Central Montcalm school board hears from Robotics Club

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STANTON — Members of the Central Montcalm High School Robotics Club gave their school board members a sampling of what they do during last Monday evening’s school board meeting.

The members, along with adviser Mike Johnson, brought in items used in the teams’ robotics competitions, and demonstrated how the robotic chassis piece is able to move forward, backward, up and down.

“We have relocated to the MACC (Montcalm Area Career Center), which gives us more space, but also we are not as visible as we were here in the high school,” Johnson said.

The club, which started in 2014, had previously met in a classroom at the high school. The move does give the club more space but lessens visibility to potential members. The club had nearly two dozen members this past year but lost the majority to graduation.

“We will definitely be doing a lot of recruiting,” Johnson said.

The Robotics Club participates in statewide competitions against other high schools. Eighth-grade students can join the team but are not allowed to drive the chassis, according to Johnson.

“This may be a time to recruit those eighth-graders as feeders into the program,” Board President Bill Simpson suggested.

Though the club meets in the fall, the building aspect can not begin until January for competitions, according to Johnson.

The Robotics Club is a third-year team in the FIRST Robotics Competition for high schools all over the world. The mission is to transform Central Montcalm High School into a High Technology Center of Excellence using FIRST to demonstrate exciting possibilities available for students who pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) classes. The program is generally funded through sponsorships, many from local businesses.

“I’m really impressed by what you do,” Simpson said. “The wires and such just look like a whole bunch of spaghetti to me.”

The board also heard a report from members of the Student Council, who shared an update about the Summer Kick-off party — a half-day event that includes carnival games and a student council assembly. The students also shared plans for the next homecoming. The theme will be “Rocking the Decades” highlighting the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1990s.

“It’s excellent that you are planning so far in advance,” Simpson said.

The school board also designated an electoral representative and an alternate for the Montcalm Area Intermediate School District (MAISD) biennial election. Trustee Jamie Hopkins had previously served, and agreed to serve again. Trustee Brandy Ryan will serve as the alternate.

IN OTHER MATTERS …

The Central Montcalm school board, in 6-0 votes:

• ratified employment of sixth-grade camp advisers;

• hired Michelle Rockafellow as a summer reading teacher for grades K-3;

• hired Jill Tobey as a summer reading teacher for grades K-3;

• accepted the resignation of Carl Lewis from his teaching position;

• accepted the resignation of Denise Gilbert from her cook helper position;

• accepted the resignation of Shelly Miller from her driver position;

• accepted the resignation of Kris Kolbe from his assistant football coach position;

• approved the nonrenewal of a contract with Craig Harrison for his assistant football coach position;

• approved an overnight field trip for the varsity volleyball team;

• approved an overnight field trip for the JV girls basketball team; and