School

FIRST Robotics ’25 at HVA, Knox Catholic, Webb

After the kickoff Saturday, Jan. 4, for FIRST Robotics teams around the world, Knox County area schools are preparing their robots for the 2025 FIRST Robotics competition, Reefscape, an ocean exploration theme.

Teams such as Hardin Valley Academy’s RoHAWKtics 3824, Webb School of Knoxville’s Robotics 1466 Team and Knoxville Catholic School’s Robitchaun’s 2393 Team have been working on their robots for upcoming regional competitions.

At Hardin Valley Academy, “in order to get ready, we’ve split our team into different subgroups that are working on different mechanics to score in different ways,” said Leah Jinks, business lead for HVA RoHAWKtics. “We’ve already finished prototyping and are working on assembly now.”

HVA’s 25-member team, led by co-captains Cash Egely and Kate Crass and lead mentor Brandi Kinkead, will be competing in the Rocket City Regionals Wednesday through Saturday, March 12-15, in Huntsville, Alabama, and Smoky Mountain Regionals Thursday through Sunday, April 3-6, in Sevierville.

“Our expectations for this year are as follows: Have a drivable robot for every match, be in the position to choose an alliance and, most importantly, have fun,” Jinks said.

At Knoxville Catholic, “The goal for this year is to have the younger students learn a lot,” KCHS robotics lead mentor Douglas Parris said. “We have five seniors on our team, so a major goal is for them to pass down their knowledge.

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Poetry Out Loud top finishers at FHS

Farragut High School senior Hayden Toon showed his poetry recitation talent when he won the schoolwide 2024-2025 Poetry Out Loud competition in FHS’s Ferguson Theater/Mini Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 30.

In doing so, he won $100, trophy and a swag bag. Toon will be treated to a trip toFranklin, where he will compete in the state finals competition Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28-March 1, in Mockingbird Theater, 230 Franklin Road.

The winner of the state finals then will compete in the National Finals Monday through Wednesday, May 5-7, in Washington, D.C.

“I’m very happy,” he said about winning the schoolwide finals. “I put a lot of work into this. It was just super fun. Everyone did really great. It was great to see all the hard work we put into our poems come to fruition.”

Right behind Toon, Tiyanna Dudley, a junior, won second place, receiving $75, a swag bag and trophy. Anjali Devarakonda, a freshman, won third place and earned $50, swag bag and a trophy.

Other schoolwide finalists were juniors Natasha Gard and Skylar Gruhn and senior Daniel Martin.

Toon recited the poems, “Zoom” by Simon Armitage and “Catch a Little Rhyme” by Eve Merriam.

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