Category: Information for Parents

Parent involvement tips, which events to go to, etc.

If you would like to bring a meal to one of the Build Season work sessions, great! Please plan to provide food and drinks for about 25 teenagers. You might want to share this task with another parent. E-mail Stephen Wong or fairviewrobotics ‘at’ gmail.com with your full name and e-mail address, and someone will get back to you with details.

You can check the Shazbots meal calendar to see which dates still need volunteers.

Here’s a quick listing of important dates and events for the upcoming season.

(Tip: Throughout the season, keep an eye on scholarship opportunities for robotics team members. Millions of dollars are available to FRC team members.)

Jan. 9th, 2010 – Season Kickoff! At this event, the teams find out exactly what the competition will be.  Parents are welcome to attend!  (Last year many of us sat in an “overflow room” but it was still fun.)

Jan. 11th thru Feb. 22nd, 2010 – BUILD SEASON! The team meets 5 times per week to build the robot. Meals need to be provided on Saturdays, and as the robot ship date approaches, possibly on weeknights also.

Feb 23rd – Bye-Bye robot! The robot is shipped off, and is not accessible until the first day of the regional competition.  Between now and then, the team can plan their strategies for any final touches that the robot will need before the actual competition events begin.

Mar. 25-27 – The climax! Regional Competition at the University of Denver Ritchie Center in Magness Arena. This is a HUGE professionally-run event. It is also very stressful for the team members, so if your student is cranky, give them some slack during this time.

After March 27th, the team plans the closing dinner for the season, and the preparation for next year’s team begins. Fund-raising will still be happening, officers for next year’s team are chosen, and more.

Sometimes parents hesitate to get involved with the team, thinking that the students might not welcome their help. But the team needs you!  Here are some ways that parents have been involved in the past; please feel free to get involved in these activities, or think of other ways that you can help.

• Baking or buying items to be sold at bake sales
• Asking your employer to donate to the team
• Carpooling students from school to the meeting site or competition site
• Coordinating or supplying food for the Saturday dinners that are needed during build season
• Seeking out grants that might be available for the team; for example, currently two parents are looking into grants from Ball Aerospace and Lockheed-Martin.

I’m sure other ideas are out there – please feel free to add them here!!

- Emily Goodin

You can contact the team leads to get their ideas as well.