Good job at Battle Cry 14! 18th (out of 54 teams), picked by the # 4 seed team, (Entropy out of Amherst, NH) and picked Doherty HS from Worcester. Not too shabby and alliance, but, like our other competitions, we were knocked out, this time in the quarter finals…oh well. A couple of bright spots….Alex Peterson….organizing the scouting, (he’s uploading our match videos now) analyzing the data and coming up with a list for the draft. Katie and I took a look at it before he went out and had a pretty good read on the top teams. Tim Bednarzyk– going to be a good programmer. Over the past couple of weeks, Tim had the unenviable job of making the robot work better. With a little more discipline and better commenting, Tim will be good. Really good.
This week, meetings are Mon and Wed. Focus is off loading the trailer, organizing the shop, prepping for Beantown Blitz (June 1st at Northeastern) and driver practice.
One of the top topics of discussion this week has been a topic that has arisen in the past and will arise again, I’m sure. Communication. Over the past few months, Jay and I have sent out emails, made Facebook posts on Rosie’s PRIVATE Facebook page, texted, updated the website, verbally passing on info at team meetings and wrote on the white board at AHS. Still, I hear stories of people not knowing when an event is, what time the bus is leaving, late permission slips, and where are we going? Long story short….I try to put out timely information in as many forms of communication that I can, including the links to websites of the events we are attending. (How many people who drove to WPI actually went to the BC 14 website and printed out the free parking pass for WPI’s parking garage?) At some point, the parents, the students and the mentor have to take responsibility for paying attention and reading the email, going to the website, and cruising the Rosie page while you’re on Facebook. (And I know you’re on Facebook because we are friends and I see you online…!!) The ony thing that I can think of doing extra (no, I am not going to make 127 phone calls to each of you… is to learn how to use Twitter better. Follow rosierobotics if you have a Twitter account. One more thing, we are all a team, if someone asks a question or has an idea, answer. Even if the answer is “no.” That is all. Rant over.
One last change and I’ll take the hit on why we have to do this again….the Ice Cream Social will be June 5. At Despangs. More details as we get closer.
Beantown Blitz–1 June at Northeastern Univ. Permission slips will be going out (If they haven’t already.) It is the students responsibility to get them back ON TIME!
And it’s Golf Tournament Time! Time to get ads for the ad book, time to get golfers. Time to get raffle prizes….Time to get going! I have only received ONE response and ONE raffle prize. This is our biggest fundraiser….
I want to start off this update on a somber note, not sad, but one of reflection, of remembrance. It was 5 years ago today, 14 April 2008, that Mr John Burns lost his battle with cancer. John and I sat in the Agawam Friendly’s on 2 Jun 2001 and from that initial meeting, Rosie was born. Mr Burns touched many lives, not just students, but other teachers, mentors, peers and parents. While John never got to go to Atlanta in 2008 to celebrate Rosie’s 1st trip to Championships, I know he was and still is watching. He would be bursting with pride at all of you for what you are doing to be the best you can be. John would be absolutely beside himself with joy that WE have built Rosie into one of the most respected FRC teams in New England. I know, I hear it all the time in my travels around the country with FIRST. So, in your own way, please pause tonight before you go to bed and look up….Mr B’s watching. (John Burns video)
In celebration of Mr Burns life, I would like to collect donations for the Relay for Life that is being held here in Agawam on 17-18 May. Unfortunately it is the same days as Battle Cry, so we cannot field an official walking team. (Alumni? Maybe you guys want to walk? Here is the link to the Agawam event… http://tinyurl.com/cktorq5) I ask if anyone would like to donate to AREA with the specific intention of grouping these monies together and making one LARGE donation in John’s memory, please make out your check to AREA, Inc and get it to me, 152 Franklin St. Feeding Hills, MA 01030. I will tell you that I put this out yesterday and we already have $200 pledged.
Meetings this week will be Monday and Wednesday. We have robot mods to verify and golf tournament info to get out.
Speaking of golf, the 12th Annual Tournament of Rosie is booked and ready to go. It will be held on 22 June at Agawam Country Club. First tee time is 10:00 am. $95 pp includes golf, lunch, dinner, prizes and bragging rights! The Agawam Robotics (http://agawamrobotics.org) website will be updated this week and flyers are being printed and will be distributed a with ad information.
Also, the Melha Shrine Circus is coming up quickly as well. 2-5 May at the Big E. We usually provide ushers as a community service project to the Shriners. Anyone interested let me know asap. Lynne and I will be traveling to St Louis next week, so please let me know this week if possible.
I think that’s it for now….look us up on Facebook!
Well, that was special! From the character building weekend we had at WPI to the #8 seed at arguably the most competitive regional in FIRST! Wow! The shooter was like a laser, a few tweaks to the loader, 2 motor change outs and code changes and VOILA! A top contender. The downside of being a #8 seed is that we went against the #1 seed in the first round. We held the #1 seed of Southington, CT, Lebanon, NH and Clifton Park, NY to the lowest scores in the entire elims. (They went on to win the event.) A big shout out and thank you to the pit and drive team for a LOT of work and focus. The scouting was done very well, at first glance, when Billy Bessette (the on field picker) first picked 4055 (NRG Robotics) I thought, “Who?” But they turned out to be a sleeper and did VERY WELL. The power of scouting….it’s HUGELY important!
Oh…and we also came home with hardware! Our business plan took home the bacon with our 7th (in 12 years) Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers Entrepreneurship Award. Woo Hoo! The KPCB validates what we already know, we have a top notch overall team supporting the whole program. Congratulations!
Meetings this week are Monday and Wednesday. We will do a good/bad/ugly session as well as one on one (or a couple on a couple) “exit interviews” from our seniors. Priorities for the next few weeks are being formulated as well.
One of the priorities is Battle Cry 14….we are registered! So save 17-18 May on your calendar as well as 1 June for Beantown Blitz hosted by the NUTRONS at Northeastern Univ.
Another piece of information I have for you is that New England will be moving to the District Model next year, 2014. The competition model changes to smaller “district” events and qualifying for District Championships based on a point system. To go into detail here is too lengthy…. go to www.nefirst.org for all the latest information.
And one last item….we are on Facebook. Just drop me a line or friend me.
WOW! Just got home from a great weekend with FIRSTers and family at the Boston Regional. Great competition! FIRST team 125 (the NUTRONS) 126 (Gael Force) and 1511 (Rolling Thunder) put up a great strategy and execution to beat the full field fire power of 3172 ( from Rochester NY) and 846 (Funky Monkeys, San Jose) and the 30 point climb and 20 point dumping of 88 (TJ^2). I have video of 3172 and their long distance shooting to upload later…
So, this week—the CT Regional at the CT Convention Center. Everything you need to know about the event can be found HERE As always, the Thursday crew will be driving themselves to the event. Parking is available at the event for a fee. (I think it’s $15). Lynne and Charlene will be putting together the tailgating lunches for Friday and Saturday. $5pp should cover it. Please bring it in Monday night. And we are asking for desserts, cookies, brownies, baked Alaska….you know, the usual. We have a lot of work on Thursday and some tough competition on Friday and Saturday. It should be a good weekend.
Parents….Agawam Admins…..teachers…..Agawam Pols…..everyone reading this, the competition is free and open to the public. Come on down to cheer on YOUR kids!
Monday is finish up the robot mods, Tuesday is Academic ‘A’s’ at the School Committee meeting. (I think we might have a few students receiving them!) and Wednesday is load up the trailer.
The public agenda is below—
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm ………………………5 Team Reps to Load In
Thursday, March 28, 2013
7:45 am ………………………………………..5 Team Reps to Load In
8:30 am ………………………………………..Pits and Machine Shop OPEN
8:30 am ………………………………………..Registration and Robot Inspection Start
10:00 am – 12:00 Noon …………………..Practice Rounds
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ……………………….LUNCH
1:00 pm – 4:30 pm ………………………..Practice Rounds
8:00 pm ……………………………………..Pits and Machine Shop CLOSE
Friday, March 29, 2013
8:00 am ……………………………………..Pits and Machine Shop OPEN
8:30 am – 9:00 am ………………………….Opening Ceremonies
9:00 am – 12:00 Noon ……………………Qualification Matches
12:00 Noon – 1:00 pm ……………………LUNCH
1:00 pm – 5:45 pm …………………………Qualification Matches
5:45 pm – 6:30 pm ………………………….Awards Ceremony
7:00 pm ……………………………………..Pits and Machine Shop CLOSE
Saturday, March 30, 2013
8:00 am ……………………………………..Pits and Machine shop OPEN
8:30 am – 9:00 am ………………………….Opening Ceremonies
9:00 am – 12:15 pm ………………………Qualification Matches
12:15 pm – 12:30 pm ……………………..Alliance Selections
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm ……………………….LUNCH
1:30 pm – 4:30 pm ………………………..Final Rounds
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm ………………………….Awards Ceremony
6:30 pm ……………………………………..Pits close; crates packed
Well, that was interesting. A long time ago I read a book, I do not remember the author, but it was a self help book, “How to Win friends and Influence People”, Dale Carnegie or one of Og Mandino’s books, and the author talked about how not all events, work days, school days or life events would be or could be successful. He spoke of looking beyond the material manifestations of success, trophies, bonuses, raises or accolades. He spoke of “character building” events. Those events that did not go well that one could look back on and say, wow, we did everything we could to make a not so good situation better and still did not reach our goals but could draw upon the lessons learned and move forward to become better people and citizens in the future. Well, I am here to say we had one of those weekends, a character building weekend at WPI.
The down side of the weekend was a robot that did not work as designed. The upside of the weekend was the people. The people in the pits, the mentors, the students, anyone who worked non stop to make the best of a situation that was not optimized. The students in the stands, making noise, cheering for our team and others, even one students who I saw volunteering at the safety glass table making sure everyone had safety glasses going into the pits.
We have of work to do before CT Regional in 3 weeks. We can do this, transform a robot to not only work better, but BE better.
Meetings this week are Mon and Thursday at AHS. Other times as needed for those students that are needed can and will be booked at G&L and the Office.
From Mr. Rose (as posted on the Face book page) is the following….Lynne and I plan on being there. Are you?
Good Morning Rosie friends, as you know the Agawam Lions Club is a big supporter of ours. They are having a corned beef dinner this coming (Wednesday) March 13 at the Agawam High School between 5 and 7 pm.I have tickets and they are 10$ for adults and 5$ for children. Please let me know if would like go and how many tickets you would need. Thank You for your support.
Friday is the annual “Easter Egg Stuff” for the Lions as well. The last couple of years we have met at the Lions Den at the Big E to stuff Easter Eggs for the Easter Egg hunt for the Town. 6:30 start time. Come on down, it is pretty fun.
BUTTE BRAIDS Breads—who’s got orders to turn in? Due date is tomorrow so we can get them to you before Easter. For those that have not eaten a Butter Braid Bread, just look at my waistline! They are YUMMY!
And shirts, please bring in your shirt/sweatshirt money.
Today, Lynne and I, had the opportuinty to attend the Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Billy Bessette at St John’s. Very nice ceremony and it brought back memories for me. I am not an Eagle Scout, but I spent my child hood years in Scouting at all levels and was always amazed at the amount of work required to attain Eagle. Add to that band, swim team and Rosie and Billy is amazing! His family being so supportive (including his sisters!), his Scout friends and mentors have helped shaped a remarkable young man.
Wow! Just got back from the Milton FTC Qualifier with the FTC839 Mighty Mechanics coming away with the victory allied with the Lexington Gear Ticks. Also the local team came home with the Rockwell Collins Innovate award, given to the team with a “really cool” aspect of their robot that works really really well. Nice job MMs! It’s on to States in 2 weeks.
So this week is WPI Regional. We will be meeting Monday and Wednesday, maybe Tuesday if needed offsite, by the shooter team. Thursday is a get your own ride day for the pit crew and drives team. Those people have been notified, (or so I am told). We have a lot of work to do to get Rosie ready for competition. Zero time can be wasted!
The regional website is HERE for the information you will need.
Lunch order is going in Monday, tomorrow. Get your order to Lynne. Turkey, ham, roast beef $8, tuna and pulled pork $9.
Bus will be provided Friday and Saturday. leaving AHS at 0630, I believe. And make sure you get your shirts from Lynne and Charlene Monday night.
Wow, it’s been a while since I wrote. I can honestly say, we have, the whole team has, been a little busy lately. The 6 week build season is over, Rosie 12.0 is bagged and sleeping at the office and it’s time to get ready for the WPI Regional in 2 weeks. A couple of items we need to go over so let’s dive in.
1. Rosie meetings will go back to the regular Monday and Wednesday night schedule, 6-9pmat AHS. If a subteam needs to meet outside of the regular team meeting nights, the office is available (just check with Dave Blain as the FTC team is still meeting), G&L can be available with prior notice and clearance with Dave.
2. Even with Rosie in the bag, we still have a lot of work to do to finish her off, the climber assembly, the hopper and shooter feeder, transmission mods….we’ll have a busy day on Thursday at WPI (7-9 Mar) putting the final items on the robot. So, if you’re on the design, manufacturing, programming, electrical team, we need you. Let me know if you can’t make it.
3. Competitions—first one up is WPI, next week! 7-9 Mar, Th-Sat. Event info can be found HERE. Thursday is a get your own ride day for the pit crew and drive team. Friday and Saturday will be a bus ride. I’ll have to check with Mr Barry to get the time he ordered the bus for, but my guess is the bus will leave AHS 06:15ish. The lunch menu has been posted on the Regional website….get your orders in to Lynne or Charlene and cash please. The complete “Public Agenda” is posted at the bottom of this email.
4. Next Saturday, 2 Mar, Rosie has been invited to demo last years robot at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytical Sports show in Boston. This is an invitation only event. We are only allowed up to 10 attendees. The event info can be found HERE. We will be demoing from 0900-1400 on Saturday.
5. Last Thursday, 21 Feb, we had our annual Library demo….I was unable to go, but I am told it was well received and we have some follow up up on potential new teams to do.
6. And last but certainly not least, I personally and publically, want to thank ALL the parents and mentors that helped Rosie get through a VERY trying build season. This year’s game presented a LOT of new and difficult challenges for a lot of teams, including ours. I will admit, I had serious doubts we would be able to put a machine into the bag that actually ran and was assembled (at least) enough to drive around and shoot. But, with the late season addition of Craig Manzi, the dedication of Jay Cameron, the teaching of Bob Despang, the awesomness of engineering of Jim Kammerer, the assistance of Dick Smus ( I think he got 20 years younger as we went along!) Mark Steele, David Blain (Dave, you’re not overstepping your bounds!) and of course Jack Barry for doing what he does best and the behind the scenes help of Lynne Henry, Charlene Cameron, Sue Peoples, Joanne Juthe, Dawn Blain, Roger Bessette and to ALL the parents who sent in food, coffee, cookies and for picking up your kids on time, even thought it may have been early morning! WE pulled it off. We still have a lot of work to do, but at least Rosie Lives!
2013 REGIONAL SCHEDULE
WPI REGIONAL
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm ………………………5 Team Reps to Load In
Thursday, March 7, 2013
7:45 am ………………………………………..5 Team Reps to Load In
8:30 am ………………………………………..Pits and Machine Shop OPEN
8:30 am ………………………………………..Registration and Robot Inspection Start
10:00 am – 12:00 Noon …………………..Practice Rounds
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ……………………….LUNCH
1:00 pm – 4:30 pm ………………………..Practice Rounds
8:00 pm ……………………………………..Pits and Machine Shop CLOSE
Friday, March 8, 2013
8:00 am ……………………………………..Pits and Machine Shop OPEN
9:30 am – 9:00 am ………………………….Opening Ceremonies
9:00 am – 12:00 Noon ……………………Qualification Matches
12:00 Noon – 1:00 pm ……………………LUNCH
1:00 pm – 5:45 pm …………………………Qualification Matches
5:45 pm – 6:30 pm ………………………….Awards Ceremony
7:00 pm ……………………………………..Pits and Machine Shop CLOSE
Saturday, March 9, 2013
8:00 am ……………………………………..Pits and Machine shop OPEN
8:30 am – 9:00 am ………………………….Opening Ceremonies
9:00 am – 12:15 pm ………………………Qualification Matches
12:15 pm – 12:30 pm ……………………..Alliance Selections
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm ……………………….LUNCH
1:30 pm – 4:30 pm ………………………..Final Rounds
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm ………………………….Awards Ceremony
6:30 pm ……………………………………..Pits close; crates packed
I know it’s been awhile since I wrote last, I’ve been a little busy.
Kick Off in NH went well. The team got some good face time with Woodie Flowers. Brad offered Woodie to come out and stay in Rachel’s room if he wanted to come out and mentor on Rosie. (Woodie laughed and graciously declined). The presentation we put together and the brainstorming session on Sunday was REALLY good! We did something very different than previous years and it went very well, utilizing some techniques we use at Hamilton to come up with the best ideas as a team.
So, now we are just over a week into build season and progress is moving forward. prototyping of the shooter is done, final tweaks to the drive train and clutch are in process. The long pole in the tent is the climbing mechanism. A very challenging problem to work out. How to get a 150 lb robot 90 inches off the floor “climbing” a pyramid of three horizontal bars 30 inches apart, while only touching 2 bars at a time. Katie, how you doing? (I have faith!)
We need one more Mom (or Dad) to signup to bring in lunch on Sat 2 Feb. See Lynne or Charlene for details, how many, etc….
For anyone who doesn’t know, the game this year is Ultimate Ascent, uses “flying disks” (generic frisbees) as the game piece AND the hig challenge is climbing a pyramid made from 2 inch steel pipe with horizontal pipes at 30, 60 and 90 inches from the floor. Here’s a link to everything you want to know about the challenge… http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/2013-game
We’re doing it again, a World Famous Ziti Dinner! Friday, 25 Jan 2013, 4:30 to 7:30 at Agawam Congregational Church on Main St. $8 pp, incl drinks and dessert. Students–bring a dessert and a Chinese Raffle item or two.
Wow! The last time I get to write a Rosie Update in 2012….The past year has been such a hoot! A LOT of work, a LOT of FUN, a couple of awards along the way and a LOT of learning.
I am going to try to recap the year, (keyword TRY) without missing something but I probably will and you’ll let me know, right Rachael Blain?
Rebound Rumble hit in January for Rosie FRC839. After the exhausting 6 week build, we bagged up the robot on time! (For the initiated, that is also called Stop Work Day and all work on the machine has to cease and it gets put into a big bag until our first competition.) At WPI Regional with a record of 7-5-0, Rosie 11.0 finished 11th overall, allied with 1735 (Green Reapers Burncoat HS Worcester) and 3623 (Terror Bots out of Leominster) we were eliminated in the Semi Finals. BUT, we came home with the Engineering Excellence Award, Industrial Safety, Mr Cameron won the Woodie Flowers Award (A personal award for an awesome mentor as submitted by the students) and the BIGGIE…..our 2nd Regional Chairman’s Award. Not a bad weekend.
On to the CT Regional, with a record of 6-4-0, we finished qualification matches in 26th out of 64 teams and no trip to the Elims. No awards for us…. BUT, we did make some good progress and gaining some driver experience against some of the top teams in the country, like 118 from Johnson Space Center in Texas (who made it to Einstein). And Mr Kammerer’s boss (Allen Flynt, VP of Space Systems in all of UTAS, a VERY good guy to know!) was in attendance as well as most of the top brass in Agawam School Central Office and AHS.
On to St Louis!!!!! 400 FRC teams, 100 FTC teams, 100 FLL teams, 35 JrFLL teams and 30,000 people all screaming for their favorites. Cruising around St Louis in style, 15 passenger van arranged for by Mr Blain, (he was reimbursed) really made it easier, especially during the storm and going to Pappy’s for the awesomest bbq you have ever had! Up the Arch, in the museums and every where the team went, a sea of orange hats could be seen….and GP everywhere! Rosie finished 22nd out of 100 teams in the Archimedes Division, didn’t get picked, but close….
Also in January, actually during the fall of 2011, FTC 839 was resurrected from the members of Lightening LEGO coached by Mr Blain and Mr Chan. The team did reasonably well. I don’t have match results, but it was also a brand new platform for the kids to learn how to use. And I can tell you, that the team is currently finishing up there 2012-13 competition robot and it’s looking pretty good. Their first match is in 2 weeks, 19 Jan at Middlesex Community College in Bedford. More info to follow…
The 11th Annual Tournament of Rosie was a success and a great weather day as well. A whole bunch of golfers had a great time with the 4-some of Fly Boys from Westover led by Commander Tryba won bragging rites until next year. The Tournament for 2013 is already booked but Lynne and Charlene can’t remember when it is…When they remember and tell me, I’ll tell you!
Right about the same time as Champs, actually we were approached before we went to St Louis, OMG, a local roofing company came to us with a request we build them a prototype robot to help install their flat roofing systems. working on it throughout the summer and into the fall, the team came up with their designs and right before CDR (Critical Design Review) OMG pulled the plug (temporarily???) and the project was put into the archives. Disappointing- yes. But it happens in the real world too. Priorities change.
By the time September rolled around, AREA had registered 5 FLL and 6 JrFLL teams…..a tie for the all time high for number of teams. With 3 sets of rookie FLL coaches, I thought it might be a little difficult, with all the training and questions and late night meetings, but it worked out very well. The No Named Ninjas won a golden ticket to Robonautica the MA FLL State Championships and came home with the Outstanding Mentors Award. This is a really cool story…back in August, Roger Bessette asked me if it would be possible if Billy could coach a FLL team as his Eagle Scout project. I said, sure, he wrote up the paperwork, I approved his plan, he and Ali, Paul Hotaling and Rachael Blain mentored the team with Billy as Head Coach, they went to States, they won the Outstanding Mentor Award, the team had a high score of 300+ points (which was pretty good for this years challenge), I signed off on Billy’s paperwork for Scouts and we are now waiting for the final decisions from the Scout Office. How awesome is that!
AREA, Inc got a NEW Office/build space! Mice Real Estate made AREA an offer we couldn’t refuse! (Mice Real Estate is a LLC headed up by Cece and Mike Calabrese) and the space is on the 2nd floor of 850 Springfield St. The teams LOVED it, all used it, including the FTC team is still building in it. We need to discuss the use of the space going forward. We are contractually bound through February. Do we keep it? It is not free. We pay rent and utilities. Watch your email for an announcement of an AREA meeting to discuss.
Rotary Club Fall Festival—woo hoo! A beautiful weather day, a large crowd, a lot of kids driving Rosie and shooting baskets, a bunch of good contacts made and the Agawam Community liked us. (I think they already did, but they just showed it more.)
We also won over a new supporter at the Grand Opening in October. Agawam’s new State Senator Mike Knapik is really excited! And that is a good thing, for FIRST and for Rosie and for Agawam. He has expressed the idea that Westfield needs to have a FIRST Robotics program modeled after Agawam’s. It just so happens that his brother is the Mayor of Westfield so look for Mayor Knapik to drop in soon to have a look!
The 5th Annual Agawam Qualifier Tournament was held on 8 Dec for 24 FLL teams from all over the state. A good time was had by all….many thanks to all the Volunteers, most especially Vol of the Year Dave Blain. Dave, again, you and the Mrs are a HUGE addition to not only the FLL Tournament, but to AREA in general.
That pretty much brings us full circle. I am sure I missed something or some one. Oh I just remembered something, a little recognition night for Rosie on 30 Nov at Oak Ridge. The program was recognized for what it is, an organization dedicated to the betterment of Agawam’s youth. A whole lot of people make that happen, they just happened to pick me for to give a new lapel pin to, the Paul Harris Fellow Award. Rotary’s highest honor for “service above self.”
So, if you are still reading this, today is New Year’s Day, and in …. Click Here the 2013 FRC Season will be upon us. Are you rested? Are you ready? Are you excited? Final preparations will be Wednesday night (tomorrow) at AHS 6-9 and starting Saturday, we go into Build Mode. Shop hours on Kick Off Saturday will be doors open at 0900, coffee and donuts/muffins etc and the show starts at 10:00. After the game reveal discussions start and you’ll be sent home with homework. We come back Sunday at noon-5:00 to really dig in and start the brainstorming.
Just to be absolutely clear, shop hours during the next 6 weeks are:
Monday 6-9
Tuesday 6-9
Wednesday 6-9
Thursday 6-9
Friday off
Saturday 9-5
Sunday 12-5.
I am sure there will be minor tweaks, snow days, and maybe some extra hours at the AREA office, so stay in touch and pay attention. Read your email, I will start tweeting on a regular basis, read the website, (rosie.agawamrobotics.org) and the Rosie FB page for the latest information. It might even be a good idea to start reading the manual HERE. The test for decrypting the manual is HERE and the crypted manual is …I don’t know. I just went to look for it and it’s not posted yet. Keep an eye on the regular Manual link above.
See you tomorrow! (I’ll be in about 7 due to a Dr’s appt that I can’t have any other time unless I push it out to Feb!)
What does Billy and Ali Bessette, Rachael Blain and Paul Hotaling have in common with Mr Cameron? Answer later…..
Meetings this week Monday and Wednesday. A couple of projects have to be finished up this week. The first is we need to complete a couple of cat shelters that we started a month ago. And we need to complete the move to the cage for current and active tooling, raw materials, robot parts, etc.. for the upcoming build season. Then it’s into Christmas break….
….and when we come back, what time is it? FIRSTmas!!!!! Kick Off is FAST approaching! Jan 5th, 2013. We will be sending a contingent to Manchester to conduct the real time engineering, ask the questions of the GDC (Game Design Committee) and come back with all the answers. We will be making the student choices this week. We will require those students that are asked to go, to have their parents drive them up. No bus for this trip. Meanwhile back in Agawam, the rest of the team will be at AHS watching the webcast along with invited guests. Doors open at 0900, the show starts at 10:00.
Again, you NEED to register in STIMS! See below for instructions…..
STUDENTS AND PARENTS–PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REGISTER IN STIMS! Ths STUDENT Team Information System with FIRST! The deadline is 12 Dec. I sent this out at least twice over the past 5 weeks and thus far only about 6 students have completed the process. We have 34 on the roster! It is very important! Again, here is the information and see attached form from FIRST with complete explanation on how to do it:
It is also now the time for students to start registering in STIMS. What is STIMs? See below and read and follow the instruction attached.
What is STIMS? And paretns/coaches…follow the instructions for yourself to be registered in TIMs too. There are benefits to you being in the know also.
The FIRST Student Team Information Member System (STIMS) is used to:
1. Connect Student Team Members with FRC** and FTC teams
2. Collect annual FIRST Consent and Release Forms required for participation in all FIRST events
3. Submission of FRC awards by authorized Student Team Members
4. Stay in touch with FIRST Participants
STIMS can be accessed at: https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso
**STIMS is intended for Pre-College Student Team Members & their Parents/Legal Guardians. If you are an adult team member of an FRC
team, please ask your Main or Alternate team contact to invite you to join the team using the FRC TIMS Mentor invitation process.
Student team members are asked to return to STIMS each season, login using their existing login credentials and reapply to their teams(s). After
the student has reapplied to their team(s), parents/ legal guardians can login using their existing login credentials to complete the annual FIRST
Consent and Release Form. Please refer to the Returning STIMS Users section below for additional information.
So, what do Billy, Ali, Rachael and Paul have in common with Jay? They all won Mentor awards at WPI! This past Saturday at Robonautica, the MA FLL State Championships, the 4 Rosie students, lead by Billy Bessette, received the Outstanding Mentor Award. Wow! That is awesome! For those of you that don’t know, Billy is coaching the team as his Eagle Scout Project and the kids want them ALL back next year to be their coach. Nice job!
As a final note, from Lynne and I, with the events of Newtown, CT a few days ago, please, be safe. If you ever find yourself in a situation of danger, which can manifest itself in many ways, look for the helpers. The helpers will come.
is to learn how to use Twitter better. Follow rosierobotics if you have a Twitter account. One more thing, we are all a team, if someone asks a question or has an idea, answer. Even if the answer is “no.” That is all. Rant over.
