GUELPH – The robotics team at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School, Beaverworx Robotics, is well known for award-winning robots its students design and build.
For 18 years, the team was led by teacher Michael Moore, who has now retired.
However, Moore’s retirement does not mean the end of the robotics team.
According to Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) director of education Mike Glazier, a group of people have started to fill the significant void Moore leaves behind, including teaching staff and student graduates returning as mentors.
Glazier added, “There has been a push this year to expand the program to offer it to more students from across the [WCDSB] and to explore credit-bearing programs for students who participate.”
The robotics team at Our Lady of Lourdes is not credit-bearing: it’s an after-school club that students sign up for.
Superintendent Betty Farrell said the board is exploring offering robotics in a project-based continuing education technology course for Grade 9 and 10 students.
She said a course like this could be a way to attract younger students to robotics.
The robotics club meets after 5:30, she noted, as the mentors are working in the industry and not able to come during the day.
Farrell hopes that if a course was offered to Grade 9 and 10 students, it would spark their love of robotics and encourage them to attend the club in the evenings in Grades 11 and 12.
She said the board attempted to launch a robotics-focused manufacturing course this year, but was not able to move forward with it because there was not enough interest.
Asked about introducing robotics to elementary students, Farrell said Beaverworx Robotics team members often bring their robots to elementary schools to offer demonstrations and show the younger students how the robots work.
Elementary students are also introduced to robotics through participating in the Ontario Skills Competition, Farrell said. She added board officials are exploring how to increase the amount of exposure to robotics in elementary schools.
