Congratulations to our high school robotics team 181, the Birds of Prey from Hartford Public High School, Classical Magnet School, and Pathways Academy of Technology and Design for winning the NE FIRST Hartford District Event as part of Red Alliance 1, alongside Southington and Choate in the playoffs on Sunday, 3/30/25. As a result, they've qualified to compete at the NE FIRST District Championship this week, April 2-5. The Dragons team 1991 from University High School of Science and Engineering and the Auerfam 4-H Club also competed in the NE FIRST Hartford District Event and were on the winning alliance at the Waterbury competition this year.

The NE FIRST Robotics Competition has teams design, build and program robots to compete in games. This year, the challenge was REEFSCAPE presented by Haas, an ocean-themed game played by two alliances of three robots each. Forty teams of students in grades 9–12 from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island competed in the NE FIRST Hartford District Event the weekend of March 29–30. This was the 10th event that Hartford Public High School has hosted in 12 years. I was incredibly proud to be there last Saturday to cheer on all our students who participated in the tournament.

Hartford Public Schools extends its appreciation to everyone who made the NE Robotics Competition such a memorable event; from our HPS staff, families, friends, partners at Ready CT and NE FIRST Robotics, and the teams’ corporate sponsors for their role in mentoring and supporting our students in this process. HPS Robotics Teams sponsors include: RTX, Ready CT, CBIA, Stanley Black and Decker, Raytheon, NAF, and the Capital Grille. Special thanks to the HPHS Band and the many fans cheering form the stands!

We wish the Birds of Prey the best of luck in the championship this week!