Renaissance Jax Inc. is a proud partner with Putnam County Schools and Georgia Pacific on a workforce development initiative with a foundation of competitive youth robotics programs for k-12 students as well as apprenticeship programs that support regional manufacturing firms and the needs of STEM-focused workforce needs.
The FIRST LEGO League Qualifying Tournament dubbed the "Palatka Panther Prowl" at Palatka High School played host to 30 teams of 4th-8th grade participants from across Northeast FL. Volunteers included officially trained judges and referees, many of whom work for Georgia Pacific, but also from across the region. We would like to thank everyone that participated in or volunteered for in the Panther's Prowl 2022 Qualifying Tournament!
Students collaboratively designed solutions to problems with how humans ship and deal with packages. Outside of the Innovation Project, technical robot design and how many points they score in the robot game, teams were also judged on Core Values - how the teams act with one another, how much team spirit they demonstrate, and how they treat one another. Core Values guide the FIRST Programs at every level. Palatka Jr.-Sr. High School has a team that competes in the FIRST Tech Challenge program, a step above the competition - those students work through the year to mentor the younger kids on teams at the schools that feed into their school and team which is a great way of giving back while securing their own team's future. Georgia Pacific has even hired students who come up through the ranks on the FIRST Robotics teams they mentor. These programs are truly full-circle community and workforce development.
Renaissance Jax serves the region as the Official Program Delivery Partner for FIRST LEGO League for 28 counties in Northeast and Central FL and has been working directly with Susan Gaborieau the Robotics Coordinator, Superintendent Rick Surrency, as well as Rob Knutsen and Mark Brown of Georgia Pacific to ensure world-record-breaking growth for robotics program development. Pre-Pandemic, RJAX and their supporters grew to over 7,000 students on robotics teams. After shrinking to less than 1,000 students in the 2020-21 school year, numbers are back up near 2,300 students on FIRST Robotics teams.
We are very excited to announce three PCSD Teams received Bids for Regionals and, three teams received Alt Bids for regionals! We are so proud of all of the PCSD Teams!
Bids: OES Owls Crescent City High School and RAM Moseley Marlins.
Alt Bids: Putnam Academy of Arts and Science, MES Starhorse, and Jenkins Roborams
The Regional Championship for FIRST LEGO League is hosted by Renaissance Jax on February 26, 2022 at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, FL. Sponsors, donors, special guests, and Keynote Speakers will welcome more than 60 robotics teams as we all celebrate the student's hard work and meet the future of our workforce with open arms, inspiring them to continue their journey towards becoming the leaders of tomorrow.
For more information on Renaissance Jax or the FIRST Robotics programs or Partnership, Internship, or Apprenticeship inquiries for companies, please email future@rjax.org and Renaissance Jax Founder Mark McCombs will work to help your company with workforce development needs.
Link to more pictures of the Event: https://drive.google.com/drive...
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