Day 65

Today is the Day of the Programmer.  It is a day that honors the innovators who continue to change the world, one program at a time.  At SCSDB, the Ninja Hornets and their coaches are doing just that!  In 2022, teachers at the School for the Deaf started a robotics program for middle school students. These students quickly showed a talent for robotics, and after only one year of training, in February 2023, our Ninja Hornets robotics team won the Build Award and tied for the national title championship at the NRSC IQ national robotics competition. Seeing this remarkable growth and recognizing its value to students’ STEM education, teachers asked the Foundation to help expand the program to include all students at the School for the Deaf.

With the support of AFL, Downtown Spartanburg Sertoma Club, International Paper Foundation, Scansource Charitable Foundation, and SC Ports Authority, we raised $21,800. Encoding Success program added more students, an additional instructor, and new curriculum, including flying and sea drones. In 2024, the Ninja Hornets won a second consecutive robotics national championship, earning the trophy for the best designed robot in the competition. “I know that because of the tremendous support of our sponsors who funded us, coaches who believed in them, and the whole school who cheered them on, our students can push themselves forward to embrace the possibilities,” said science teacher and robotics coach Jessica Gribble.

The picture at the top of this page shows the team practicing for a competition at the World Championships in 2023.  The picture on the previous page shows the team at the World Championships in 2024 holding their trophies, banners, and certificates for winning both the Robot Skills Challenge and the Teamwork Challenge.

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