Meeting the parents and updates

On Tuesday, the coaches and some mentors met with the parents of students interested in transitioning from the club to the team.  We had over 15 families in attendance.  We bought pizza and soda for dinner. The head coach prepared some slides about FIRST, what our typical Build Schedule is and what kind of support we need from parents. We distributed copies of our team's Handbook which we worked on since the spring.  There were only a few parents who asked questions.  A few offered their help with food, rides and such.  Overall, I think the meeting went well.  The goal of the is for the parents to get a better understanding of what their child is signing up for.

The students also had a separate meeting at the same time. There, the criteria for becoming a team member were explained - the Points System.  I'm waiting to see how the Points Tracker stands up to more use and volume.

So far, our new training program, dubbed the "SECOND Robotics Competition" (SRC), has been working well.  Our current attendance by new members still average about 30 per session. Attendance has actually increased gradually.  The kids seem excited and enthusiastic.  We have also informed them about the off-season competition that the team is attending - Brunswick Eruption - in just over a week.  Over 20 said that they wanted to go!  I'm looking forward to the Evil Sundae Contest! With the large influx of new members, we really have to plan the Build season in more detail and delegate more to the other mentors and veterans.

Inventory has started - still registering and labeling the bins and bookshelves at this point.  We found a few minor areas in the tool which need to be fixed.  I'm also waiting to see how the Inventory tool handles more users and data.

There are a lot of activities going on at school.  This week was Spirit Week.  Students and faculty dressed up for Twin Day, Pajama Day, Halloween, etc.  Seniors were wrapping up their work for the Election Simulations.  Others are getting ready for Founder's Day performances next week.  Many Early Action applications are due tomorrow for the seniors and teachers.

We've been getting many opportunities for expanding our community outreach work.  It is difficult to choose or do all of them when we don't have enough members who are able to meet the additional  required time commitments (in addition to time spent on robotics and other clubs, they also have to work 40 hours of community service for school). After watching Karthik's session on the Chairman's Award on Wednesday, I think that we need to be smarter and more unique in how we approach community outreach and this award. Our team isn't big enough to be able to support a large number of outreach activities.

There are lots of things to do next week: the team is scheduled to give a demonstration at a school in Manhattan, we have to finish preparations for Brunswick Eruption (packing, drive team practice, travel logistics, etc.), prepare for the FRC workshops that we are hosting in November, continue Inventory and training, etc.

TTFN!