PUHI — The MonkeyBotZ team had the kinks worked out when it unleashed its vehicle onto the special competition table Tuesday night. Sixteen students from the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School 6th and 7th grades make up the MonkeyBotZ team of
PUHI — The MonkeyBotZ team had the kinks worked out when it unleashed its vehicle onto the special competition table Tuesday night.
Sixteen students from the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School 6th and 7th grades make up the MonkeyBotZ team of beginning robotics students, said instructor Denice Sheffer.
As a prelude to the competition today at McKinley High School in Honolulu, the student team worked through their presentation of PowerPuzzle, this year’s theme, to an attentive audience at the school’s Family Night.
Rain and lightning couldn’t keep the students away, and the team worked through a PowerPoint presentation on the CKMS’ energy usage by the cafeteria and kitchen.
That report is an integral part of the PowerPuzzle competition and will be presented to a panel of judges, Sheffer said in an e-mail.
Additionally, the students have learned to build autonomous computer-programmed robots with Lego kits while developing a strategy they hope will do well in the competition.
Sheffer said another 16 students make up the advanced robotics class who will be attending the Hawai‘i Botball tournament in May 2008.
Sponsors for the MonkeyBotZ team include the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative who came up with the team T-shirts, an Aloha ‘Ike grant from the Kaua‘i Economic Development, Esaki Surveying and Mapping, Craig Kawakami Builders, Princeville Development, and many other community helpers.
Jade Bowman, another of the technology instructors at CKMS, pointed out that their EAST program is related in that EAST students utilize the latest in technology to problems they see in communities.
EAST is an educational initiative that srives to make learning better for students, teachers and society, Bowman said.
By applying technology to problems, the students take control of their own learning to deliver tangible results.
Students in the EAST program take it on themselves to learn as much as they can beause they care about the outcome, Bowman said in a parents’ letter.
“The students are in control, and hopefully, this will help them enjoy learning,” she said.
Skills picked up by the students include experiences in teamwork, leadership, self-motivation, public speaking and more, in addition to those skills learned while working with industry-standard software and hardware.
Bowman said students in the EAST program will follow their own interests and work at their own pace, becoming familiar with the technology available in the EAST classroom.
Some examples of the available technology will cover basic computer skills as well as more advanced technology like CAD programs, GIS/GPS, computer aided modeling and design, animation, digital filmmaking, programming, network design and maintenance.
Bowman said the EAST program centers on the growth of the child, and the standards for the EAST program cover a range of the state’s General Learner Outcome standards.
The CKMS technology programs and media program will be hosting a fundraiser in conjunction with the school’s 4th Annual Holiday Christmas Fair, Dec. 14 and 15.
Gayle Konishi, the coordinator for the Fair, said it was more likely the Fair will be tagged onto the fundraiser.
On Dec. 14, tickets for a chicken dinner are being sold to benefit one of the school’s programs.
In conjunction with the dinner, Konishi said the craft fair will be held between 5 to 9 p.m. at the cafeteria.
“By the time I get through with that, it’ll be too late to tear down, so we’re going to do it on Dec. 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.,” Konishi said.
On Dec. 15, another of the school’s groups are selling tickets for a chicken plate lunch.
Konishi said this was a great way to fill holiday shopping needs from the juried vendors who offer quality, handmade crafts and products made here on Kaua‘i.
Proceeds from the fair also go to help the various programs at the CKMS.
For more information, call 241-3200.
