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A monthly newsletter to keep you informed. Dig it.
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It's a brand new month and a brand new
Virginia
FIRST
newsletter!
And it's more exciting than a barrel of electric eels.
Sit Back and Relax
The main competition seasons are over. But we still have
all sorts of things to share- FRC Rookie Team Spotlight, FTC East Super Regional results,
an Alumni Spotlight, Summer Camp Info, a Volunteer thank you
and more- whew
!!
So hold on to your jetpacks - a
nd keep reading for these topics
and more.
And please pass this newsletter on to teams, parents and students!!
(a web link is at the top of this email- the "click here")
To subscribe to the newsletter, just fill out this form.
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Underdog Robotics Team Thinks Outside of the Box - Makes it to Championship
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What happens when a cable company, an engineer, a former aircraft mechanic, and a Spanish teacher decide to make a difference in the lives of students in Southside Virginia? You get a
FIRST Robotics Competition All Star Rookie
team - The Golden Dukes.
Situated in Cumberland County, population 10,052, Cumberland County High School may not be the first place most people think of when talking about one of Virginia's top ranked high school robotics teams. In fact, team 6194, "The Golden Dukes", is not only competing at the FIRST Chesapeake District Championship Sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton during
National Robotics Week
, they have already racked up impressive awards such as "Rookie Inspire" and "Rookie All Star" since the beginning of March. This has been accomplished in their first year as a team - and for about $40 in used parts.
It all began when Myrna Barr decided to take some STEM-based classes to better understand what her son, a Virginia Tech Engineering student, was doing. "I realized that the future is STEM", said the Spanish teacher from Cumberland County High School. Because Spanish is not considered an SOL core curriculum, she was able to integrate science and technology-based discussions into her classes without too much trouble. Little did she know that her journey was just beginning. In the fall of 2016, a generous grant from Mid-Atlantic Broadband allowed her high school to register its first ever robotics team with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Myrna, her husband Steve Barr, a former aircraft mechanic, and Michael Giles, a parent and engineer, decided to take the plunge to coach and mentor the newly formed team. "I found that FIRST programs worked across learning styles. Everyone could benefit from being on the team", said Myrna.
While the Mid-Atlantic Broadband grant paid for registration fees and the standard kit of parts, it was up to the team to pay for its travel and additional machinery and supplies. That's when the students started to get creative. They had a student-faculty volley ball tournament and a hat day to raise funds. They also visited junk yards to scavenge spare parts - resulting in their signature "car window motor" arm that caught the attention of judges and veteran teams at their first two competitions. "Some established teams have budgets that exceed $10,000 annually. That a team can build a competitive robot for $40 is something that should be celebrated," said Stan Southworth, Executive Director of VirginiaFIRST. "This team, is not only teaching STEM-based concepts, it is fostering well-rounded life skills such as teamwork, creative thinking, advocacy, and leadership."
Next week, Team 6194, will take to the field once again at the
FIRST
Chesapeake District Championship Sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton
at the University of Maryland. They will be competing against and forming alliances with 57 of the best and brightest high school robotics teams in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. "It's been a very successful first year", said Myrna. "I wasn't sure we were going to get past the inspector at our first event!"
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Showbest Awards Travel Grants to Attend the FIRST Chesapeake District Championship Sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton
We are pleased to announce that a $10,000 grant pool has been awarded to six Virginia and DC teams through a generous donation by
Showbest Fixtures. The grant placed special emphasis on FRC teams that needed assistance to attend the 2016
FIRST Chesapeake District Championship Sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton (University of Maryland, College Park, MD).
There were over 30 compelling applications. The Showbest Team Grant Committee wishes the best to all the teams that applied.
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2015-2016 FTC East Super-Regional Championship Results
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Willing Alliance Captain: team # 8390 Nerd Herd from Henley Middle School, from Crozet (they won the WHOLE East Super Regional event!!!). The cow themed team had the crowd "mooooing" in support during the whole event!
Compass Award 1st Place: Isabelle Marchand of Team 4924 Tuxedo Pandas of Christianburg, VA (video)
The Compass Award recognizes an adult coach or mentor who provided outstanding guidance and support for an FTC Team throughout the year. The winner of the Compass Award is determined from candidates nominated by FTC student Team members, via a 40-60 second video submission, highlighting how their mentor has helped them become an outstanding Team and truly demonstrated what it means to be a Gracious Professional.
Here is what the judges had to say:
This coach has dedicated numerous hours and had a great impact on each member of the team. This person exemplifies the characteristics of a good coach or mentor, even down to the nuts and bolts. To the winner of this award: "This is the best day of YOUR life!"
Control Award - Mastering Robot intelligence
The Control Award is given to the Team that demonstrates innovative thinking in the control system to solve Game challenges such as Autonomous Operation, enhancing mechanical systems with intelligent control, or using sensors to achieve better results on the Field.
2nd Place:
Team
7117, The Blockheads
from Burke, VA
Connect Award - Connecting the dots between community, FIRST, and the business world
The Connect Award, is presented to the Team that the Judges feel most connected with their local community and the engineering community. The best Team is more than the sum of its parts, and recognizes that their schools and communities play an essential part to their success. The recipient of this Award is recognized for helping the community understand FIRST, the FIRST Tech Challenge, and the Team itself. In addition, the Team that wins this Award is aggressively seeking engineers and exploring the opportunities available in the world of engineering, science and technology.
3rd place: team 4924 Tuxedo Pandas from Christianburg
Judge's Award
The Judges Award is given at the discretion of the Judges to a Team they have encountered whose unique efforts, performance or dynamics merit recognition, yet the Team does not fit into any of the existing Award categories.
Here is what the judges had to say:
Despite hard times, this team came together to LIFT STEM in their community and their culture. Their unique blending of STEM and arts inspired the judges to recognize them. Their bluegrass music video is played across the country and mixes robots and their rural culture. Don't worry, help is here!
Winner: Team 8619, Cerebrum Bellatorum from Grundy, VA
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| High on that Mountain Robot Remix |
To see a full list of competition results, please click here.
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Want to volunteer for an event?
To apply for any volunteer positions,
click here
.
Learn more about volunteering with FIRST Chesapeake here.
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Make sure you come back often for new information, announcements and updates regarding the 2016
FIRST Chesapeake season.
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FIRST Chesapeake Championship Will Be Streaming Live
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Go here to see the daily agenda and a list of all the teams! WOW!!!
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!
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2016 FIRST Championship (St. Louis, MO)- April 27-30th
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Quick Facts:
- 20,000 youth
- 900 teams
- 1,300 volunteers
- 40,000+ attendees
- 39 countries
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| Alumni Spotlight- Melissa Smith |
I am currently wrapping up my PhD in Human Factors & Applied Cognition psychology, having focused my dissertation research on human trust in automation and human-robot interactions. I like to joke that I never gave up my love of robotics, just approached it from a different perspective! After I graduate in May 2016, I will be joining a tech industry research team in Silicon Valley.
Being in
FIRST (since middle school actually) definitely made a huge impact on my career path, my connections, my friends - and my life overall. Not only did I gain a love for technology and science, but I learned how to explain complex topics in an understandable way, how to work with teams of people towards a common goal, and how to share the excitement and passion for something great with people!
I like to remind students that even if you do not become an engineer or do robotics after FIRST, the skills and lessons you gain from this program will last for a lifetime in whichever field you pursue. Find your interest, apply the drive and passion you have for FIRST to it, and you will be a success in whatever you choose :)
Thank you Melissa!
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2016 STEM Summer Camp info
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Here is a listing of STEM based summer camps in Virginia, as submitted by readers. VirginiaFIRST is providing this list as a courtesy and does not constitute an endorsement of any particular program. This is also not an exhaustive list.
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We are sad to share that Page Mauck, the coach of Trinity Episcopal School's FRC team 539 (Richmond, VA) was killed in a car accident in March. Page had taken over as the head coach after Richard Harmon, the team's coach of 17 years, passed away in August 2015.
Page was an incredible person who impacted so many students' lives during the 30 years he taught math at Trinity. He was a wonderful FRC coach, as well. Our thoughts are with Page's family during this sad time.
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Virginia
FIRST Volunteer Thank you
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Photo credit www.zazzle.com
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The words "Thank You" are not nearly enough for all your help during this past
FIRST
Tech Challenge and
FIRST
Robotic Competition season! We could not have made it all happen without you.
Hopefully we'll get to see you at an upcoming event next season.
Danke!
Janet Sodell and Esther Lee
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