![Bass Clef Choir members Zion Ondoma, Henry Hansen, and Zerik Nicholson harmonize vocals while singing "Prayer of the Children". “[It’s] a piece dealing with the Bosnian conflicts of the ‘90s,” said Associate Director of Choral Activities Matthew Jensen, “but is applicable to what's happening today all over the world.” The students will perform the song during Large Group Contests in Cedar Falls in May.](https://riverhawkpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260414_111618-1200x554.jpg)
Riverhawk Robotics members are adding extensions to their robot for the upcoming Giza league competition at Clear Lake, IA, on January 17, 2026. After the most recent competition on December 19, the Riverhawk Robotics team placed 3rd and is still in 3rd place.
Robotics is a club where students build and code a robot that has to be able to hold and shoot balls into a goal to score points. The robot cannot be longer or wider than 18’’. During the competitions, there are 4 teams on the field, 2 on the blue side and 2 on the red side. Sometimes the blue side and or red side will have two robots, one from their team and the other from the other team on that side. The robots are then placed inside a 36-foot arena, and their goal is to be able to shoot as many balls as they can to gain points.
Riverhawk Robotics has a total of 13 members currently on the team, with the most recent member being Max Tripp. Member Max Tripp explains how stressful he felt when the team won against the team in 1st place.
(Gabe Schaer)
“Feels good because they are number one in the state, but it was a time when they had something wrong with the robot. So we can’t really take too much credit for our ability. I mean, we did do good, but they had something going on wrong with their connection, because they tried switching materials and didn’t work out. It’s kind of a friendly rivalry,” said Tripp.
Coach Bill Riessen talks about the growth and improvements over the past 2 years.
“Well, I’ve seen a lot of improvements in how the students work together as a team, and it’s fun for me to see them use their hands to build things with skills that they didn’t have when they came in. And also learn to bring their ideas into real form and see them score points on the competition field,” said Riesen.
Julia Hines explains how she feels about the upcoming competition.
“Very good. Despite some inconsistency, I think our robot has been significantly improved since last competition, and we have a good chance at going to state,” said Hines.
