School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) announced that the Patchogue-Medford High School Robotics Team #329 “Raiders” has won the Team Spirit Award sponsored by Chrysler at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Championships, which were held April 28-30 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Team Spirit Award celebrates extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through exceptional partnership and teamwork. The Raiders were chosen from a field of 350 teams for this award for successfully manufacturing five water filtration systems that were shipped to Haiti, providing five different communities with 40,000 liters of fresh drinking water.

At the Long Island FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) on March 26, Patchogue-Medford won the Chairman’s Award, the highest award that can be given at any regional FIRST Robotics Competition. This award goes to the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST. The award helps keep the central focus of the FRC on the goal of inspiring greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology.

“While some may see the FIRST Robotics Program as simply as a fun and exciting robotics competition, it is really about inspiring students to become the technology leaders needed to solve the world’s most complex problems,” said Scott Schuler, Acting President, SBPLI. “In their development of water filtration systems being used to provide clean water in Haiti, the Patchogue-Medford Robotics Team is a wonderful example of this. We are truly proud of Patchogue-Medford and their accomplishments this season.”