Important January Events

January is going to be a very busy month for the Robotics students.  Parents, please help get your student to these events and help when and where you can.

GSMST is hosting an FTC qualifier on Sat. Jan 16th at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center near the Mall of GA.  This will be an all day event ( 7am - 7pm ).   Some of our FTC teams will be competing at this event.   Volunteers will be needed.  We are working with GEHC and FIRST, but will need some help from parents/staff.   If we have enough parent support, other FTC teams may be able to compete at a second qualifier also happening Jan 16 in Buckhead.   Students will need rides and supporters in the stands to cheer them on.  The remaining FTC teams that don't compete on Jan 16th will have their chance to compete at the Wheeler HS qualifier scheduled for Feb 6th in Marietta. 

The FRC Robotics students will not be available to help with the FTC competition on the 16th because they will be under the gun to begin building their robot.  The FRC Kick-off is one week prior to the FTC qualifer on Jan 9th at GA Tech.  The FRC students will pick up their kit, learn what the problem is for this year and participate in workshops.   Some FRC students will participate in the Gwinnett version of the FRC Kick-off at Gwinnett Center. 

To finish off the month, our VEX team is scheduled to compete in a qualifier on Sat. Jan 30th at Lambert HS in Forsyth County. 

Lock-In Food Order Form

Robotics Club Lock-In Food Order Form:


Lunch Options
Slice of Pepperoni Pizza $1.50
Slice of Cheese Pizza $1.50
Whole Cheese or Pepperoni Pizza $8.00
Canned Soda $.50 each
Bottle Water $.75 each
Chips $.75 each
Cookies 3/1.00 or .50 each
Dinner Options: (Dinner will be served at 6:00 PM)
Chick-fil-A Sandwich $3.00
Chips $.75 each
Canned Soda $.50 each
Bottle Water $.75 each

Student Name:_____________________________________

Lunch Order: _____________________________________

Dinner Order: _____________________________________

Amount Paid:__________________

If writing a check please make it out to GSMST Robotics Club.

The last day to pre-order food is by the end of school on Thursday.

Please return form to Dr Lockert or Mrs Ridderhof.

Logo & Shirts

Earlier this year, the GSMST Robotics students created various logos and voted on which one to use.   When the votes were counted, Wesley Mitchell's RoboDragons design was the clear choice.   All Robotics teams will use the same logo and club name. 

With the logo decided, we can proceed with getting team t-shirts made.  This year the club membership fee includes one t-shirt.  Additional t-shirts may be ordered.   Here are two possible versions of the RoboDragon T-shirt design.   The club is leaning toward black shirts.  We're also planning to take orders for black polos. 

Post a comment and let us know what you suggest.

Volunteers Needed!

The Robotics Club will be selling Chick-fil-a biscuits during finals (Dec 16-18th). We will be charging $3.00 per biscuit and will need at least six volunteers each day at 11am because we will have two stations set up.

Other ways to help:
1. CPA still needed for audit and taxes
2. Transportation for students on Tuesday afternoons still needed
3. 1 Parent/team to help manage part inventory
4. Help build the Hot Shot! Field
5. Adults to attend mentor event on Dec 10th
6. Adults to supervise teams during Team Building Event Dec 18th
     Time Slots:   1-3pm / 3-5pm / 5-7pm / 7-9pm / 9- end
7. Help with Robotics T-shirts
8. Help with swag – buttons or whatever freebie teams will give out at competitions
9. Corporate Sponsorships 
10. Get training to be a volunteer at one of the robotics competitions

If you can help with any of these activities, please email  jaj31@bellsouth.net

Dates for Upcoming Events

The students will add these dates to the Google calendar on their website, but here's a summary:
FTC
1/16 GSMST RoboDragons Qualifier at Gwinnett Heritage Center
1/16 RoboWarrior Qualifier at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy
2/6 Circuit Runner Qualifier at Wheeler HS in Marietta
2/13 TN FTC state championship in Cookville, TN
2/20 GA FTC state championship at Southern Poly
2/27 NC FTC state championship in Greensboro, NC
4/15-16 World Championship @ GA Dome (for the last time )

FRC
12/10 Mentor Workshop in Milton, GA
1/9 Gwinnett County Kick-Off Event Creekland Middle School
1/9 Georgia Kick-Off Event Ga Tech to pick up our kit
March 4-6 Peachtree Regional Event
4/15-16 World Championship @ GA Dome (for the last time )

VEX
Forsyth Qualifier Jan 30 at Lambert HS Suwannee, GA

MATE ROV
Regional Championship Apr 24 in Savanna, GA

Not all teams will participate in all events.  For example, we are only holding 3 spots for the TN FTC State competition.   Performance at the internal competition on 12/18 and the qualifier(s) will likely effect the decision of who gets to go.

Mentor Training Dec 10 - All adults invited to attend

On Thursday, December 10th, The Georgia FIRST Planning Committee is holding an FRC mentor meeting from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Milton High School, 13025 Birmingham Highway, Milton, GA 30004.


The purpose of the meeting is to discuss what being an engineer for an FRC team is all about.

Two engineering mentors will give a brief description of FIRST and how the build process works (game announcement, the kit, the controller, etc) so everyone can have an understanding of what’s going on. This will be followed by a general description of how the engineering mentors contribute, followed by general Q&A.

This training is geared towards the big robot we will build this year, but most of the principles are common no matter the size of the robot. I would encourage all parents that want to participate to attend. If you plan to attend, please contact Dr. Lockert and he will submit our total count to Milton.  
 
chuck_lockert@gwinnett.k12.ga.us