NO SCHOOL: Thanksgiving Recess
Albany High School’s robotics team made history on March 17 as it flexed its mechanical muscles to claim first place in the 2018 New York Tech Valley Regional FIRST Robotics Team event. This win marks the team’s first victory at the regional level in its 15 years of competition.
After competing for two days at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Albany High and its partners from two other high schools emerged victorious over more than 30 teams of high school students who had been presented with the challenge of building a robot capable of completing a specific task.
This year’s challenge was a simulated rescue of video-game characters and their human operators trapped in an obsolete arcade game to defeat “the boss” and allow the captive video characters and their operators to escape the retro arcade game.
“FIRST is designed to get high school students excited about STEM-related fields, and this can be the start of their careers in these fields,” said Rich Kissane, a retired Albany High teacher and one of the team’s advisers.
“We performed exactly as expected; played hard, played smart and exhibited gracious professionalism at all times.”
For junior Noah Greenblatt, this historic win as a victory not only for his current teammates, but for the future of robotics at Albany High.
“Winning this competition acts as an opportunity to expand our team and our programming, bringing in more students and allowing us to get to more competitions and compete even better,” he said.
Sophomore Laurel Stix also turned her vision to the future after Saturday’s big win.
“To me, a win felt like we could do anything adults can do—like we really are a future worth looking forward to,” she said.
After finishing the qualifying rounds in second place behind Shaker High School, Albany High selected Brazil’s Marista Pio XII and Long Island’s Center Moriches High School as its allies for the finals. Together, the Albany High alliance competed against the Shaker alliance, which included Shenendehowa High School and Long Island high school Half Hollow Hills West and Half Hollow Hills East.
Albany High chose its partners for the final wisely, and together they upset Shaker’s alliance to win the event.
Albany High’s team 1493 will now advance to the FIRST Championship in Detroit from April 25-29 for a chance to compete against teams from across the nation and around the world.
The mission of the City School District of Albanyis to work in partnership with our diverse community to engage every learner in a robust educational program designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for success. The district servesmore than 9,600 students in 18 elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood schools, the district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students, including four themed academies at Albany High School.
