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www.insidehalton.com |OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, July 21, 2017 |1 2 Every week we showcase topics about local youths. SEND US YOUR NEW S: If you are a youth and you have a story or photo to share, we'll do our best to publish it on th is page. Em ail it to ablackburn@oakvillebeaver. com , along w ith your nam e and a b rief paragraph about why you want to share it w ith our readers. Canada's first all-girls robotics team mentors others in China by Abigail Cukier Special to the Beaver hen members of St. Mildred' sLightboum School Women Advancing Technology (SWAT 771) write about the highlights of their summer vacation, mentoring robotics teams in China will surely top the list. The all-girls robotics team was one of 15 teams -- the only one from Canada -- invited by the China Urban Youth Robotics Alliance to its summer competition. The alliance wants the international teams to help expand FIRST robotics and promote youth education throughout China. SWAT 771 team members are in China from July 17 to July 30 and will ht in two days of sightseeing, including going to see the Terracotta Warriors and the Shanghai Disney Resort. "N o words can describe how excited I am to be going. I can' t fathom it," said team member Ariana Wong before leaving for the trip. "They know we have mentored teams in the past and see us as a role model. I think they also want to encourage more girls to participate." Formed in 2002, SWAT 771 was the hrst all girls robotics team in Canada. Now it is one of four. It is also the only Canadian team to win the World Engineering Inspiration Award at the FIRST Robotics World Championships. The award celebrates success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team' s school and community. In Canada, FIRST Robotics teams compete across the country and the United States. Under strict rules, limited resources, and a sixweek time limit, students and their mentors W St. Midred's-Lightbourn School Women Advancing Technology (SWAT 771) team is metoring robotics teams in China this summer. | Christine Johnston photo raise funds, hone teamwork skills and build and program industrial-size robots to play a held game against competitors. Teams must compete in at least two district events where they accumulate points. The top 60 teams in Ontario compete at the District Championship. The winners of that event represent Ontario in a FIRST championship event. SWAT 771 members work for hve hours twice a week and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays during building season. The rest of the school year, they meet once a week for about an hour with leads meeting for an additional hour. Leads are in charge of areas including outreach, mechanical, design and electrical. Ariana, who will enter Grade 10 in September, started participating in FIRST' s junior version, the FIRST LEGO League in Grade 4. "My parents pushed me into it and I was taken with it," she said. "I really enjoy it and it has helped me understand where I want to go in life. I want to be an engineer. I am very passionate about it." Ariana will share that passion in China. In addition to mentoring teams there, SWAT 771 members have prepared a workshop for female students and mentors to discuss issues and obstacles girls face. "We want to get the conversation going and show what international teams have done to promote and recognize girls. We want to leave our mark on China as well, "said Ariana. Sarah Sils, a teacher at the school and the team' s lead mentor, says she is especially excited about this trip. She even had the team' s signature T-shirt, which reads, "Caution, girl with wrench" made with Mandarin characters. "We have gone to the world championships and been among elite teams," Sils said. "That was really exciting. But this feels important, to be part of mentoring girls and being in on the ground floor of starting this program in another country:" J O H N W IL L M O T T A R C H IT E C T , INC. Buying? Selling? Re-financing? Call us for a quote at Jam eson Glas D. K evin H axell mm www.jwarchitect.com 90 5-845-0767 e x t. 222/223 Personal PTfeSSm a! Seh/oce at Cm jye t iiif e P ate S H O U SES OUR FIRST PASSION New · Additions · Cottages · Interiors · Landscape 1276 Cornwall Road, Unit C, Oakville Ontario, L6J 7W5 T :9 0 5 - 8 4 5 - 0 7 6 7 · F :9 0 5 - 8 4 5 - 5 5 5 2 · w w w . h a x e l l l a w . c o m · l a w y e r s @ h a x e l M a w . c o m