Orange High School robotics team, bands recognized for excellence at state level

PEPPER PIKE, Ohio – The Orange High School robotics team, which repeated as state champion this spring, showed off its talents with a demonstration for the Orange Board of Education.

The team, called the Flying Circuits, and the Orange High School symphonic band and wind ensemble were recognized for their outstanding achievements at the state level at the school board meeting Tuesday (May 28).

The meeting was moved to the Orange High School auditorium to accommodate the large number of honorees.

Orange High School senior Charlie Rubsamen, who served as president of the robotics team this past year, explained that every year in January, the team gets a new game, and it has six weeks to build a robot to play that game.

“This year, the game was called Crescendo,” he said. “We had to take these big orange foam rings and launch them at distances from up to 20 feet into a slot.

“Tonight, we decided to try to bring our practice field to you.”

Rubsamen then asked for two “very brave” volunteers from the school board to participate in the demonstration. Board members Scott Bilsky and Rebecca Boyle stepped forward.

Bilsky was seated in a chair on the stage. A board with QR codes on each side was positioned on his lap, and a sheet of paper that read “Face your fears” was placed in front of his face.

Simon Wieder, a 2016 Orange High School graduate who assisted the team as a volunteer this year, and OHS senior and team member Jack Arch then balanced an apple on a platform on top of Bilsky’s head.

“Our robot is going to be shooting that apple off of Mr. Bilsky’s head,” said Orange High School junior Ben Wei, the team’s newly elected president.

“There’s a camera in the front of the robot. The robot will look at those QR codes and aim for the apple.”

Rubsamen added, “We’re upwards of 50 percent confident this will work.”

Boyle was asked to press the button to activate the robot to aim and shoot the apple.

The task was successful – on the second try.

The team’s 28 members were then introduced and recognized.

The Flying Circuits captured their second consecutive state championship May 11 in Columbus.

Over the course of the season, the team achieved the Spirit Award (Pittsburgh Regional), the Creativity Award (Cleveland Regional) and the Excellence in Engineering Award (World Championship).

It was also Buckeye Regional champion and World Championship finalist.

“Thank you to everybody here for recognizing us,” Wei said. “It really means a lot.

“It’s incredible to be at a school where this robotics team is possible. I can say for certain that it’s changed my life, and I think I speak on behalf of the team when I say it’s changed everybody’s lives here.”

Rubsamen noted that thanks to the efforts of the school board and team members, the team is able to realize its motto of “better than last year, better than ever” each year.

Ryan McMonigle, a technology teacher at OHS in his 14th year as team adviser, said he “couldn’t be more proud to lead this group.”

“Really, they lead themselves,” he said. “I just have so much fun with this entire group, and with the leadership of our other mentors and the student leaders, as well. “We’re so excited to get our next challenge and to see our leaders who are taking over into this next season. No matter how the season turns out, we really do form a lot of strong connections on the team, win or lose.”

Bilsky said he has observed the team in practice the last couple of years and was impressed with what he saw.

“It is truly amazing watching how these kids work together to solve these problems,” he said. “As we see, they have wonderful success at the national and international level.

“It’s a tremendous amount of dedication. Congratulations to all these kids; it’s well deserved.”

Bands excel at state contest

The Orange High School bands achieved an outstanding showing at the Ohio Music Education Association state contest in April.

The symphonic band earned an Excellent (II) rating in Class C, and the wind ensemble earned a Superior (I) rating in Class A.

This is the third year in a row that the wind ensemble has earned a Superior at the state competition and the second time in three years that both bands have qualified for state by earning top ratings at the district contest.

In addition, Orange was the only school in the 24-school Chagrin Valley Conference to have multiple bands qualify for the state contest.

Brandon DuVall, director of bands at OHS, and Jake Robinson, assistant band director, handed out certificates of recognition and medals to the band members, which totaled about 75 combined.

“Our Orange students consistently achieve at a high level,” DuVall said.

Robinson added, “I’m just so tremendously proud of this group and the work that they’ve put in over the course of the year.

“The fact that both of our groups managed to get all the way through this process is just very inspirational for us as educators to be able to experience.”

Tribute to Gail Allison

Also on Tuesday, board President Jeffrey Leikin offered a testimonial to Gail Allison, a longtime educator in the district who died May 18 at age 87.

Allison, a 1954 Orange High School graduate, served as principal at both the former Pepper Pike Elementary School and Brady Middle School.

When she retired in 1993, the main road through the Orange Schools campus was named Gail Allison Drive in her honor.

“This past week, I reached out to some of our Orange family to learn more about Gail,” Leikin said.

“As a person, she was described to me as an unwavering loyal friend, somebody that would always offer a listening ear, wise counsel and a soft shoulder to lean upon.

“She enjoyed women’s basketball, she loved to travel and loved exploring Cleveland’s culinary scene.”

Professionally, Allison “tirelessly” advocated for the best interests of students, Leikin said.

“Her work with New Directions (in Pepper Pike) showcased her commitment to make a positive impact upon as many young lives as possible,” he said.

“But most of all, Gail was dedicated to the Orange Schools, where she worked her whole life striving to achieve the excellence in education we now enjoy in this, our 100th year.”