Spring Branch ISD Featured News

Middle and high school students with the Spring Woods Robotics Club (SWRC) will be cheering on team-designed and programmed robots in the days ahead as the student-run club prepares for two Texas UIL robotics competitions in Austin soon.

The student robotics club is organized as a STEM pre-engineering enrichment and outreach group based at Spring Woods High School. It also serves interested teens at Spring Oaks Middle School. About 20 students are currently active in the competitive robotics teams.

SWRC’s roots begin with former aerospace engineer Donald Prier, who also teaches engineering at the high school. Prier helped coach a California high school student team to success in the 2000 U.S. First Robotics championship, a world level competition. 

At Spring Woods High, this student club has generated one all-girls FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team, two middle school FTC student robotics teams and three high school FTC robotics teams, which are UIL eligible at the high school level. A joint middle and high school team has also formed. 

“I think that the students here are into technology and robots because we teach them some important things, like laughing at failure,” Prier said. “Technology can be difficult. The reality here, I hope, is that I am teaching them to take on challenges and to not be afraid to fail.”

There is no failure in the recent accomplishments of SWRS students. These include:

• Club performances at the recent San Jacinto Regional Championship and Channelview District Tournament resulted in two UIL state championship qualifications – First Tech (FTC) and First Robotics (FRC) competitions. The UIL events are April 3-6 and April 6, both held in Austin.
• In addition to smaller robotic devices, SWRC designed and built its first-ever FRC robot, which stands 4 feet tall and weighs in at 80 pounds. The FRC will enter UIL’s state championship All-Star Rookie “Best Overall” competition with this large-size robot.
• Spring Woods High’s all-girls FTC Team known as 12725 Purple Chaos has now won numerous awards, including 1st place Design Award, 2nd place for Motivate and Rockwell Collins Innovate Awards, and 3rd place with the Inspire Award.
• Two Spring Woods High teams (13005, 13007) earned a pair of 1st place and a Judges award.
• Two Spring Oaks Middle School teams (14301, 14306) won 1st place and Judges awards. 

SWRC has raised more than $20,000 in parts, computers, registration fees and recent donations. The club has won grants from private and public groups like Arconic, ARC, FIRST in Texas, the Texas Workforce Commission, The Women of Jeopardy!, and Dell Computers to support student club costs, competition fees, and travel costs. A share of funds have also come from Prier and wife, Monikka M. Mann, who is also an engineer and a mentor who has studied at Harvard and Stanford universities.

More community donors are being sought to support UIL and other SWRC work and competitions.

Listen to this week's Podcast. 

View this earlier video about the club:

Robotics Program Inspires Limitless Curiosity from SBISD on Vimeo.