Sandy, Utah— Beehive Science and Technology Academy, a Sandy-based, tuition-free, public charter school since 2011, announces the Beehive Academy FIRST Technical Challenge (FTC) team, comprised of students aged 14 -18 years, and the Beehive Academy FIRST Lego League (FLL) team, students 9 – 14 years, received multiple awards in this year’s state competitions and will move on to the World Championship rounds in Houston, TX this April. The competitions are presented by FIRST, the world’s leading youth-serving nonprofit organization advancing STEM education to over 3.2 million youth participants around the world since 1989. State level competitions in Utah were hosted by Southern Utah University for FTC challenges and Weber State University for FLL contests.
The Beehive Academy FTC team, named the HIVE, was awarded first place in the FIRST Tech Challenge Inspire Award (Top Judged Robotics Award) and the Winning Alliance Captain Award (Top Robot Game Achievement). They were also recognized for topping the State Robot Game High Score the last four times it was exceeded in competition and will advance to the World Competition as the first place team in Utah. Additionally, Beehive Academy student Neş’et Kablan was named a Dean’s List Finalist given to only two students in the state and is the highest and only individual award given to FIRST participants. Beehive Academy lead coach of the FTC team, Annie Drennan, was also awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award at the State Competitions.
“These talented students have diligently worked all year on their robotics programs receiving award recognition for multiple categories throughout the season,” said Drennan. “This is my15th season as a coach, and I also instruct Beehive Academy’s FIRST Robotic Program teams. It has been an amazing experience watching our students learn and grow in the STEM field. Now they are representing our community at the World Championships where half of the participating teams are international representatives from around the globe.”
Beehive Academy’s FLL team, named the BeeSTAR, won at the state level for the Champion’s Award (Top Judged Robotics Award) and qualified for first place in the Robot Design Award that the FIRST organization acknowledges “outstanding programming principles and solid engineering practices to develop a robot that is mechanically sound, durable, efficient, and highly capable of performing challenge missions.” The BeeSTAR team will also advance to the World Competition. BeeSTAR lead coach Ben Holt said, “The robotics teams are so inspiring to each other and the community. With over 2,500 hours in volunteering and outreach, the teams show their peers that they matter and collectively encourage each one to believe in themselves.”
Beehive Academy Director Hanifi Oguz added, “I want to thank and acknowledge those who worked so hard with the students in their endeavors, which includes our devoted parent coach volunteers Annie Drennan and Ben Holt, as well as all the parents who volunteer and invest in many hours of support. We are proud of our Beehive Robotics and Lego teams and all of the hours they have put into their competitions and the community. We wish them all the best as they move forward to the World Championship contests.”
Visit www.beehiveacademy.org. to learn more about Beehive Science and Technology Academy.
