IN Pine-Richland Spring 2016 | Page 10

in the LOOP What’s news in Pine-Richland CARDINAL WUERL NORTH refreshments. Pre-registration is required by Mar. 18 deadline. For more information CATHOLIC STUDENTS WIN the call 724.625.1636 ext. 3. IN NATIONAL APP DESIGN CONTEST AQUINAS ACADEMY Five students from Cardinal Wuerl North ROBOTICS CLUB SENDS Catholic High School were named Best in TWO TEAMS TO THE FLL Nation winners in the fourth annual Verizon GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP Innovative App Challenge for their mobile app concept titled SAFESPEED. After a tragic car accident resulted in the death of a local high school senior, the winning app was developed to monitor teens’ car speed and inspire safety. In addition to winning a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation for their school, the students will work alongside experts from the Center for Mobile Learning at the MIT Media Lab to turn their concepts into real, working mobile applications. Once complete, the team will own the full rights to their app, which will become available for download with Google Play. In June, they will present their apps in person at the National TSA Conference in Nashville, courtesy of Verizon. The Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School team is one of eight national winning teams from across the country and consists of the following team members: Matt Esser, Chris Virostek, Giovanna Esposito, Veronica Muth and Luc Madonna. Aquinas Academy Robotics Club participated for the second time in the Western PA First Lego League Grand Championship at La Roche College on Saturday, Jan. 9. The two teams consisted of team captains Alex Garcia and Benjamin Stalder along with Andy D’Angelo, Benjamin Everson, Sam Everson, Enzo Flati, Diego Garcia, Theresa Gates, Grant Kaercher, Rosemary Kenney, Will Kunzman, Adam Ohayon, AJ Yellin and Brad Yocca. This year’s competition required the teams to research a real-world problem related to trash and recycling. The two teams participated in the design, building, programming and testing of autonomous robots using Lego Mindstorms technology. Aquinas Academy’s teams placed 11th and 39th out of 73 teams. The Robotics Club students reside in Clinton, Evans City, Ingomar, Ross, Seven Fields, Sewickley, Treesdale, Valencia, Villas of North Park, Warrendale and Wexford. EASTER EGG HUNT Join in the Pine Community Center’s annual Easter Egg Hunt on Mar. 19! Meet the Easter Bunny, enjoy arts and crafts and look for eggs filled with treats. The event is geared toward children ages 1-9 years old. Preregistration is required and can be completed online or at the Pine Community Center. The event is free to Pine residents and is $3 per child for non-residents. TEEN FLASHLIGHT EASTER EGG HUNT This is not your little brother or sister’s Easter Egg Hunt! You’ll have the opportunity to find more than just candy. Teens 10-15 can join in for the Teen Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt on Mar. 25 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Pine Community Center. Don’t miss your chance to find coupons, gift cards and other great prizes! The event will include games and activities in the gym, as well as snacks and 8 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Pine-Richland ROBOVIKINGS CLAIM VICTORY St. Ursula’s 2015 Robovikings ended their season on a high note! The team won a second place award for programming at the First LEGO League Grand Championship on Jan. 9 at La Roche College. The theme for this year was Trash Trek and focused on recycling and reusing. This year, the grand championship in Western PA was the largest one in the United States, hosting 73 teams. The students added two trophies to the school trophy case and won two additional awards for their research and creativity, but that is not all they gained from this season. They became better programmers, learned a lot about recycling, worked well as a team and had a lot of fun while doing it! Visit stursulaschool.org for more information. ■