SCHOOL and SPORTS
Official Publication for the Norwalk Community School District
Thursday, March 28, 2019
N/Warren Town and County News
Norwalk warriors
Page Seven
N ORWALK ROBOTICS TEAM TO WORLDS
Continued from p. 1
inApril. The world-wide level of competition has gotten so large, that
Worlds
are split into 2 regions — the Midwest through the Northeast US go to
Detroit,
and the remainder of the US got to Houston. International teams are split
up
between the 2 US locations “Earning a coveted spot to Worlds puts our
team in
the top 3% of the FTC teams in the world, which is really an amazing
accomplishment for such a young team” says FTC Coach Jeff Bergan. “Last
year’s
team missed advancing to Worlds by 3 spots, so this season, their goal was
to get
there. These kids have put in so much time and effort this season to meet
that
goal, which was at times, an uphill battle” agrees Coach Tom Lamb.
“I’m not
sure many high school level activities have the opportunity to compete at a
world-
level event! It will be an amazing experience for all of us”. Norwalk
technology
teacher and FTC Coach Jodie Irlmeier notes “We are really proud of them,
and
they are doing a great job representing Norwalk and getting our name out
there
in the FTC community. Iowa has some very talented teams, which makes for
great collaboration opportunities.”
The Norwalk Robotics team is a school-endorsed program, but is 100% funded
with donations and grants to Operate the program. “Robots are not an
inexpensive
endeavor, so fundraising is a very important factor in maintaining a
successful
team” states Coach Lamb. In fact, the team had to raise over $15,000 to
complete
the season and build 2 robots. The trip to Worlds will require nearly
$10,000 in
transportation and lodging costs, so fundraising activities are underway to
support the trip. “This could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some
of these
team members, so we’re committed to getting them there, no matter what it
takes” says Coach Bergan. A major fundraiser is teaching a mini robotics
camp
for Lakewood students, which will take place on April 13th. The team held a
similar class last summer that sold out in just hours. This time they will
offer 2
sessions to accommodate 60+ kids. More information can be found on the
Robo_Warriors facebook page, or by emailing RoboWarriors@norwalk.k12.ia.us.
The team also accepts donations through the Norwalk Student Education
Foundation (NSEF) throughout the year.
Students attending Worlds: Nick Bergan, Caleb Belden, Jamison Bice, Will
Clarke, Trevor Fisher, Sydney Fisher, Hannah Groos, Olivia Lamb, Tyler
Lamb,
Madeline Lepley, Lex Marshall, Eva Newland, Eli Newland, Tyler Rewerts,
Noah
Schumacher, Jaden- Smith, Tyler Wicker. Coaches: Jeff Bergan & Tom
Lamb.
Team mascot: Miranda Lamb. Other team members: Brett Dawson, Dakota
Elings, Trent Fredrick, Chloe Martin, Derek Means, Adam Serck, Nick Serck,
Jonathan Tague, Spencer Taylor. Coach: Jodie Irlmeier
Cybersecurity Program Launches ,
for High School Girls .
A national cybersecurity program designed specifically for high school
girls
’has launched, to encourage more females into the industry and reduce the
digital
skills gap. Girls need to be at least 13 years old and either in grade 9,
10, 11 or
12 to qualify. The program awards Winning participants with cash prizes of
up
to $1,000 and college scholarships of $500. There are three stages to the
program:
CyberStart Assess, CyberStart Game and CyberStart Compete.
Girls-only cybersecurity program Girls Go CyberStart which has officially
launched today, is the result of a partnership between 27 state governors
and
SANS Institute. It is designed to encourage more young women into the
cybersecurity sector and reduce the digital skills gap in America.
Girls who want to participate in the free program do not need any
experience
v in gaming or computer science, but must be at least 13 years old and
enrolled in
9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade at a public or private school (or the
homeschool
equivalent) in a participating state.
To register for the program, girls, teachers, or administrators associated
with
a school or organization, need to sign up here: https:l/www.
girlsgocyberstart.org/interest. .
The interactive extracurricular activity consists of three stages, with
each stage
featuring a series of digital challenges that are designed to introduce
participants
to important concepts'in the field of cybersecurity.
When registered, girls will be sent a link to the first stage, CyberStart
Assess,
which consists of a series of questions that measure existing knowledge,
problem-
solving skills, and the potential for a career in cybersecurity.
To progress to the next two stages of the program; CyberStart Game and
CyberStart Complete, participants must be registered with a ‘club’,
which can
be easily set up by a school teacher, administrator or equivalent.
CyberStart Game involves learning cybersecurity techniques to tackle real-
World challenges including cracking codes, finding security flaws and
dissecting
a cyber criminal’s digital trail. Finally, CyberStart Compete is for the
best
performing teams from each participating state, and will see them compete
in a
national online ‘Capture the Flag’ competition.
The program is offering multiple prizes for completion; three schools will
be
entered into a prize draw to win $1,000, clubs with the highest number of
girls
registered will win $1,000, $750 and $500 respectively. The top-scoring
Capture
the Flag teams both nationally and in each state will win cash prizes for
students
andtheir schools. At least ten high-scoring high school juniors and/or
seniors
per state will win $500 college scholarships.
The 27 states that have registered participation are; Alabama, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
Indiana,
Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas,
Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming.
Alan Paller, Director of Research at the SANS Institute, said, “This is
an
exciting time to launch the program, cybersecurity is becoming ever more
important in this country and by educating young people, we can ensure the
industry has a stream of-diverse new talent. Girls Go CyberStart was a huge
success last year, so we’re hoping even more students and schools will
sign up
this year. Our ultimate goal is to encourage young women to consider a
career
within the cybersecurity sector. It’s a very lucrative and rewarding
industry
that not many American women are aware of we’d like to change that.”
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