Makati City High School's Makatrix Robotics Team is going to the United States to represent the country in the VEX World Robotics Championship to be held on April 25 to May 3 at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.
(Photo from Makati LGU)
Makati City Mayor Abby Binay lauded the team comprised of Brian Simon Bernabe, John Ashley Alvarado, Enriquito Yamzon, Fritz Jenrick Rivera, their coach, Zernie Pugao, and Makati High School Principal Corazon Caculitan. She gave them words of encouragement as they are the Philippines' lone secondary public school representative in the competition.
"Airfare and other expenses of the team have been fully paid to allow the students to concentrate on the competition," Binay said, adding that she had also gave pocket money to each of the four Makatrix team members – all Grade 12 students, their coach, and school principal during their courtesy call to the mayor at the SM Makatizen Hub.
The team will be competing in the Over Under Division for students in Grades 6 to 12 against 11,500 teams from 40 countries in over 750 tournaments.
The team bagged the top prize in the recently concluded 2024 VEX Robotics Competition Philippine National Championship held at Xavier School in San Juan City on February 24.
"The VEX Robotics World Championship seeks to enliven the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills of students from diverse backgrounds through innovative technologies that encourage technical abilities in programming, critical thinking, and soft skills such as teamwork, collaboration, communication, and time management," the city government said.
"Makati has financed and endorsed various robotics education programs across public elementary and secondary schools. We have dedicated funds to invest in our students' talents and potential across various fields of interest. These include school initiatives that promote student collaboration and teamwork on projects they are deeply engaged in – projects and innovations that could transform the future of smart cities," Binay explained as she commended the parents of the team members and their school officials for their unwavering support.
On December 9 last year, Makatrix was declared champion in the VEX Regional Championship Over Under Scrimmage, while the Makati High School's MAKhina ranked third in the 2023 Manila VEX Robotics Competition.
The same school’s robotics team also ranked third in the Robotics Innovative Project in the 14th Sci-Math Interschool Challenge held at De La Salle Integrated School on March 11, 2023.