[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 10, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING CLINTON HIGH SCHOOL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 10, 2000

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today I pay special tribute to the members 
of the Clinton High School/NYPRO Partnership in Clinton, MA.
  It gives me great pleasure to salute and congratulate the Clinton 
High School students, teachers, and the engineers from NYPRO for their 
impressive accomplishments during the recent ``FIRST Robotics 
Competition'' at both the regional and national levels.
  FIRST, which stands for ``For Inspiration and Recognition of Science 
and Technology'', is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to 
generate an interest in science and engineering among today's youth. 
The primary means of achieving this goal is through an annual robot 
competition, the FIRST Robotics Competition, which is a national 
engineering contest that immerses high school students in the exciting 
world of engineering.
  Just as other students teamed up with engineers from businesses and 
universities, the Clinton High students continued their partnership 
with NYPRO, Inc., which dates back to 1992.
  Through this project, the students are able to get a hands-on, inside 
look at the engineering profession. During an intense 6-week period 
which began in January, the Clinton High students, teachers, and NHPRO 
engineers worked together to brainstorm, design, construct, and test 
their ``champion robot.''
  The teams then moved forward to regional tournaments--complete with 
referees, cheerleaders and time clocks. At this year's FIRST 2000 New 
England Regional Competition held in Hartford, Connecticut, the Clinton 
High/NYPRO ``Gael Force'' Team was declared Semi-Finalists out of 41 
participating teams, and they were awarded the ``Best Defensive 
Award.''
  The results at the national level were even more impressive, as the 
Clinton High/NYPRO team was named 2nd Place Finalists out of 268 teams 
at the FIRST 2000 National Competition held recently at EPCOT in 
Florida.
  In addition, they were awarded $7,000 in software animation from 
Autodesk, Inc., for outstanding animation created by the student team 
members, and won the prestigious Worcester Polytechnic Institute Design 
Innovation Scholarship, which is a full 4-year scholarship worth 
approximately $12,000 for one of the team members.
  Since the beginning of their partnership in 1992, the Clinton High 
School/NYPRO team has received national recognition and significant 
awards over the years. The students, teachers, and engineers can be 
justly proud of their trophies and awards which honor their dedication 
and prize-winning effort. However, their is something even more 
important to celebrate--their special relationship has allowed for an 
incredible exchange of resources and talent and has exposed students to 
new educational opportunities and career choices.
  Superintendent of School Edward J. Philbin recently observed that 
Clinton is ``a better school system and a better community because of 
FIRST. Effective education cannot be accomplished only in the classroom 
within the time limits of the school day . . . it takes the united 
effort of every constituency in the community to put common goals into 
practice by working side by side in a learning and sharing 
environment.''
  As the citizens of Clinton celebrate their community's 150th 
birthday, the Clinton High School/NYPRO success story represents the 
town's continuing winning attitude and tradition.
  I sincerely commend everyone at NYPRO for the strong support given to 
this venture, especially the dedicated engineers who contribute so much 
of their time and themselves on behalf of the young people. I 
particularly applaud and salute the phenomenal students of Clinton High 
School's ``Gael Force'' team and their teachers--I share the great 
pride felt by Clintonians in their tremendous spirit and commitment to 
this year's FIRST success.

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