$15,000 to go to Near North Student Robotics Initiative

By Sarah Cooke, MuskokaRegion.com

The Near North District School Board of Trustees in North Bay, Ont. has approved an application to the Trustee Initiative Fund from the Near North Student Robotics Initiative in the amount of $15,000.

The Near North Student Robotics Initiative supports science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning for students aged six through to secondary school from communities around the Near North District School Board.

It also includes the competitive robotics team FIRST Team 1305, which received recognition in June 2020 for the invention of a UV cube sterilizer box.

The application stated that the program provides students with real-time experiences with designing, building, programming and driving robots, as well as the ability to learn engineering, scientific and business skills.

The Trustee Initiative Fund supports organizations and projects that encompass students from across the school board’s region.

Funding will assist in buying tools and materials for prototyping and building a robot at the high school level, support the establishment of a tech challenge team and buy LEGO equipment to support the elementary school level, as well as help fund event costs of 180 students from ages nine to 14.

In a separate report, the board noted there is an increased emphasis on robotics learning in Near North schools which includes the purchase of more robotics resources to support coding and mathematics.

Sarah Cooke’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.