Last day in the USA!

Today was a sad but happy day as it was our last in the States. Everyone was up early to pack up their belongings and the robots, before heading out for the day.
The morning consisted of shopping at the local Westfield Centre in Topanga followed by a tasty meal at the Cheesecake factory.

 

We all then managed to squeeze our shopping into suitcases before heading off to Santa Monica beach and pier to watch the sunset and enjoy the rides.

 

  

Then it was time to head to the airport before heading home.
It has been a fantastic trip, one with plenty of memories to keep for years to come!

More competition

Although "Clash in the Canyon" was over there was still time for more competition!!

This time bowling - two teams, one made up of students, the second made up of students and staff. If you want to know who won in the students team just ask Alex and Caitlin!

 

The day after the competition!

After the hard work and excellent results at the competition it was time to relax with a fun day at Universal Studios!

This was followed by trip to Walmart! This was on the "to do" list for all the students, dare I say trolleys were full of candy!

Competition results

It was a nail biting day at the competition with both teams winning their first match of the day and then both teams through to the quarter finals, 3rd and 4th seeds!! Two very proud teachers!

This was then followed with both teams making it as far as the semi finals - it was a massive congratulations to all the students showcasing their robotics and engineering skills to the maximum. 

A massive thank you also goes to our sponsors  - MBDA, Communicator and Irvine Systems Ltd (UK) and Jack!

The day was topped off with team 3117 Sterling Sharks winning the Judges award. 

It was a fantastic day and one which will be remembered!

Day 4 - Competition day!

So today was the day students would be competing in the Clash in the Canyons Vex Robotics event.
Teams Sterling Lions and Sterling Sharks were all ready and prepared in their team t-shirts ready to face the competition.
Upon arriving at ViewPoint High school the nerves and anticipation started to build as we got ready for the competition day. Students set the robots up and were able to practise on the test pitches before the start of the competition. It was also a chance for students to see other schools from the California area and their robots, engineering log books and team spirit!

Team 3117 Sterling Sharks were up first followed by team 3117b Sterling Lions. Both teams won their first matches so we were off to a good start!

Check back tomorrow to find out how the rest of the competition day went!

Day 3 - Enrolling as American High school student

Yesterday was a fun filled pack day and today was no different after another early start and heading back to ViewPoint High School.
Today students had the chance to enrol as American High School students and experience what it is like to be a student at the school. First stop was the Primary school assembly which astounded us all. The primary school students put on a fantastic assembly all about their learning and knowledge of the dictionary and words. Students amazed us with their knowledge, public speaking and singing skills and I think many of us will remember the 50 states song!

Students then were buddied up with a student from ViewPoint and headed off to their lessons which consisted of European History, Orchestra, Statistics, Chemistry, Algebra and Art History to name a few.
Students had a fantastic day and were really able to immerse themselves in the school environment with lots of new friendships being made along the way.

After a busy day we headed back to the hotel before heading out for our evening meal.
Tonight was Mr Benzid's most anticipated venture to a newly discovered Mexican restaurant Los Toros. Thanks to Jack for the find!
We had an excellent evening having guacamole freshly made at the table followed by a tasty meal. It was a true Mexican experience at a great restaurant.

Day 2

After arriving in Los Angeles late last night and heading straight to Denny's diner for our first experience of American diner delights it was still an early start today.
It was the students first experience of breakfast and after filling up on pancakes, waffles, french toast and plenty of bacon and maple syrup it was time to get the robots out and see how well they took the journey.
We were very pleased to see that both the robots had survived the journey and students took to last minute building and testing.
After we were happy with the running of the robots we headed to ViewPoint High School so we could test the robots out on an actual pitch.
Students were amazed to see the Robotics and Physics lab where there was a static full size pitch for students to use and it was time for us to test our robots and get them competition ready.
A few hours later both teams were happy with their robots so it was time to head off on an adventure!

Miss Burnham headed off with students to experience Hollywood with a walk down Hollywood boulevard and an excellent tour of all the sights and celebrity homes in Hollywood and Beverly Hills!
Mr Benzid took some of the boys to Venice Beach for an afternoon bike rides and flexing muscles!
We all meet up later that evening for a great meal at Hard Rock cafe followed by our traditional visit to the $5 store!

Meet the team - Sterling Lions

The second team going to the US is Sterling Lions, who look very smart in their team T shirts!

Joshua - programmer and strategist.
Caitlin - strategist and engineer.
Jess - log book production.
Alex - lead driver and engineer.

We wish both the teams best of luck in the US!

Coventry!

So, what is Jack thinking?

 Josh Wardle, member of Sterling Lions, writes...

On Friday 2nd October, both our two robotics teams (Sterling Lions and Sterling Sharks) headed off up to Coventry for the day to participate in the VEX Nothing But Net Coventry Regional Competition. The aim of the game is simple - to score the most points; by scoring balls into two nets. The competition was fierce - there were a few teams that had spent a lot of time on their robots, leading to a lot of very complex designs; despite this, both Stanborough teams made it to the semifinals, before being knocked out. This was an achievement, especially to Sterling Lions (the Year 10 team), because our robot continuously kept having problems throughout the day! Overall, we were all happy with the day, because it now allows us to improve our robot, ready for America!