The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/60656
The Press-Dispatch School juniors brought home two first places at the 51st annual Machine Trades contest at Vincennes Uni- versity on March 17. Jacob Morton took first Two Pike Central High showcase their knowledge and skills learned in their high school classes. "This was the first year place overall in the Begin- ning Division and Alex Englert took first place in the Manipulative area and fourth place overall. They competed against 22 oth- er students from 11 differ- ent schools from around the state. The competition con- sisted of hands-on exercis- es on vertical mills, lathes, and surface grinders. In ad- dition, there was a written theory test. Prizes in the Beginning Division included machin- ist toolboxes, measuring tools, machinist calcula- tors, and reference hand- books. Students in the Pre- cision Manufacturing pro- gram at VU made the cus- tomized plaques given to the winners. The purpose of the com- that Pike Central students have competed, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew Jacob and Alex are exceptional students, so I wasn't surprised they did well," said Mark Scott, in- structor. "I have loved every min- ute of this class. It has taught me not only the tech- nical skills, but also organi- zational, critical thinking, and communication skills, as well. I now want to do ev- erything as precisely as hu- manly possible. We learn something new every day," said Morton. "I like teaching the class petition is to give the stu- dents the opportunity to because we are giving stu- dents hands-on skills in a state-of-the-art facility and I enjoy working with the students. It is giving them the tools for a head start in- to a dynamic job," Scott ex- plained. Examples of employment opportunities include those in automotive, aerospace, plastics, orthopedic/health care, life sciences, stamp- ing, energy, motorsports, and other manufacturing industries. Besides teach- ing at PC, he is an associ- ate professor at VU where he served in the Technology division for 19 years. Precision Manufacturing, which is in its second year at PCHS, prepares students for successful entry into the workforce or into the Vin- cennes University programs of Precision Manufacturing and Advanced Manufactur- ing. The courses at PC are actual VU classes, so stu- dents can earn both high school credits and college credits. VU also recently hosted a manufacturing job fair where 30+ employers from around the state were looking to hire graduates. Additional information about Pike Central's pre- cision manufacturing pro- gram can be found at ht tp://scot tscncvideos. blogspot.com/. at Vincennes University on March 17 was Jacob Morton (left), while Alex En- glert (right) got first place in the Manipulative area. Morton won a plaque and toolbox containing hundreds of dollars worth of tools, books and supplies. Winning first place overall in the Indiana State Machine Trades contest Rookie Pike Central team participates in FIRST Robotics Competition (For Inspiration and Recog- nition of Science and Tech- nology) founder Dean Ka- men announced this year's FIRST Robotics game to hundreds of teams of high school roboteers across the country. Kamen, the inventor of In early January, FIRST the Segway and AutoSyrin- ge insulin pump, was clear when speaking about the goals of the organization. FIRST Robotics Competi- tion (FRC, the largest stu- dent robotics organization in the world) aims to dras- tically change the culture of the United States, so that as opposed to the corrosive influences high school stu- dents are generally exposed to, they instead learn to val- ue leadership, engineering, science and technology. bound Rumble, where ro- bots compete against other robots on alliances to pick up basketballs, score goals, and balance on bridges. Af- ter the announcement of the game in January, each team has a strenuous six week pe- riod to build their robot for competition. This is Pike Central High This year's game is Re- School's first year as FRC Team #4008: also known by our colloquial name "Theo- dore Roosevelt's Disco Hair- cut." Several regional events have already been held, and last week 7 students from Team 4008 attended the 3-day Boilermaker FRC event at Purdue University. On the second day of com- petition, the team was seed- ed 12th of 40 teams, with many of the opposing alli- ances having been active in the competition for ten or more years. The PCHS team ended the tournament seed- ed 20th, and will be attend- ing a second regional event this April at Xavier Univer- sity in Cincinnati: a rare oc- currence for a rookie team. One of the most important have several mentors and student members number- ing up to 50 or 60, 4008 has three absolutely indispens- able mentors (Scott Willis of NSWC Crane, Michael Mac- Munn and Ray Niehaus of Pike Central) and less than 10 active students. However, they do not see this as a det- tenets of the FIRST philoso- phy is that a team is not sim- ply a collection of students, mentors and a robot, but an entire community. While many FRC teams a new era in home laundry SAMSUNG LAUNDRY advanced technology makes your laundry more ef cient SAVES YOU MONEY ON WATER, DETERGENT AND ENERGY BILLS Samsung washers get clothes cleaner with LESS WATER & DETERGENT Samsung dryers feature more options to REDUCE DRYING TIME & WRINKLES riment. Instead, the small numbers have facilitated excellent communication and camaraderie, and they hope to extend these ties to the community in which they are based. Because 4008 received two sustain- ability grants (both from JCPenney in Vincennes and NASA), the team will con- tinue to compete as long as students are willing to work hard at work worth doing, and their teachers, friends, families and local business- es continue to support their education and success. The Pike Central Proj- ect Lead the Way program has undertaken many excit- ing and challenging endeav- ors, and the involvement in FIRST Robotics is one of the most challenging. The edu- cational benefits of this pro- gram extend past strength- ening students' skills in sci- ence, math, technology, communication and engi- neering; it is a way to ex- pand the horizons of our school and community, to make partnerships between the two and work in conjunc- tion toward a goal that they can all agree is vital to the future prosperity of individ- ual citizens and the nation as a whole. With the help and sup- port of the community, the students of Pike Central will continue their endeavors in FIRST Robotics Competi- tion and other independent projects, using real-world engineering and business skills to recognize problems and create solutions. With the skills being learned and exercised in these class- es and programs, students will continue to innovate, ed- ucate and, if the program is successful, do something, somewhere, to change the world. This may appear at first to be an out-of-reach expectation, but when con- sidering the skill, dedica- tion, and passion for learn- ing seen in the students of Pike Central High School, this notion becomes more than a hope. It is a certainty. Wednesday, March 28, 2012 A-7 Area students place in Machine Trades contest at Vincennes University SEE THE LATEST LINE OF SAMSUNG LAUNDRY APPLIANCES AT ENGLERTS TODAY! 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