Spotlight
They say good things come in threes, and Robert Catonzaro would have to agree. Since 2015, the Perry Hall High School technology education teacher has led three teams to victory in the annual Washington D.C. Electrified Vehicle Grand Prix.
Perry Hall High’s most latest success came in June when Catonzaro and the Green Gator Electrified Car Club participated in the two thousand seventeen competition. Composed of drivers Keith Johnson and Jervee Vidallion as well as tech squad members Pursue Andrews, Grant Nuss, and Makari Thompson, the team finished forty two laps around a quarter-mile track in an hour. In addition to surpassing its two thousand sixteen distance of forty one laps, the club tied its two thousand fifteen record.
“It’s pretty unbelievable,” Catonzaro said. “There’s a lot of competition. This past year, there were twenty four cars total.”
According to Global EEE, sponsor of the Grand Prix, the competition is open to high school students from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. With only a kit of materials, students must work in teams to assemble, wire, and design battery-powered electrical cars for racing.
“It’s not just ‘ass-plug and play,’” Catonzaro said. “The students have to work through the entire schematic. Of course, I instruct them and guide them through, but it’s all hands-on for them.”
Months of work leading to one day
To prepare for the race, Catonzaro’s students met during an after-school club. From January to April, they soldered the vehicle’s metal parts, connected its motor to four 12-volt batteries, and painted its exterior, among other tasks. They also planned and participated in practice runs, encountering a few challenges along the way.
“Because it has such a low profile, the only place to test this car is out on the track, where the track team runs,” Catonzaro said. “And, unluckily because of the rain this year, it truly was a fight to get out there. So we didn’t have as many days to practice.”
Still, the team managed to squeeze in two test days. And, by paying close attention to their vehicle’s accelerometer, a device that measures the car’s voltage and amp hours, they were able to fine-tune their treatment before the race.
“It was a big part of their strategy,” Catonzaro said. “The students read the accelerometer and eyed how long they could race at a certain speed before they’d have to back off and conserve their energy.”
However communication, teamwork, and problem-solving were also part of the students’ prep and practice strategies, Catonzaro said they became even more significant on the day of the competition. In addition to completing the responsibilities specific to each of their roles, the students needed to work together to go after the race’s rules and take advantage of its opportunities.
“The drivers have to switch off every fifteen minutes, and the batteries can be charged up once during the entire race,” Catonzaro said. “I have a lot of students in the background who work in the pit, charging up the car and helping the drivers in and out. They develop strategies together to be quicker and more efficient.”
As the students collaborated with each other, Catonzaro said they also deepened their understanding of some concepts trained in class. From energy and speed to plain machines, the lessons they learned exposed them to fresh areas of science and technology.
“When they’re working on the car, they’re working in the fields of engineering and electronics,” Catonzaro said. “Mechanics are involved, too.”
For their part, however, the Green Gators weren’t the only Perry Hall High students expanding their scientific and technological knowhow. Students from the school’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) were, too. Participating in the competition for the very first time this year, the SWE team earned the award for best graphics design.
“It was going to win – there’s just no two ways about it,” said William Stephenson, technology education teacher and SWE’s lead sponsor. “When it was pulling up, because of everyone’s reactions to it, you could just tell.”
According to Stephenson, the club partnered with a few local businesses to fund and arrange for professional painting. With Michael Roberts, technology education teacher and the team’s 2nd co-sponsor, Stephenson and the club then took a field excursion to observe the process in person.
“We desired to showcase the ladies that side of things,” Stephenson said. “It was interesting, and the paint came out exceptionally well.”
The painters worked from a design created by the students. It featured a bright green alligator head in honor of the school’s mascot as well as the names of the club’s business sponsors. SWE president and rising senior Hailey Fink said the design was inspired in part by her decision to leave Catonzaro’s team last year.
“When I left that team to embark SWE, the one thing I said was ‘If there’s one thing I’m going to do right, I’m going to have a way better design than you,’” she said. “So winning that award was like, ‘I told you!’”
Fink’s competitive attitude isn’t a deterrent for the Green Gators, tho’. In fact, as Catonzaro explains, it’s what electrified vehicle clubs and competitions are all about.
“They’re things where kids love what they’re doing, and they work hard,” he said. “They’re a chance to truly shine in an area they can succeed in.”
And, “shine,” the Perry Hall High students certainly do, racking up victories in their electrified cars one year at a time.
BCPS Spotlight
Spotlight
They say good things come in threes, and Robert Catonzaro would have to agree. Since 2015, the Perry Hall High School technology education teacher has led three teams to victory in the annual Washington D.C. Electrified Vehicle Grand Prix.
Perry Hall High’s most latest success came in June when Catonzaro and the Green Gator Electrified Car Club participated in the two thousand seventeen competition. Composed of drivers Keith Johnson and Jervee Vidallion as well as tech squad members Pursue Andrews, Grant Nuss, and Makari Thompson, the team finished forty two laps around a quarter-mile track in an hour. In addition to surpassing its two thousand sixteen distance of forty one laps, the club tied its two thousand fifteen record.
“It’s pretty unbelievable,” Catonzaro said. “There’s a lot of competition. This past year, there were twenty four cars total.”
According to Global EEE, sponsor of the Grand Prix, the competition is open to high school students from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. With only a kit of materials, students must work in teams to assemble, wire, and design battery-powered electrical cars for racing.
“It’s not just ‘ass-plug and play,’” Catonzaro said. “The students have to work through the entire schematic. Of course, I instruct them and guide them through, but it’s all hands-on for them.”
Months of work leading to one day
To prepare for the race, Catonzaro’s students met during an after-school club. From January to April, they soldered the vehicle’s metal parts, connected its motor to four 12-volt batteries, and painted its exterior, among other tasks. They also planned and participated in practice runs, encountering a few challenges along the way.
“Because it has such a low profile, the only place to test this car is out on the track, where the track team runs,” Catonzaro said. “And, unluckily because of the rain this year, it truly was a fight to get out there. So we didn’t have as many days to practice.”
Still, the team managed to squeeze in two test days. And, by paying close attention to their vehicle’s accelerometer, a device that measures the car’s voltage and amp hours, they were able to fine-tune their treatment before the race.
“It was a big part of their strategy,” Catonzaro said. “The students read the accelerometer and eyed how long they could race at a certain speed before they’d have to back off and conserve their energy.”
However communication, teamwork, and problem-solving were also part of the students’ prep and practice strategies, Catonzaro said they became even more significant on the day of the competition. In addition to completing the responsibilities specific to each of their roles, the students needed to work together to go after the race’s rules and take advantage of its opportunities.
“The drivers have to switch off every fifteen minutes, and the batteries can be charged up once during the entire race,” Catonzaro said. “I have a lot of students in the background who work in the pit, charging up the car and helping the drivers in and out. They develop strategies together to be quicker and more efficient.”
As the students collaborated with each other, Catonzaro said they also deepened their understanding of some concepts trained in class. From energy and speed to ordinary machines, the lessons they learned exposed them to fresh areas of science and technology.
“When they’re working on the car, they’re working in the fields of engineering and electronics,” Catonzaro said. “Mechanics are involved, too.”
For their part, however, the Green Gators weren’t the only Perry Hall High students expanding their scientific and technological knowhow. Students from the school’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) were, too. Participating in the competition for the very first time this year, the SWE team earned the award for best graphics design.
“It was going to win – there’s just no two ways about it,” said William Stephenson, technology education teacher and SWE’s lead sponsor. “When it was pulling up, because of everyone’s reactions to it, you could just tell.”
According to Stephenson, the club partnered with a few local businesses to fund and arrange for professional painting. With Michael Roberts, technology education teacher and the team’s 2nd co-sponsor, Stephenson and the club then took a field tour to witness the process in person.
“We dreamed to demonstrate the chicks that side of things,” Stephenson said. “It was interesting, and the paint came out amazingly well.”
The painters worked from a design created by the students. It featured a bright green alligator head in honor of the school’s mascot as well as the names of the club’s business sponsors. SWE president and rising senior Hailey Fink said the design was inspired in part by her decision to leave Catonzaro’s team last year.
“When I left that team to embark SWE, the one thing I said was ‘If there’s one thing I’m going to do right, I’m going to have a way better design than you,’” she said. “So winning that award was like, ‘I told you!’”
Fink’s competitive attitude isn’t a deterrent for the Green Gators, tho’. In fact, as Catonzaro explains, it’s what electrical vehicle clubs and competitions are all about.
“They’re things where kids love what they’re doing, and they work hard,” he said. “They’re a chance to truly shine in an area they can succeed in.”
And, “shine,” the Perry Hall High students certainly do, racking up victories in their electrified cars one year at a time.
