For the second consecutive year, NDCL's robotics team has qualified for the state robotics tournament after scoring a first place finish at the First Tech Challenge (FTC) regional qualifying meet at Cuyahoga Community College on Jan. 11.
Robotics Team Qualitfies for State Tourney
For the second consecutive year, NDCL’s robotics team has qualified for the state robotics tournament after scoring a first place finish at the First Tech Challenge (FTC) regional qualifying meet at Cuyahoga Community College on Jan. 11.
The Lions also won the Ohio Team Spirit Award, which recognizes an individual team for professionalism, helpfulness and cooperation with other teams during the competition.
NDCL will now compete at the FTC 2020 iSpace Ohio Championship Tournament at Loveland High School near Cincinnati on March 14.
Through the FIRST Tech Challenge program, students design, build, program and operate robots to compete in head-to-head challenges in an alliance format. Guided by adult coaches and mentors from the professional community, students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles while realizing the values of hard work, innovation and working as a team.
Science teacher Zack Geizer ’14 and academic coach Tony Hodun coach the Lions with assistance from mathematics and engineering teacher Ashley Kelm, IT assistant Kyle Hoffmann ’19, Jon Kelm, Richard Ruggeri and Tony Champa.
eXpressions Awards
Twelve NDCL students recently won awards in the Cleveland Clinic’s prestigious and highly competitive eXpressions program.
The team of juniors Zachary DeRespiris, Benjamin Román, Aaron Winters and Christopher Wojnar won the blue ribbon for their mathematics project focusing on trends in infant mortality.
Juniors Addison Schermer and Katelyn Zitnik won the red ribbon in mathematics for a project titled “Infant Investigation.” Juniors Kelly McGraw, Mario Misiti and Nora Raicevich completed NDCL’s near-sweep of the eXpressions math competition with a white ribbon for an investigation of the correlation between inadequate sleep and the risk of diabetes.
Of all the schools in the Clinic’s extensive market area, only 12 students won eXpressions awards in mathematics. Nine of these winners are from NDCL.
Juniors Sophia Kroto and Asha Singh won red ribbons in the eXpressions program’s language competition. Sophia and classmate Grace Liberatore also won honorable mention awards in the visual art contest. NDCL is the only Catholic high school to win art awards this year.
“Over 1,400 art, language and math projects from 59 schools in three states were submitted to eXpressions,” said Christine DeNicola, the Clinic’s manager of school based-programs. “As a result, this year’s competition was incredibly tough.”
eXpressions is an interdisciplinary program that utilizes art, language and math to engage high school students in the world of scientific research. Through project-based, peer-to-peer learning, students interpret, analyze and communicate research conducted by Cleveland Clinic summer interns. Last year 11 NDCL students – a record number – won spots in the renowned summer internship program.
In addition to being featured in the eXpressions Art, Language and Math eXhibition at the Clinic’s new Health Education Campus, honorees and their projects will be highlighted in the program’s print and online catalogs. The exhibition will open on Feb. 13 with a formal dedication and reception. Students will receive gift cards and their teachers will be awarded educational grants from the Clinic.
Special thanks to mathematics teacher Beth Ward, art teacher George Yaniga and English teacher Maura McGinty-O’Hara for their efforts in the guiding the students’ award-winning eXpressions projects.
