made up of fresh-
man students.
These younger students
did not win, but they were
promoted to the Confiden-
tial team after the varsity
competitors won the Chair-
man’s Award.
This prepares them for
what comes next.
A unified UHS robotics
team of 27 students will go
to a world-level competi-
tion. They will go head-to-
head against other teams
from around the globe,
starting April 20, in Hous-
ton, Texas. Competitors
will come from faraway
countries, including China,
Japan and Israel.
Leaving on Sunday,
April 17, a single bus will
cart the Umatilla students
and supervisors to Texas.
“We have, approxi-
mately, a 32-hour bus trip
ahead of us,” Sipe said. The
team will arrive on Wednes-
day morning, just in time for
the competition.
It is the team’s seventh
trip to the world finals,
fourth to Houston, Texas.
The team went to the com-
petition in St. Louis four
times when it was there.
“They do really well,”
Sipe said of previous events.
“This year, because of how
hard they have worked, we
will be able to compete on
the world’s stage.”
He added, that it is not a
common thing for him to say
that the team has a chance to
win the world title. Still, this
year is special, he said. Even
though it has never happened
before for Umatilla, and it
would be an amazing achieve-
ment, Umatilla students could
become the champions of the
world, Sipe said.
“I’m
just
confident
that our kids are prepared.
They’ve worked hard, and
they’ve built a robotics team
that is the model for other
teams to focus on and copy,”
he said.
Win or lose, though, the
kids will have a terrific time,
Sipe said. According to the
coach, young people are
gaining eye-opening expe-
riences. A trip to Texas, he
said, will be a first for some
of them; some of them have
never left the region.
Sipe said in the trip to
Cheney, the team visited a
buffet. Some of the students
had never eaten at such a
restaurant before. Likely,
he said, they will have more
first-time experiences on the
coming trip.
The coach said in addi-
tion to himself, his wife,
Superintendent Heidi Sipe,
and their son, Caden Sipe,
fellow robotics coach, would
be on this trip, too. He said
they would keep a close eye
on the kids.
The Umatilla School
District Office, 1001 Sixth
Street, will host a yard sale
as a fundraiser Saturday,
April 16, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Donations are accepted Fri-
day, April 15, 2-7 p.m.
New boundaries set for Hermiston School District
Hermiston Herald
New school boundaries will
take effect with the start of 2022
school year, according to the
Hermiston School District.
The district’s board approved
the boundaries at a recent meeting.
According to a press release
from the district, the updated
boundaries follow the passage of
the 2019 Hermiston School Bond
and the building of a larger Rocky
Heights Elementary School and
the addition of a sixth elemen-
tary school, Loma Vista. “The two
schools are larger, improved facil-
ities and will accommodate more
students, which will help to alle-
viate overcrowded conditions at
the remaining sites. The increased
campus sizes of the new buildings,
along with capacity issues across
the remaining campuses, neces-
sitates adjustments to elemen-
tary and middle school attendance
boundaries,” the press release
states.
The release goes on to explain
that the proposed boundaries were
presented to the board by the dis-
trict administration and the bound-
ary committee, consisting of par-
ents, board members and school
personnel. The committee ana-
lyzed school attendance areas,
population growth, housing den-
sity studies and feeder school sce-
narios. Middle school boundaries
will be determined by a family’s
physical address and where it falls
relative to Highway 395, to the
west or the east. Desert View, West
Park and Rocky Heights Elemen-
tary students will attend Armand
Larive Middle School, and High-
land Hills, Sunset and Loma Vista
Elementary students will attend
Sandstone Middle School.
“Adjusting boundaries is a com-
munity effort,” said Tricia Mooney,
superintendent of schools. “Thank
you to the boundary commit-
tee members for their insight and
time. The team made every effort
to affect as few students as possi-
ble; although, some changes were
necessary to fill the new school and
relieve crowding at the remaining
campuses.”
Letters from the district went
out to current kindergarten through
seventh grade students. Letters
informed each family of their child’s
school for the next school year.
“If families have concerns that
the identified school is inaccurate,
they are encouraged to contact the
school or district office,” the press
release states.
JOIN US FOR
EAR-RESISTIBLE
Easter Sunday Specials
4–8pm
Join us for a three-course meal featuring a
pistachio crusted lamb with wine pairings!
For full menu and pricing, visit wildhorseresort.com.
Reservations required, call 541.966.1610.
2–9pm
Triple the celebration with a grilled meat trio
followed by a triple layer trifl e for dessert!
$29 per person/$27 for each additional person
10am–2pm
Enjoy all you can eat slow roasted prime rib,
honey maple ham, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit,
salads, desserts and more!
Steakhouse & Saloon
Adults $33 / Kids 5–12 $16
Reservations recommended, call 541.278.1100.
Visit wildhorseresort.com for menus and details.
CASINO • HOTEL • GOLF • CINEPLEX • RV
MUSEUM • DINING • TRAVEL PLAZA • FUNPLEX
®
800.654.9453 • PENDLETON, OR • I-84, EXIT 216 • wildhorseresort.com • Owned and operated by CTUIR
Management reserves all rights to alter, suspend or withdraw promotions/offers at any time.
CAT11309-2