Robotics Team - Blue Devil Mechanics
Fun with Robotics
- Going to the 2025 State Championships!
- Survey About Blue Devil Mechanics
- Summer 2024 STEM/LEGO Campu
- FIRST for All - IMPACT 2024
- Blue Devil Mechanics Unified
- Super Bowl of Caring 2024
- What? THREE Robotics Teams at Dreher!
- Link to the Robotics Team Account
Going to the 2025 State Championships!
From Elizabeth Link, coach of our Robotics Team - "Blue Devil Mechanics:"
We are excited to report that our robotics team (FRC Team 2815 - Blue Devil Mechanics) WON the FIRST SC North Charleston Qualifier this past weekend! The team went 12-0 during the qualifying rounds, was the Captain of the #2 seeded Alliance, and won the double elimination playoff tournament.
This is the first time in the twelve seasons the team has been at Dreher that we have won an in-season competition. It is also the first time in the last five seasons that a team at a South Carolina competition has gone undefeated during the qualifying rounds. Every team in the state was present at this event, and we outperformed them all.
The results of this qualifier and the one two weeks ago have earned enough points to rank us fourth in the state and have qualified us for the State District Championship in two weeks where we will compete for three bids to advance to the World Championship. If we are able to duplicate the success we had this weekend, qualifying for one of those spots is possible, which is also something we have not done since the team has been at Dreher.
Additionally, at the competition Alex Greytak was recognized as a State Finalist for FIRST Dean's List which is an award that recognizes students for their leadership on their team and community for growing robotics and the awareness of FIRST. He is one of four students who will compete for this award at the state district championships.
Lastly, the team also won the Gracious Professionalism Award which attempts to recognize a team for a commitment to high quality work while emphasizing others and maintaining a respect for individuals and communities to foster mutual gain.
It was an incredible weekend, and we are incredibly proud of what these students accomplished.
Thank you for your support of FRC Team 2815,
-2815 Coaches
Survey About Blue Devil Mechanics
Summer 2024 STEM/LEGO Campu
Summer 2024 STEM/LEGO Camp
Thirty elementary school students ages 4-7 years old learned about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) through a LEGO Robotics summer camp hosted by Dreher’s Robotics team, Blue Devil Mechanics. Students in the camp learned about different mechanical concepts such as gears, wheels and chain reactions. On the last day of the camp, students got to observe and drive robots built by the Robotics team.
Click here for a brief video of the happy campers: STEM/LEGO Summer Camp
FIRST for All - IMPACT 2024
FIRST for All - IMPACT 2024 (click on this link for the YouTube video)
Tyra Helper of Dreher's Robotics Team, the Blue Devil Mechanics, explains the impact of FIRST for All.
FIRST is the acronym for the nonprofit, "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology."
Watch Tyra's video and read about the project-based, hands-on FIRST programs which introduce students to engineering and coding in engaging, inclusive, and creative learning environments, where students work collaboratively to solve themed robotics challenges (https://www.firstinspires.org/).
There are three levels of involvement and the Blue Devil Mechanics participate in all three:
- FIRST Lego League for Pre-K to Eighth Grade
- FIRST Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12
- FIRST Robotics Competition for Grades 9-12
Blue Devil Mechanics Unified
The seniors on Dreher's FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 2815, aka "Blue Devil Mechanics," partnered with students from Celeste Smith's special education class to start a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics team. This team - dubbed Blue Devil Mechanics Unified - is composed of students from both the general education (Gen-Ed) and special education (SPED) population. The goal is for the FRC Gen-Ed students to cut the metals and do most of the electrical work, while the SPED students will take care of the design ideas, the build, the programming, and the manipulation of the robot at competitions.
At the inaugural event for Blue Devil Mechanics Unified in January 2024, Dreher's team finished sixth out of eleven teams, and our students gained knowledge from both the neighboring teams and the generous mentors who were in attendance. Elizabeth Link, science teacher and one of the sponsors of Blue Devil Mechanics, is grateful to Ms. Smith "for trusting our Blue Devil Mechanics in your classroom this year and for providing such a great collaborative effort for our students."
Super Bowl of Caring 2024
Elizabeth Link, advisor to our Robotics team, had an idea to stimulate the donation of canned goods and other items for the annual "Souper Bowl of Caring."
She suggested that students leave their donations outside of the room of the teacher they would most like to see "pied!'
It turns out that even though history teacher Timothy Shipley warned his class that he knows how to hold a grudge, his students donated so many canned goods that Mr. Shipley was "pied" by Tyra Helper during lunch on February 9. He was not alone, though! His history department colleague Adam Penney, math teacher Madalyn Hazlett, chemistry teacher Elizabeth Link, and her student teacher, Mr. Campbell, were the other good sports who joined in the fun.
As they lined up across from their intended victims, the Robotics team members were mightily surprised when the tables were turned. The teachers threw the first pies!
Good fun for a good cause. Don't miss the link below for a quick video of Mr. Shipley and Tyra.
What? THREE Robotics Teams at Dreher!
From Elizabeth Link, Robotics Team sponsor:
It occurred to me that many of you might not know about our THREE robotics teams under the Dreher umbrella. We have FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), and FIRST LEGO League (FLL).
Blue Devil Mechanics, FRC Team 2815:
-Our oldest team, been around since 2009
-Grades 9-12, Dreher students and Dreher-zoned homeschool students/Middle College students
-Competition Dates: March 6-8, March 20-22, and hopefully Champs in April 3-5
Blue Devil Mechanics Unified, FTC Team 24255:
-Rookie year 2023
-Grades 9-12, half Ms. Celeste Smith's students with half FRC 2815 seniors working during AM/PM release under the guidance of Ms. Smith.
-Competition Dates: November 23 (at Dreher), January 18 (at Crayton Middle), and hopefully Champs in February 21-22
Blue Devil Thunder, FLL Team 62007:
-Rookie year 2023
-Grades 4-7 in our district/local community, runs under the mentorship of FRC Team 2815 with Mr. Dan Bilderback and Ms. Erica Pfister as the lead coaches
-Competition Dates: November 23 ( at Dreher), and hopefully Champs February in 14-15
Other Teams:
-FRC Team 2815 also makes weekly trips to help sponsor FTC and FLL teams at Sanders M.S., WA Perry M.S., Watkins-Nance Elementary.
Here's an awesome video our students made last year to give a better idea of who we are and what we do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlVWu92aJnI
As always, thanks for your support and we hope to see you at our upcoming events!