Kennedy Gaels 97140
Leaders in reconceptualizing the Robotics and STEM community.
About Us
Who Are the Kennedy Gaels?
The Kennedy Gaels Robotics Team 97140 is an award-winning team of legacy and success that has competed for 7 years. We strive for excellence, and as students of John F. Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School, high standards in our Catholic faith.
We set the standards of Vex Robotics higher and higher every season. Not only that, but we provide STEM opportunities to the students of the Kennedy Catholic community who want to learn. Our performance shows our success in doing so.
Over the course of 7 years, we have won over 50 awards. We have qualified for the Vex World Championship for 6-Years, receiving the Energy Award for outstanding energy and enthusiasm twice. We are the 2021 Southern New York State Champions, representing our community. Additionally, we are the recipients of the 2019 and 2018 SNY Excellence Award.
Team History
Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School was home to the First Tech Challenge team Bionic Gaels from 2011 to 2015. First Tech Challenge is a robotics competition that allows students through grades 7-12 to compete head-to-head through designing, building, programming, and controlling a robot. They won multiple awards, such as the Inspire Award, Think Award, and Innovate Award.
Mentored by Mrs. and Mr. Achim P’20 ‘24, the Kennedy Gaels VEX Robotics Competition Team was founded with the commencement of the 2016 Starstruck Season. We began meeting in our school’s cafeteria, our team consisting of a mere six members. Vex Robotics is a subset of First, but is open to elementary school kids all the way to university students. Despite our lack of size and experience, we won six awards and made it all the way to the Southern New York State Championships and won Tournament Finalists. We competed at the Vex Robotics World Championship in our first season.
Core Values
As Vex Robotics enthusiasts, our team is valued on three main ideas - Integrity, Respect, and Perseverance.
Integrity is illustrated throughout our team. During tournament interviews, we contribute equally towards answering the judge’s questions. Our drive teams collaborate together and strategize on and off the field.
Respect is key to our team's success. From the classroom to the field, we honor and respect our competitors, our allies, and most importantly, the new friendships made.
Teamwork and communication help us persevere through any challenge we come across. After each competition, we go back to the drawing board and solve those issues and work around the barriers.