Team OTTO #1746 FIRST Robotic Competition Forsyth Central High School September 04, 2015 Dear Parents, Welcome to the 2015 2016 school year at Forsyth Central High School! We want to take this opportunity to share some information about the exciting year ahead for our students and the First Robotics Competition (FRC) program at our school. Background Team OTTO (aka FRC Team 1746), is the FRC team at FCHS. What is FRC? FRC, First Robotics Competition, is an after school, co curricular program that is open to any FCHS student, STEM or non STEM. FRC is part of the FIRST organization, a national program with a vision and mission to, inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well rounded life capabilities including self confidence, communication, and leadership. For more information, please visit http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc. For parents of students that are new to Team OTTO you ll be impressed! Through competitions and awards, this team ranked among the top in the world last year, winning a $5,000 team scholarship from NASA and performing very competitively at FIRST s elite level World competition. These were very impressive accomplishments, given how young the team is it s still a growing program. To understand the magnitude and reach of this program, the championship last year consisted of more than 20,000 students from 900 teams across 39 countries. Many thanks go out to last year s sponsors, parents, but most especially, the team s mentors and FCHS staff. If you d like to see a video of one of last year s competitions featuring Team OTTO, click here: http://youtu.be/tsg3tjwokrs
What s happening this year? We have every expectation to compete at a high level again this year. The juniors and sophomores are returning to the team, full of world class experience, having gained the important critical skills and insight over the last two years. FCHS staff had some impactful changes in leadership over the summer, but they are quickly coming up to speed with understanding the team dynamics, the commitment level required by the team members, and how EXCITING and REWARDING participation in FRC will be. Currently the student leaders are meeting twice a week to make plans and discuss fundraising plans for the coming year. (More information about fundraising will be sent out shortly). As the leaders formalize their plans, you will see more communications. Competition Schedule For the 2015 2016 school year, Team OTTO is currently committed to attend one event (GRITS) and three official FRC competitions. And we are planning to attend the World competition again, but of course that requires us placing well in our competitions. Here are the dates for the events/competitions we are 100% planning to attend: Oct 10 GRITS Event @ Walton HS, Marietta, GA Jan. 9 FRC 2016 Kickoff Event @ Georgia Tech Mar 10 12 District Competition #1 @ Columbus, GA * April 8 10 District Competition #2 @ Kennesaw, GA * Apr 14 16 State Competition @ Athens, GA * NOTE : If Team OTTO cannot attend District Competition #1 or #2, we will be required to compete March 17 19 in Albany, GA or Dalton, GA. To manage finances and avoid travel/lodging expenses, we are focusing efforts on registering early for Columbus, GA and Kennesaw, GA.
As these dates approach, we will be sending out further information. Depending on the team s success at the District and State Competitions, they may be invited again to the World Championship in St. Louis, MO on April 27 30, 2016. How much does participation in Team OTTO cost? We are still in the early planning stages of the year, but we have already begun to put some financial numbers around the team s expenses, and what we estimate parent expenses will be. These numbers are still in flux as they are based on factors that are not yet finalized (ie. # of students in the program, official acceptance of competition registration at desired locations, etc.). But we want to show you some preliminary information so you can start planning. 2015/2106 Team Budget Available Team Funds (estimates as of Sep 4, 2015) Account balance at start of school year: $2,500 Sponsor contributions committed to this year: $6,660 Contributions from FCHS TSA: $600 TOTAL: $9,760 Anticipated Expenses ( estimates as of Sep 4, 2015 ) Registration fees for events/competitions: $9,300 Supplies/parts for 2015/2016 robot: $1,500 Administration, awareness, and team marketing: $800 TOTAL : $11,600 Regarding the anticipated expenses, please know that these are the absolute minimum expenses the team believes are needed to operate throughout 2015 and 2016. Also note that there are currently no planned expenses to cover transportation, lodging and meals expenses to or at any of the events.
Although the team is striving to return to the World competition this year, and has every expectation of doing so, we have not currently planned for the anticipated expenses of that competition. As the season progresses, we will have to make plans to cover these expenses. What is the money required from each family to support their student? We have spent time assessing this. Again, there are still some unknowns based on acceptance or registration at specific events and number of kids participating, but below is our best guess at how much each family will be required to provide, and by what date: Oct 10 GRITS Event $50 for food by Oct 10 Jan. 9 FRC 2016 Kickoff Event Georgia Tech $30 for food by Jan 9 Mar 10 12 District Competition #1 $150 for lodging by Mar 3, $150 for food by Mar 10 April 8 10 District Competition #2 $150 for food by Apr 8 Apr 14 16 State Competition $150 for lodging by Apr 7, $150 for food by Apr 14 The lodging expense assumes 12 kids attending, 4 kids per room, 2 rooms for chaperones. Families would be supporting the lodging expense of the chaperones. Also, transportation to and from each event will need to be done by chaperones. This expense and commitment information is still very preliminary. Please use it for planning purposes only! More information about this will be forthcoming as we learn more facts and details. And as mentioned before, if the team is invited to return to the World s competition this year in St. Louis, MO, there will be additional expenses. Our estimates for travel, lodging and meal expenses are shy of $850 per student. As the season progresses, we will be discussing this competition and making plans for this event.
What can parents do to help? We need connections with sponsors that are willing to donate any necessary materials. But most importantly, the team needs money. We can t be shy about asking for this. To be effective in this elite engineering competition, we have to be able to fund the minimum expenses. However, we are not satisfied with minimum. If we can raise all the money we need to cover the team s anticipated expenses, any over the top expenses can and will be applied towards the money required by each family. In other words, if we raise more than we need, the extra money can be used to reduce lodging and meal expenses. A dream of the team is to be able to raise money (through sponsorship, donations, and fundraising) and have enough left over to fund the 2016 2017 program. Details on how excess fundraising can be applied directly to your family s expense are in discussion. More details about this will also be forthcoming. Questions you can ask yourself For which events can I volunteer to chaperone and drive? Can I commit to seeking sponsorships or donations from my family or businesses? Do I know of any local businesses that I could connect with the team so they can meet and seek sponsorships? Are there any fundraising opportunities that I can help support and manage? How can I encourage my student to think about fundraising opportunities? Are there extra chores or odd jobs they can do to earn some of the family s expenses?
In summary We are very excited about what this school year holds for Team OTTO and the STEM program at FCHS. Although the season doesn t officially start until January of 2016, the kids are wasting no time getting ready. We are very close to being able to fund Team OTTO s competition year, but we also realize there is a way to go to make sure the team is able to participate at the level of last year. The bottom line is that we need your support and help. You can expect us to keep you informed as the season progresses. In the meantime, if you need to contact anyone on the team, below are the staff and team mentors. Please do not hesitate to reach out and discuss and concerns or ideas with us. Thank you! Jonathan Lillie Kellen Hill Marty Comella FCHS Staff / Teacher Engineering Mentor Business Mentor jlillie@forsyth.k12.ga.us kellenwhill@gmail.com marty@comella.net (678) 429-3555 (770) 990-8814 (678) 207-8271