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on Darug and Guringal lands is finishing the year on a high, after being crowned VEX IQ Australian National Robotics Champions.

The Waitara Sting Squad, comprising Year 6 students, achieved national success at the championships in Adelaide on 5 December, leading the competition from their first match and winning the Teamwork Championship. This milestone highlights the school’s strong focus on STEM education and broad learning opportunities for all students.

Principal Dany Fitzgerald said the success reflected the school’s commitment to helping students grow and thrive.

“This result shows what can happen when we identify students’ strengths and provide rich, challenging learning experiences,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

The Waitara Sting Squad emerged after over a year of learning, exploration, and gradual exposure to robotics within the school community.

The VEX IQ team was established mid-year, aligning with the NSW Department of ����vlog����’s (High Performance and Gifted ����vlog���� (HPGE) approach to nurture students across academic, creative and social domains.

A strong school–parent partnership was key to the team’s success, with a parent volunteer engineer working closely with teachers.

“We were incredibly fortunate to have a parent who brought both expertise and passion,” Ms Fitzgerald said. “He worked alongside our teachers and gave the students the confidence to think big, problem-solve and persevere.”

Jyun-Yuen Huo, a member of the Waitara Sting Squad, said the program had strengthened students’ collaboration, communication and critical thinking.

“It takes cooperation, because you need to agree on a single decision. It involves a lot of trial and error, it challenges different perspectives, and it makes us think outside the box,” Jyun-Yuen said.

The champion squad has also provided robotics demonstrations to the school, which is inspiring younger students and providing shared learning experiences.

As Term 4 ends, Ms Fitzgerald noted that student engagement remains a defining strength.

“Our students genuinely love coming to school,” she said. “They’re excited to learn, to try new things and to be part of a supportive, high-performing public school community.”

The Waitara Sting Squad will now proudly represent Waitara Public School and NSW public education at the VEX World Championships in in the United States in May 2026.