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Robotics Presentation <br /> Members of the RMHS Robotics team updated the committee on the team's <br /> activities and achievements of the past year. <br /> The team's mission is to promote the STEM initiative and outreach, to encourage <br /> collaboration with mentors and teams, gain life skills through work, foster <br /> innovation and promote creativity and to foster and develop communities. The <br /> team is part of FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and <br /> Technology) which is comprised of 4 levels. Reading students participate in the <br /> FLL (First Lego League) and FRC (First Robotics Competition). FRC is a huge <br /> community made up of more than 2,700 teams and 68,000 competitors from 17 <br /> countries. Students build and compete with robots of their own design and are <br /> mentored by engineering professionals. <br /> This year's team is made up of 47 students and 15 mentors. Participation has <br /> increased steadily since the inception of the team. Team members can be <br /> involved in several different aspects such as software, electrical, mechanical, <br /> pneumatics, design, business and scouting and strategy roles. <br /> In addition to moving into a new space the team has focused on their business <br /> plan. The business team's focus has been on increasing entrepreneurship. They <br /> have developed a business plan and have applied for several grants, receiving a <br /> $9,000 grant from United Technologies that has been used for registration fees. <br /> The team hosted a district event which was a great success and has been active on <br /> social media sites. They also have been active reaching out for community <br /> support. <br /> The group went on to explain this year's challenge "Recycle Rush". Teams were <br /> required to build the robot that was capable of stacking totes and recycling <br /> containers. They participated in three competitions this year. The first was the <br /> competition they hosted where they made it to the semifinals and won the <br /> Entrepreneurship award. They next moved to the Rhode Island district and made <br /> it to the quarterfinals and once again won the Entrepreneurship award. The last <br /> competition was the New England Championship, once again performing well. <br /> The students went on to describe what they envision the future of the team to be <br /> as they move forward. As part of the outreach goal the team will be reaching out <br /> to elementary & middle school students to become involved in the STEM fields <br /> with the hope of engaging more girls. The team currently has two junior <br /> members from the Parker Middle School. They would also like to hold a district- <br /> wide science expo that elementary and middle school students would be able to <br /> display their work and provide an opportunity for students for hands-on <br /> experiments. <br /> The team also hopes to give back to the local business and community, develop <br /> team workshops for the preseason and to integrate FIRST Robotics into the <br /> RMHS curriculum. <br /> Mrs. Webb asked how difficult it was to keep 47 members engaged. The make- <br /> up of the team tasks allow for flexibility. The team is expanding the business and <br /> outreach aspect and this allows for students to participate as their schedules allow. <br /> Page 1 2 <br />