![Junior Diya Arun stares out a window. For Arun, the winter season brings out the holiday blues. “ I think [the winter] has a negative effect on my mental health because I feel like the cold weather and people around me are also sadder [and] that affects me,” Arun said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_8047-1200x800.jpg)
![French teacher Marieme Toure serves a plate of the Senegalese food she prepared for her AP French Language and Culture class, to senior Faiza Syed. “I never had Senegalese food before,” Syed said. “I thought it was so cool that she was able to bring a part of her culture [and] background to us.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_0798-1200x906.jpeg)
![The Phoenix varsity volleyball team lines up for the national anthem. “We were more communicative [with each other] during this game, and I feel like we kept our energy up, especially after the first set,” senior Jessica Valdov said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DSC_0202-1200x800.jpg)
Aluminum Falcons Take the Stage at VEX Robotics Worlds
The VEX Robotics team, Aluminum Falcons, participated in the VEX Robotics World Championship, lasting until the quarter finals of the tournament.
The Aluminum Falcons built their VEX robot last August, gaining new parts and assembling the robot throughout the year. “We’ve been working, testing several designs,” junior Krish Shah said. “If it doesn’t work, we restart, find a new design, and make sure it works.”
June 11, 2022
On May 3, teams from all over the world attended the VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas, Texas. The cut-throat competition, hosted at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, invited over 3,000 teams from 36 countries to showcase their robot and expertise in coding world-class AI technology, as well as their teamwork, communication, and effective problem solving skills.
The Aluminum Falcons consist of 3 members: Rock Ridge juniors Aditiya Kidiyoor, Krish Shah, and Independence junior Aadarsh Justin. Kidiyoor was the robot driver, and Justin and Shah collaborated to code.. They worked outside of school to build their world-class robot and to prepare it for competition. The team has been working together for four years now, and they have qualified for Worlds every year since they were freshmen.
The robots that the Aluminum Falcons have built are based on the different types of matches that the robot will go through in various tournaments. “Our objective was to get mobile goals [shaped as rings], put them on platforms, and make sure the [opposing] team gets the lowest amount of goals,” Shah said.
This year, the Aluminum Falcons attended 3 regional competitions. The team placed first in the qualifier matches, but lost during the semifinals at the Northern Virginia January VEX Tipping Point. The Aluminum Falcons were able to advance to the finals despite placing 10th during the qualifier matches at the Mall VRC Tournament. Their hard work at this tournament was recognized with the Excellence Award, the highest award given to a team.
The Aluminum Falcons earned their spot in the VEX Robotics World Competition as they were awarded 3rd place in the state for skills and made it into the semifinals. “We did well in the first round of 16,” Shah said. “[In the quarterfinals] we lost by 2 points, 127 to 125. It was a pretty good match though; we learned a lot.”
The Aluminum Falcons hope to qualify for VEX Robotics World Competition next year during the 2022-2023 season. During this time, they will have access to new parts and build a new robot designed around upcoming competitions.
![On Friday, Dec. 20, the varsity Phoenix wrestling team embarked on a two-day tournament against 32 other high schools spanning from Loudoun County to other states. This year, Rock Ridge High School hosted the highly anticipated tournament and decked out the main gym for the occasion, donning six full-sized wrestling mats with the Phoenix logo and clearing out space for coaches, managers, and administrators alike. Every open seat in the stands was filled with family and friends of the players, making a lively environment for the players.
King of the Rock started at 4:00 p.m. and lasted until 9:00 p.m on Friday. Every player on every team had the opportunity to go up against another player for three rounds, with each of them lasting two minutes. The preparation for this has gone on since the beginning of the season in their practices, and their previous meets have been leading up to this specific tournament. “During practices, I’ve been doing a lot of conditioning [and] making sure my body is [as] healthy as it can be,” junior Julian Serna said. “I’ve been doing [all] the moves and techniques our coaches are telling us to do, [too].”
The second day of King of the Rock started at 9:00 a.m on Dec. 21, and ended at 3:00 p.m. South Carroll High School in Sykesville, Md. took the win for the entire tournament. Juniors Nathan Martinez and Elijah Whitfield both placed sixth in their individual weight classes, bringing in a win for the Phoenix.
✏️ and 📷 by Maya Coleman, Bella Gerardi, and Sophie King](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)