Dear H-FARM International School Community,
We are absolutely delighted to share with you the story of an extraordinary weekend that took our students to the heart of Rome, and took them far beyond anything any of us had imagined. From April 16 to 19 2026, 22 of our PYP5 and MYP1 students travelled to the American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) to compete in RoboMed 2026, bringing together 161 students from 11 schools across 4 continents. What followed was two days of brilliance, resilience, and pure H-FARM spirit.
Our Teams
Our Venice cohort competed under three team names that perfectly captured the energy they brought to Rome: ICE FOX, FIREBOLTS, and TEAM TITANS. Together, they represented H-Farm Venice with enormous pride; competing across five challenging events and showing the depth and range of skills they have been developing throughout the year.
Skills Showcased
What truly moved us as coaches and educators was not simply watching robots move across a floor; it was witnessing what lives behind each one. Over the course of two competition days, our students demonstrated:
- Advanced coding and programming: writing, testing, and refining their own code in real time under competition conditions.
- Engineering thinking: adapting and iterating on their robot builds between rounds to improve performance.
- Collaboration and communication: working as tight, coordinated teams, supporting each other across events and celebrating one another’s successes.
- Resilience and growth mindset: when things didn’t go to plan, they adjusted, debugged, and came back stronger. Not once did we see a student give up.
- Global citizenship: competing respectfully and joyfully alongside students from schools across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, representing H-Farm with grace and sportsmanship throughout.
Beyond the Competition Floor
The trip was about so much more than robotics. Arriving in Rome on Thursday evening, our students shared a first dinner together at a pizzeria; a moment of togetherness that set the tone for everything that followed. On Saturday evening, after a hard-fought second competition day, they had the chance to explore the streets of Rome, dining together and soaking in the beauty of one of the world’s greatest cities. Watching them walk through Rome as a community; curious, confident, and connected; was one of the greatest privileges of the weekend.
Throughout the trip, the students were remarkable ambassadors for H-Farm International School. Their conduct at the hotel, on the competition floor, and across the city of Rome was exemplary. They were kind, respectful, and wonderful to be with. Every member of staff on this trip came home genuinely proud.
A Note of Thanks
None of this would have been possible without the incredible support of our families. Thank you for trusting us with your children, for your encouragement throughout the year, and for the preparation and care that went into getting them to the start line. A heartfelt thank you also goes to our dedicated staff team, Anthony Hamblin, Christopher Camacho, Flika Carvalho and Owen McComasky, whose commitment to our students, both on and off the competition floor, made this trip everything it was.
To our students: you walked into that gym as a team, and you walked out as something even greater. You showed the world what H-Farm looks like, and it was extraordinary. We could not be more proud of every single one of you.
