Re: Saturday Build Session February 9, 2013 9:00AM
Norris Powell
See you at 9:00AM.
FRC Team 1195,Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2013 8:58:43 PM
Paul Davenport
From: "Anne Shade" <ashad...@gmail.com>
Cc: "Bill Duncan" <wdunca...@gmail.com>, mkau...@usfirst.org
Subject: Maryland Senior Mentor Weekly NewsletterHello Maryland FRC teams,
Week 5 already! I hope build season is treating you all well. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
Driver Station Update
An update to the driver station software was released in the Team Update on Tuesday. This update is required by all teams and will be verified during inspections. It fixes issues with DS-FMS diagnostics and includes the new Log File Viewer. Teams can access the update here.
Inspection Checklist Released
The 2013 Inspection Checklist has been made available to teams here. I highly recommend taking some time in the next couple of weeks to go through the checklist with your robot to make sure your robot is in compliance. If you need help and would like an inspector help you through the process, let me know and I will try to schedule that for you.
Access to Pyramid
With the cancellation of the scrimmage event, I’ve been working on identifying alternatives for the local teams. Team 888 at Glenelg High School in Glenelg, MD has graciously offered access to their welded pyramid to any local teams during their build sessions. They meet after school until 5 or 6 PM, Saturdays starting at 10 AM, and Sunday starting at noon. Those interested should contact Dean Sheridan at dean_s...@hcpss.org.
Rookie Team 4541 at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, MD has also offered access to their pyramid. They meet on Thursdays from 5:30 PM – 9 PM and Saturdays from 9 AM – 5 PM. Those interested should contact Amy Brunner at brun...@archbishopspalding.org.
Thank you to both teams for opening their doors!
Woodie Flowers Award Submissions
This topic is a very important part of FIRST that is often forgotten: the Woodie Flowers Award. Many team leaders do not know how to broach this subject and therefore do not nominate anyone but it does not have to be difficult to take advantage of the opportunities this award presents to all FIRST teams.
The Woodie Flowers award was started in 1996 by Dr. William Murphy of Small Parts, Inc. as a way of recognizing the engineering mentors and teachers who work so hard to bring FIRST to students around the country. The award is named in honor of the first recipient, Dr. Woodie Flowers, and has been annually awarded to an outstanding group of mentors and teachers.
The award celebrates the teachers and mentors who effectively communicate the art and science of engineering design to the students and make a difference in their team and in the FIRST community. Some examples of communication include explaining engineering concepts, inspiring students to grow as people, encouraging team building, and coaching the students and team members through difficult problems. This award is one of the only individual awards in the entire FIRST program.
In 2004, the Regional Woodie Flowers Award program began. This new award structure selects one Woodie Flowers Award Finalist who is then eligible for the Woodie Flowers Award at the Championship. The award is a team submitted 3,000 character essay and up to 6 pictures featuring their chosen mentor to the regional of their choice.
The difficult part of the award submission is to guide the students through the nomination process without the appearance of favoritism or self-promotion. The first step is to educate the students about the award and the nomination process. Explain the award to the students and review some past winning submissions (search the Chiefdelphi forums) so that they understand what is expected. Give them deadlines for the following:
· Selecting on a mentor (Voting is often a popular option)
· Complete quote collection process
· First draft
· Final draft
· Submission in STIMS
It is typically best to allow the students to decide who the nominee will be with as little adult influence as possible. One hour during a meeting with no adults in the room is usually all it takes. The students are expected to put the award together but it is perfectly acceptable for them to utilize adult help. Consider using several proofreaders, including an adult outside of the process, to help keep the submission professional. Finally, continue to help the students keep track of their deadlines.
Every team should submit someone. It is the perfect opportunity to recognize a mentor for their hard work as a member of your team. Many teams will present the submission to the nominee as an award within their team. It’s a great way to recognize those who help your team be successful.
Bag and Tag Preparation
All teams are required to bad and tag their robots by midnight local time the evening of February 19th, 2013. Section 5 of the Administrative Manual contains the instructions to complete this process. Here’s an overview:
1. Locate the bag and tags provided in your kit of parts.
2. Place your robot in the bag and seal the bag using one of the provided numbered tags.
3. Print and fill out the Robot Lock Up Form completely.
4. Place the form in a safe location.
Some things to remember:
· Your bumpers are not required to be bagged and tagged this year and will not count toward the maximum weight of fabricated items you are allowed to bring to the event. Same goes for your operator console.
· Please be sure to fill in every block on the robot lock up form. The person filling in the form should be over 18 years old and not a student on the team.
· Protect the bag to prevent accidental rips and tears. The inspectors will be checking for those when you get to the event.
· Once bagged, teams do not have access to their robots until their first competition event. There is no “Robot access period” for teams attending traditional Regional events.
If you have any questions about the process, please let me know.
Asking for Help
The Chesapeake Regional Mentor Support committee has an email, frcte...@googlegroups.com, through which teams can ask questions or ask for assistance. The email is answered by several longtime mentors: the Chesapeake Lead Robot Inspector, the Chesapeake Head Referee, the Maryland Senior Mentor, and the Chesapeake Regional Director. This is typically a faster way to get a response to game rule interpretation, robot building, design, and awards questions.
Calling all Technical Experts
I’d like to gather a list of technical experts willing to provide technical assistance in person, by phone, or electronically to teams during the build season. Anyone who is interested in helping, please fill out this form. Please pass this item on to your team’s technical mentors, or any FIRST supporters who may be able to provide assistance.
Interesting Opportunity
This summer the Baltimore Museum of Art will be exhibiting the artwork of Nathaniel Mellors, a contemporary artist living and working in London and Amsterdam. One of the pieces Nathaniel would like to exhibit is an animatronics sculpture. The BMA staff met with Nathaniel last week and he suggested that they have a Robotics mechanic available in the event something should go wrong during the run of the exhibit. The installation of the sculpture will take place between Monday 6/24/13 and Tuesday 7/2/13 with the public opening Wednesday July 3rd. The exhibition dates are 7/3/13 through 9/29/13. At this point they need to secure an experienced Robotics mechanic that would be available during the run of the exhibition to trouble shoot and replace parts if necessary. Nathaniel mentioned that he will provide an extra motor to have on hand just in case. They are in a bit of a time crunch here because they have to put a grant budget together so they need a reply by 2/11/13. If you are interested, please contact Dave Verchomin, Installation Manager, Baltimore Museum of Art, 443 573 1726, dverc...@artbma.org.
Anne Shade | FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
Senior Mentor | Maryland
phone: 443.567-0361 | Local website: www.MarylandFIRST.org
email: ash...@usfirst.org or ashad...@gmail.com
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Coach Norris A. Powell