On March 11, three Westie Underwater SeaPerch teams competed in the Connecticut Regional Championship. SeaPerch is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) competition where students build, design, and modify an underwater robot. The program promotes inquiry-based learning through real-world engineering applications.
Westie students were fully engaged in hands-on activities that helped develop critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. The 2026 competition, themed "Storm Response: Technology in Action for Recovery and Relief," challenged student-built ROVs to complete tasks simulating post-storm infrastructure repair and environmental recovery. Teams navigated an underwater obstacle course and a mission course that included damaged infrastructure, sample collection, and wildlife relocation.
The teams were coached and chaperoned by Mr. Robert Piccuillo and Mr. Eric Rice. Many of the participating students are enrolled in West Haven High School’s Project Lead the Way STEM Engineering program, which offers courses in Engineering Design, Civil Engineering and Architecture, Principles of Engineering, Cybersecurity, Digital Electronics, and Aerospace Engineering.
CTE Department Chair Mr. Rice shared, “As our engineering program has grown, so has our after school participation. It is really a treat to see our students work together to solve challenging tasks. Our students have demonstrated the highest levels of character and collaboration throughout.”
Mr. Piccuillo added, “I'm really proud of the way our students performed this year. They worked extremely hard after school for several months preparing their ROVs for this competition. It was great to see the upperclassmen become leaders of their teams and set a good example for newer members. They did a fantastic job demonstrating the engineering and collaborative skills needed to compete in a regional event with over 50 teams. I'm really looking forward to next season.”
