An independent K-12 school on a beautiful wooded campus, 3 miles from Washington, DC


Robotics at Potomac

The Robotics Program at Potomac is enjoying wide participation and great competitive success. It has grown from a collection of 8 ninth graders to roughly 100 students in grades 6-12.

In grades six and seven, students participate in the FIRST Lego League (FLL), which is an international program that offers students a chance to explore their own ideas in a collaborative manner. Students participating in the FLL program compete as teams in two primary areas. First, they construct a Lego-based robot that is then programmed to complete “missions” on a 4-by-8-foot “field.” Each year the field layout and missions change.

Next, they research a problem within a general topic area and develop a possible solution. In the process, they consult experts in the field, make local presentations and eventually deliver their findings to a panel of judges at a regional tournament. Teams are also judged on their engineering/design process and teamwork at these tournaments. Roughly a third of those participating at the regional level go on to compete in the state championship.

We are in our third year of FLL and now have a girls and boys team in both the sixth and seventh grades. Of the nine teams that we have fielded, two have won the top award at their regional tournament and five have won awards in specific categories, allowing all of them to compete in the state championship, where they have also performed very well. Last season, our sixth grade girls team was featured in The Washington Post (KidsPost section).

In grades eight through twelve, we primarily participate in the VEX Robotics Competition (VRC), which is a worldwide program that has over 4,500 teams. The word "team" can be confusing to those new to the program. We actually have many teams, organized into groups of three to four students of the same gender and grade level. Each team builds its own robot and competes separately. Typically, the students will continue on the same team as they move up through the grades.

Our teams are purposefully small in order to give each member a meaningful role. Collectively, the Potomac teams have experienced phenomenal success over the past five seasons—winning countless local and state tournaments, as well as finishing second in the nation in each of the past three years, and taking both first and second place last season. Three years ago, the team was also awarded the national prize for best integration of robotics into an educational program.

In the current season we have 18 teams with about 60 students; they have continued to perform well, taking first and second place in the Pennsylvania State Championship as well as many other top finishes and awards. Eight of this season's teams have qualified to participate in the National and World Championships which will be held this spring. Earlier this season, Potomac also hosted it first VRC tournament for 57 teams in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Our National championship teams made this video in preparation for the VEX World Championship in Anaheim, California.

Robotics News

This past Friday and Saturday, three of our robotics teams (12A, 12F, and 12G) competed at the "Night at the Museum" signature event. This was the toughest event that Potomac teams have competed at this year, and many people describe it as tougher than a division at the World Championship! Every team present had previously won an award at another tournament. The competition hailed from 25 different states – 19 of which included teams that were in the top three for their respective states – and the number-one skills-scoring team in the world also attended the event.

Read more about Three Teams Compete at "Night at the Museum"

On Saturday, Potomac hosted its annual robotics tournament. Despite being cut short because of the snow, it was a great success, thanks to the many volunteers who helped run it. Huge thanks also go to our extraordinary coaches, Mr. Gillespie, Ms. Jarratt, Dr. McClain, Mr. McCullough, Mr. Mueller, and Mr. Rheinstein.

Every Potomac robotics team competed in the tournament. Notably, Team 12E won the Excellence Award, which recognizes it as the overall best team in the competition. It also qualifies 12E for the Virginia State Championships and the US Open Championships. The Skills Champion Award was given to Team 12A, qualifying it for the Virginia State Championships too.

Read more about Robotics Tournament Hosted at Potomac
Robotics Performs Well in Fourth Virginia Tournament

The Potomac School Robotics team competed in its fourth Virginia tournament on Saturday. Seven Potomac teams (12A, 12E, 12G, 12J, 12N, 12P, and 12R) competed at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas against 43 other teams.

After a long day of qualification matches, 12E was ranked fifth and 12A was ranked ninth. 12E and 12G partnered together during the eliminations, but were knocked out in the semifinals. Team 12A and its alliance partner made it all the way to the finals and ended as tournament finalists.

Read more about Robotics Performs Well in Fourth Virginia Tournament