By Lisa Kava
A rookie robotics team from a small Upper West Side public school has made it to the championship of an international robotics competition. Students from West End Secondary School (WESS) will be heading to Houston, Texas, for the FIRST Championship, on April 17-20, where they will be among 200 schools competing.
WSR wrote about the WESS team last week as they faced such heavyweight schools as Bronx Science and Stuyvesant in the regional competition. Less than a year old, the WESS team was founded as a club by 9th grader Sonia Benowitz, 14, in September 2023. Benowitz loved building LEGO robots in WESS’s middle school robotics club, but a club did not exist for high school students. So she created one.
Led by coach Noah Tom-Wong, the club turned into a team, which built a robot that could perform “tasks” through wireless control. The robot uses its “arms” to pick up frisbee-like disks and throw them into a goal area. The robot is also programmed to drive up a ramp onto a platform, like a car on a road.
There were challenges at the outset of the regionals. “For the first two matches, one of the motors on our robot was broken,” Benowitz told West Side Rag. But the team was able to troubleshoot on the spot. “We had our tools with us so we were prepared to make adjustments to the robot and fix it.”
Located on West 61st Street, WESS was founded in 2015 and has 500 students in its high school. Despite competing against teams from larger schools with well-established STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs, WESS’s team was one of five teams selected (out of fifty-two) to move on to the championship. They also received the Rookie All-Star Award.
“I am excited to go to the championship as I’m sure it will be a great learning experience,” Benowitz said. “There will be teams attending from around the world and we can’t wait to see what their robots can do.”
Editor’s Note: “70% of our team members are from historically underrepresented groups in STEM, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and students with disabilities,” Sonia Benowitz told the Rag. WESS does not have the budget to cover the cost of sending the team to Houston so the Parents Association is fundraising. Contributions would be greatly appreciated by Venmo @wess-PA or by check to WESS Parents Association at 227 West 61st Street NY, NY 10023. If sending a check, please note it’s for robotics.
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Fantastic! Congratulations
I am writing to clarify this and previous articles regarding team 9636 “Space Junk.” The team was founded by a group of 4 students previously on the FLL team “Robowolves” and their parents. It was a group effort that required multiple sponsors and has won the Rookie All-Star award, sending them as Wildcard to the FIRST Championships. As announced at the award show “This rookie team started with just Lego bricks getting inspired at a young age with all their tricks. In high school they found their space to start a team; their scrappy approach has brought passion to STEAM.”
Hurrah for those kids! Congratulations and here’s hoping you take the top prize!
Venmo is requesting the last 4 digits of the associated phone number to confirm the payment. Who can we contact for this information?
Thank you JK! The WESS PA last 4 digits are: 5058.
Your support is greatly appreciated.