March 6, 2024
By MEALAND RAGLAND-HUDGINS
Rutherford County Schools
Design. Build. Code. Test. Repeat.
Those are the steps Thurman Francis Arts Academy Robotics Team B have completed over and over for several months before securing an invitation to the prestigious CREATE US Open tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, later this month.
TFAA fielded five teams this season and competed in tournaments using Vex robots. The school hosted a Vex-based summer camp through Motlow College “and fell in love,” said coach and STEM teacher Brandi Breneman.
Thurman Francis, a K-8 arts-based magnet school in Smyrna, is the only school within the district to use Vex, Breneman said. Vex is an educational robotics system designed for students in PreK-12 and college.
Team B, considered the most senior of the five teams, is made up of Ruby Wence, Hudson Bush, Matthew Cathey (eighth grade), Olivia Palmer and Levi Hecht (seventh grade).
Before going to Iowa, Team B will compete at the Middle School VexIQ Tennessee State Championships Friday and Saturday at Hendersonville High School. The team secured entry to the Iowa tournament by winning the Teamwork Champion Award at an event in Maury County.
“This robot is much different from the one we started with,” Hecht said.
“I’m not afraid to start over. We’ve scrapped and rebuilt Peggy (the robot) three different times,” added Palmer.
One of the things that makes the Vex competitions unique, Breneman said, is that teams compete alongside other teams to complete the course.
“When we get to Iowa, there will be teams from all over the globe. We’ll be paired with a team that might not be speaking the same language, so that will be a challenge, but they’ll be able to use a dry erase board to draw out what they’re trying to communicate,” the coach said, adding they’ll use translation apps as needed.
During the season, the team faced challenges such as a broken down robot. Breneman was allowed to coach the students verbally, but could not touch any of the components as they worked through the repairs.
“I’ve enjoyed the problems that come along. That makes it fun,” Wence said.
Cathey and Hecht said as the season progressed, they learned more about themselves.
“I work well with a team,” Hecht said.
“I can be very headstrong. Because of what we’ve been through, I can handle myself better when challenges come,” Cathey added.