RMS PTSA welcomes all students, including those with special needs. Please email specialneeds@rmsptsa.org to discuss accommodations for a student with special needs with so they are able to participate in any of our programs!

School Year: 2023-2024

Robotics Club Information Night

Join the meeting online here - https://bit.ly/3Sfjxeh

Do you have questions? Contact roboticsclubchairs@rmsptsa.org

Robotics club aims to instill STEM education through hands-on Robotics experience. The study of Robotics will incorporate three pillars of STEM - Think (think of ideas how to design robot efficiently), Do (build robot and operate) and Test (test solutions and compete.) Any student interested will be able participate in this engineering project.

Students will participate in the Vex IQ regional competition and will be evaluated by people experienced in STEM. Students will be required to solve an engineering challenge presented in the form of a team matching competition, skill test, autonomous programming, research project, and technical presentation. Depending on how well students perform in the regional competition, they will be able to proceed to state and the world championship.

USEFUL INFORMATION

VEX IQ: https://www.vexrobotics.com/iq 

2022-23 VEX IQ Competition: https://www.vexrobotics.com/iq/competition/viqc-current-game

Coding practice: https://vr.vex.com

Upcoming events: https://www.robotevents.com

Learn to program the VEX IQ in ROBOTC Graphical: https://www.cs2n.org/u/track_progress?id=293

RUBRICS AND TOURNAMENT INFORMATION 

Topics Covered in Robotics: 

• Robot design: Students will design a robot to perform the given task efficiently. It will require creativity, and problem solving skill. They will experience the design process while trying to create an efficient robot. 
• Robot building: Students will build robots using motors, brain, and blocks. 
• Robot Testing: Student will perform various tests to validate the design. 
• Robot competition: Student will participate in the competition using the robot. 
• Robot programming: Student will code for tele-operation and autonomous operation of the robot. 
• STEM research: Student will perform research into current fields of robotics based on the topic. This will be a unique opportunity for students to be exposed to survey, and state-of-the-art Robotics research. 

Commitment: 

• Robotics club requires non-trivial commitment in terms of time and effort. Remember it is team-based activity. To be a proactive team player and for the benefit of yourself, carefully think before you sign up if you can commit all activities. 
• Weekly meetings for robot building, experiment and other project-related discussion. The location and time are per each team’s discretion. 
• Potential travel to state competition or even world competition depending on regional competition results. 

Expenses: 

• $120 club fee. It includes essential Robotics equipment, team registration fee and two regional competition registration fees. 
• State and world registration will be required separately if the team qualifies with an additional cost.    
• Additional parts may be required depending on each team’s project status (e.g., broken parts, additional sensors, etc.) Any additional cost incurred should be discussed and covered within a team. 

JOINING ROBOTICS CLUB 

If you would like to join Robotics Club you must follow this process: 

• Join through PTSA website https://rmsptsa.org/Packet/RoboticsClubReg  
• One-time payment of $120 for school year 2022-23 
  • Can be reduced or waived for families in need 
• Students/parents can self-organize into teams, after joining the club 
• If you already have a team or have enough students to form a team 
  • Find a parent/guardian willing to be your coach. Each team should have head-coach to advice technically and organize all team activities. Without a head-coach, a team cannot be formed. The duties of head-coach include:  
    • Organize and supervise weekly meeting meetings  
    • Coordination with parents/students and communicates with club advisors. 
    • Manages tournament and travel. 
  • Come up with a team name 
  • Have your coach email roboticsclubchairs@rmsptsa.org with the following:  
    • Team Name 
    • Coach Name 
    • Student Names 
    • Student LWSD email addresses 

For more information and to be added to our distribution list please contact us. 

PARENT VOLUNTEERS  

Involvement from parents is the key for the success of each student and the club! We need: 

• Coach (one per team) 
  • One per team 
  • Coordinate with parents, students and communicate with club advisors 
  • Guide the students in this exciting adventure 
  • Prior knowledge of robotics preferred, but not necessary 
• Advisor 
  • Research and propose activities/challenges that the teams can work on 
  • Provide clarity for each challenge: 
  • Define the desired outcome 
  • Design board setup 
  • Basic knowledge of robotics is sufficient 

SUPPORT US 

Our students' success depends on the resources we can provide. The club relies entirely on funds raised by the club.  

• Please donate generously
• Companies like Microsoft match every donation 
  • For corporate matching, choose or enter "Redmond Middle School PTSA 2.8.80" and mention "Robotics Club 2023-2024“ in the notes field 
• Companies like Microsoft match volunteer hours 
• Please volunteer 
• Ask local businesses (big and small) to donate and support our Robotics club 
• Find non-profits (LWSF, Bezos Foundations, …) that are willing to support 

CLUB EVENT DATES 

• Weekly team meetings - Each team coordinates times (Starting October) 
• First Vex IQ regional Tournament - TBD 
• Second Vex IQ regional Tournament - TBD 
• Vex IQ State Tournament - TBD (Must Qualify to Attend) 
• VEX Worlds Tournament - TBD (Must Qualify to Attend)