2010 Breakaway Scrimmage Hosted by Team 3017

Where: Francis Lewis High School

58-20 Utopia Parkway

Fresh Meadows, NY

When: Saturday, October 2, 2010 (7:00am-4:00pm)

Cost: $200 per team

Pre-rookie teams free

More Information: http://www.flhsrobotics.com/

Contact: Angela Sherman, [email protected]

FIRST LEGO League mission history (photos)

From the 2010 FIRST LEGO League (FLL) World Festival display, 10 years of FLL robot missions:

NJ FLL team The Atoms Family attended the 2010 World Festival

The New Jersey FIRST LEGO League (FLL) “Smart Move” State Champions team, The Atoms Family, is back from the 2010 FLL World Festival held at the Georgia World Congress Center and Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA, from 4/14/10 to 4/17/10.  The Atoms Family reflects on their journey:

As we finally begin to wind down and reflect on our trip to the 2010 FIRST LEGO League (FLL) World Festival in Atlanta this past weekend, we are full of pride at what we accomplished as a team throughout the 2009-2010 Smart Move Season. The trip to the World Festival was an opportunity that we were privileged to have earned as the Champions Award Winner at the NJ State Tournament in December. The four-day adventure was exciting, awe-inspiring, exhausting, and just plain FUN! We have found the following FLL Core Value to be true: “What we learn is more important than what we win”.

Due to the large amount of props/visual aids that were required for our research presentation, two team families made the 840 mile drive to Atlanta to transport all of our items including the robot, laptops, extra Lego pieces and the like. The other three families took to the skies and arrived a little more awake. Fortunately, we didn’t forget anything and things went relatively smoothly throughout the competition.

Our research project was the main source of our success this year. The team has designed a product that would be installed at railroad crossings to alert oncoming trains if any vehicle was stuck on the tracks so that the train could stop in time. The kids applied for a patent so the device has earned a provisional patent. The judges in Atlanta were impressed with our research and nominated us for an “innovative solution” award. There were many other awesome research projects presented, though, and ours did not come out on top.

As our students learn the elements of design, engineering, and programming they make enormous strides from year to year. We had some problems with our light sensors in the practice rounds, but the kids were able to finally make all of the necessary adjustments. Our robot was able to achieve a high score of 390 points! The students were somewhat disappointed as they had a clear goal in mind throughout our preparation - they wanted a perfect 400!! Although this did not happen, only nine teams in the world scored higher than our team. Our robot and programs were markedly simpler than many of the other teams. This simple, yet effective robot design has always been a trademark of The Atoms Family Team.

The best part of the trip by far was meeting other teams and seeing the amazing robot contraptions that we were competing against. The Finale Party in Centennial Olympic Park was a night we will all remember. As the night went on, it was clear that no one on our team had a second thought about not winning an award. They were thrilled to be in Atlanta and perhaps glad that the stress of competing was finally over. Our team made a special connection with the team from New Zealand. We will miss these little boys with the awesome accent.

Team 102 Mentor Reflects on Newton Semi-Final Run

Our Friends on Team 102 we lucky enough to make it to the Newton Division semi-finals in the FIRST Championship.  This is a great achievement.  Lou “Mr B” Bellafronte sent the following to Team 102 supporters reflecting on the season in which they did so well…

Wow, now that I have had a little sleep and cleared my thoughts I wanted to share with you our weekend in Atlanta and some of our accomplishments this year. As you all know, this has been a tremendously successful year for our team…and it all started with us reaching out to teams and sharing our windfall of new tool cases with them. I guess when you give unselfishly you really do get in return.

So, out trip to Atlanta started very early Thursday morning as we loaded the bus and took off to Philly who would have thought the challenges that were ahead. We arrived at Atlanta with that sick feeling of what did we forget? The answer our laptops. We scrambled to come up with a solution and realized another parent was coming down to Atlanta later in the day and if we could get the computers to the office maybe she would have time to stop by and get them for us. Well our team in Somerviille ( Jimmy, Nick, Ryan and others did a fantastic job with the help of Mr K got the computers to the office in time to be picked up and brought to Atlanta. The laptop arrived at dinner that night. Thank you Ms Morello (Mr B’s wife).

As we arrived in Atlanta we realized that we had very little time to get to the Dome so we made our plans to send a group on ahead by taxi to unpack the robot and get weighed in and find a temporary laptop to use for the first days competition. To our pleasant surprise three teams got together and unloaded the robot and took it over for inspection and weigh in…that is gracious professionalism. We got a loaner laptop and by the time the remainder of students arrived we had already won our first match. We had a great day and finished in the top 20

Friday had its challenges as well. We did not run as well as the day before and did not have the best alliances but we prevailed. No one was discouraged. The team was loud in the stands and well organized with our new banner…we looked marvelous.Everyone was pitching in and helping to make this competition successful. We dropped in the rankings but were confident that the next day would be a winner.There was a nice buzz about our team and it’s defensive strength.

Off to the Aquarium…and in those smelly t’s. But to the rescue Mrs Vitiliano and Ms Faletto….taking all those stinky t’s to the laundry room and washing them for the team…we were the cleanest and best looking team on the field on Saturday. Thanks moms!

Bring it on! Saturday started early and not to well. But did we get down? Absolutely not. We knew we had to market our team since we would not get much help on the field. We were a defensive robot and consistently did a great job but did not get as many points as the more offensive robots so we really had to work had to get our message out. Every team member went into the pits armed with our information and spoke to the top 20 teams about how tough we were on defense and what we could bring to a winning alliance.I cannot remember when we had a more organized and positive approach. Each team member was engaged and knowledgeable and I believe that is one of the main reasons we were picked.

Just before the last run I approached our human player Brian Franchuk and asked if he would mind if we brought down our only senior on the trip Tim Nugent take his place on the field. Tim had been taking copious notes on the competition throughout the rounds.Without hesitation Brian said yes. Mike Tropiano called Tim and got him down on the field in time for what could have been our final run…well you know what happen next…Ryan, Eric and Tim had a great last match and when it came time to go to the field for the final alliance picks for the Newton Championship our drive team asked Tim to represent them on the field. What a wonderful mature gesture by Ryan. Away we went..

We breezed through our quarter finals…and went into the semis knowing we had a challenge in front of us…But first game a tie, second game a tie, third game a one goal loss…and game four excitement and penalties and you name it…but to no avail we were out…a great run by a great team…and the truth is there is so little difference between those who moved on and us….

So, now you have the story the whole story. Well at least from my perspective.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of this team All year we have had challenges yet prevailed…money problems, technology problems, integrating new members and mentors into the team…you truly are winners. Lastly, we will send our seniors on to their next challenge and I know each one of them is well prepared for the journey.Our seniors have taken their roles as mentors very seriously and have matured into one of the strongest senior mentor groups yet. We now have had three years of working on this team model and the dividends are really paying off. Next year we will have different challenges but the team has a strong adviser who is dedicated to its success and the best parents yet to move this team forward. And most importantly, we have the best students yet on this team. Get the word out bring your friends along grow the team…

I promise this is the last part of this email. We have the most dedicated group of Engineers on this team. They work tirelessly to teach and develop our students to be the best they can be. The knowledge and education our students receive from the Engineers is beyond anything they will receive in a classroom. I watched as they wanted to jump in and fix every problem with the robot as we competed yet stood back and let the students repair the robot and troubleshoot. Critical thinking and problem solving are two of the most important apects to growth by students and these Engineers are allowing the students to develop those key skills. Thanks Glenn, Rick, Eric Joe and Karl what a great job you have done.

So,

NJ Regional….Gracious Professionalism Award
Hartford Regional…Champion
Worlds….Newton Semi finalist…top 50 teams in the world…..

NJ FTC Coordinator name FTC Volunteer of the Year

Everyone in New Jersey FIRST would like to congratulate Vince Frascella, the NJ FTC Coordinator on being named the FTC Volunteer of the Year at the FTC World Championships held as part of the FIRST Championship.

The Volunteer of the Year award is given annually at the FTC World Championship to a volunteer who the FIRST staff feels consistently performs at a level above and beyond the average volunteer.  Vince works tirelessly on the NJ FTC program, acts as volunteer coordinator for the FTC World Championship, and volunteers at a large number of other FTC events.  The state should be proud to have a volunteer like Vince in our midst.

FTC PROGRAMMING/”HOT SHOT” WORKSHOP

SPONSORED BY
NYC FIRST, ASME-DAG, CUNY-DPDF, AND CITY TECH
SATURDAY APRIL 24, 2010 9:30 AM - 3:40 PM
VOORHEES HALL CAFETERIA
186 JAY STREET
BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11201

P.S. BRING YOUR SENSORS WITH YOU We’ll provide a field for the Post Season “Hot Shot” game. If teams want to learn Autonomous programming using RobotC, we’ll provide one-on-one tutoring. Just remember to bring your sensors with you. If team don’t have a running robot , don’t worry, we’ll provide a robot for you to learn how to run a robot using IR seeker, Sonar, and Compass sensors etc. I have made a few sensor holders that can be used to connect the sensors easily to the sheet metal. I’ll give out these holders at the workshop.

Registration

NYC FIRST Tech Challenge “Very Hot Shot” Post Season Game

Bring your Hot Shot robots to play once again on the great island of Manhattan. For more information please visit: http://seidenberg.pace.edu/first/events.html

Please click on the link and register today http://seidenberg.pace.edu/first/events.html

Where: Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza, New York, NY
When: Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 9:30am-4:30pm

NYC Alumni Spotlight

Coming off the excitement of the NYC Regional Competition it is clear that FIRST alumni go on to do great things after graduating high school.  In an effort to highlight these stars of FIRST a monthly post will attempt to capture the greatness of NYC alumni.

To lead off this effort the focus turns to Aniella McGuire!  Not so long ago Aniella was a freshman at Brooklyn Tech High School.  Two juniors encouraged her to participate and after she saw the kickoff event she joined the Tech Engineers (team #334) stayed with it for all four years of high school.  Looking back on the experience Aniella says that FIRST “introduced me to lifelong friends, including my best friend, and mentors that still guide me and continue to open doors for me.”

Her most memorable moment came when the Tech Engineers took home the Chairman’s Award.  After working for so long to win the award Aniella says, “in my mind I can relive that moment like it was yesterday!”

Fast forward to the present and you can find Aniella working at a Network Capacity Planning Intern at the NYSE-Euronext.  Her responsibilities include the analysis and distribution of the company’s networks bandwidth analytical reports.  In addition, she monitors the interfaces’ bandwidth usage to determine its projected capacity and possible need for an upgrade.  As you can imagine, Aniella excels whenever she sets her mind to accomplishing something.  Along with her work schedule she also attends CUNY-City Tech where she is working on degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering!

The FIRST community is thankful that she has stayed close to home after high school.  She continues to mentor her old team and has also volunteered as a judge and referee at several competitions.  In fact, at one of last year’s FIRST Lego League Competition she also sang the national them.

Keep up the good work Aniella!

FIRST Scholarships Still Available!

Attention all seniors and juniors in the tristate area.  Deadlines for applying for specific FIRST Scholarship are fast approaching at the following schools:

• ITT Technical Institute
• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Ferris State University
• University of Massachusetts
• Wayne State University
• University of Arizona
• Milwaukee School of Engineering
• Purdue University
• DeVry University
• Eastern Michigan University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Don’t miss this great opportunity to help pay for your college education. Click HERE for more information!

Congratulations and Good Luck to NYC Teams in Atlanta

Just a few weeks ago the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams duked it out at the Javits Center to see which teams would represent NYC at the Championship in Atlanta, GA.  The culminating event for FIRST will be taking place from April 15-17 inside the Georgia Dome.  It is an awe inspiring experience to see so many youth from all over the world excited about learning.  Click HERE for the specifics about the event.

The teams from NYC that will be competing at the FRC level are the following:

• #694-Stuypulse from Stuyvesant High School
• #2265-Fe Maidens from The Bronx High School of Science
• #2895-Blazenbots from the Queens High School for Information, Research, and Technology
• #3059-Envirobotics from Riverside Engineering & Design High School

These teams will face stiff competition when they face over 300 other FRC teams!  We wish the best and know they will show Atlanta the best of what NYC youth have to offer!