Newfound robotics heads to district competition

BRISTOL — The Newfound Regional High School robotics team, which won the state championship at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center in Durham in March, is now headed to the Eastern States Expo in West Springfield, Massachusetts, with the backing of Freudenberg-NOK.

Freudenberg-NOK of Bristol provides nearly all of the funding for FIRST Robotics Competition Team 7912, including the sponsorship of three members from the company’s Ashland plant. It is part of Freudenberg’s commitment to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula in area schools. The New Hampshire Department of Education and FIRST NH also provide some financial support. 

The company notified Superintendent Pierre Couture ahead of the March 27 school board meeting that it would continue its support as the Newfound team moves on to the district competition.

“They’re really excited and ... they plan on going and dominating,” said Mika Austin, the student representative to the school board. Should Newfound win that contest, the team would continue on to the national competition in Houston, Texas, which she said “would also be a very cool experience.”

The team currently ranks 53rd in the New England district. The school board approved the team continuing on to compete in the district championship this weekend.

Team advisers Laurie Mayo and Don White, along with members of the robotics team, plan to give a robotics presentation to the school board on Monday, April 10.

Field trips

The Newfound Area School Board also approved the planning of a travel abroad program to Morocco in 2025, even though it has no authority to bind future school boards’ decisions. Couture said, “As these types of trips take a lot of planning, they’re asking for a motion to go on that trip.”

School board policy requires that travel outside the United States receive prior approval by the school board at the onset of planning.

The trip is tentatively scheduled for April 18-26, 2025, with students paying the full $4,093 cost of fees and transportation. There would be two or more chaperones, depending upon the number of participating students.

The board also approved a day trip to Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont, on Wednesday, June 7, for 38 third and fourth graders at the Bridgewater-Hebron Village School. Part of the experiential education offered by the district, students would not have to pay the $660 bus transportation required.

Finally, the board approved a senior trip to Hampton Beach and Canobie Lake Park on June 7-8. The seniors had hoped to go to Six Flags/Great Escape in Queensbury, New York, but they learned that those dates were not available.