Parent Updates
Missed a meeting? Want to catch up on what the team is up to? The notes and videos below will provide you with the information you need to stay up to speed with what the team is doing.
Team Meetings
September, 2021 Update
Good afternoon team!
I hope you’re all enjoying the fall weather. It’s getting cooler which, to me, means we’re getting closer to kickoff and another season of building robots. Please read on for this month’s NEW Apple Corps Robotics eam update.
Parent meeting
There will be a meeting for the parents of new team members on Thursday, October 7th at 6:30pm in Appleton East room 1502. Information regarding team meeting activities, competitions, travel, and fundraising will be provided. Veteran parents are welcome to attend as well.
Team meeting days/times
Just a reminder that the team is meeting every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:00pm to 9:00pm through December. It is important that team members attend these meetings as frequently as possible to keep training for the build season. Important information will be provided at each Thursday team meeting, including RBAD training and pre-season activity updates.
The team will not be meeting on Thursday, October 21st (fall break) or Thursday, November 25th (Thanksgiving break).
FIRST Class
Get credit for all your learning and efforts on the team! The FIRST Class provides a comprehensive foundation for new members to the team, with each functional group presenting an overview of their role on the team. The class meets once a week on Thursdays from 3:45pm to 4:30pm through early January. Once the build season begins in January, students enrolled in the class will be required to contribute time to the team each week. Sign-up forms are on the team bulletin board outside room 1501 (robot playing field room). Let me know if you need more information or have any questions.
Registration, Forms, and Fees
Team members need to make sure they are registered for the team, have all their forms turned in (Code of Conduct and Accountability Expectations), and have paid their $50 activity fee. Registration takes place on the team website (nacteam93.com) under the “Members” tab. Forms are hanging on the team bulletin board. Checks for the activity fee should be made out to the AASD and turned in to me. If the fee creates a hardship for your family, please let me know.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks and have a great weekend!
Mr. Schuff
August, 2021 Update (and Update Update)
Good evening!
I hope you’ve all had a relaxing summer and have recharged your batteries for the upcoming FIRST season. I think we all needed a break after the marathon we’ve had over the last two seasons. I’m hopeful that this will be a more normal year for our team and for all of you.
This email is filled with details about the upcoming season, including links to forms you will need to complete to re-register for the team and, if you are interested, apply for a leadership position. Please make sure to read through the information provided.
We’ll be kicking things off next week with our first meeting of the season. The meeting will be limited to veteran team members. New members will be invited to join the team at our September 2nd meeting. If you have any friends, relatives, neighbors or just know of someone who might be a fit for the team, please invite them to join. You are our best form of advertising.
Team Member Registration
All students and mentors who are returning to the team will need to complete the survey at the following link to indicate your intentions for involvement this year. The survey may take as little as 30 seconds to fill out so, please, take the time to complete it.
2021-22 NAC Team Member Registration
Pre-season Calendar
We’ll be meeting every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:00pm to 9:00pm from September 2nd to December 21st. The team will not meet on Thursday, October 21st (Staff Development) or Thursday, November 25th (Thanksgiving break). Please take the time to add the meetings to your calendar.
Leadership Interviews and Elections
If you would like to serve in a leadership position on the team, please complete the following form indicating your interest. Interviews will be scheduled once all members have had a chance to apply. The deadline to apply for a leadership position is Thursday, September 2nd. Those who have applied will be contacted directly to set up an interview time.
2021-22 NAC Leadership Application
Onboarding of New Team Members
Functional group members should be prepared to provide a short overview of the role their group plays on the team. These brief presentations will take place on Thursday, September 2nd at our first meeting with new members. If you would like to coordinate your group’s efforts on this front, please let me know.
That’s it for this month. I’ll be providing periodic updates as our pre-season progresses. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
I look forward to seeing you all in the coming weeks as we get back to a normal team schedule and a normal school schedule. In the meantime, enjoy the last couple weeks of your summer and be safe out there!
Mr. Schuff
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I seem to have omitted a key piece of information from yesterday's update, specifically the day and time of next week's meeting.
We will have our veterans meeting on Thursday, August 26th at 6:00pm. We will be off on Tuesday, August 24th, and will welcome new team members on Thursday, September 2nd at 6:00pm.
Thanks and have a great week!
Mr. Schuff
August, 2020 Update
Hello parents,
I hope you’re all enjoying the fantastic weather we’ve been having lately and have had the opportunity to be outside and get some fresh air and sunshine! We’ve been taking care of projects at the Schuff house (landscaping, desk building, deck staining) and were smart enough to do it during the hottest part of the summer! When will we learn?
I wanted to take a few minutes to provide you with an update on recent team activities and planning for postponed and future activities. While much of the future is up in the air due to the ongoing pandemic, the team is still making plans for the upcoming year as well as contingency plans based on direction provided by the AASD.
Team Banquet
The end-of-year banquet that never happened will likely be rolled into a welcome back gathering in the fall. At this time we are hoping for an event to take place in mid- to late-September on a Saturday so all current and alumni members can participate. This event would be different from our traditional picnic/banquet with regards to food and beverage, serving, and social distancing. We are working out the details and will keep you informed as plans evolve.
2020 Graduates
One of our team’s long-standing traditions is a gift for all graduates of the team and this year, regardless of how oddly it ended, is no exception. The gift is an embroidered team blanket and we want to make sure we get them to all the graduates before the end of summer on the off chance that we have to postpone or cancel our fall banquet/welcome back event. Keep an eye on your email for details on how we plan to get your blanket to you.
Team Meetings
We continue to meet online every other Thursday through our regularly scheduled Google Meet. These meetings provide an opportunity for updates on subcommittee activities, robot redesign efforts, and other general team items. Recently we’ve been discussing leadership selection pertaining to president, vice-president, and functional group leads. Thank you to all the students who provided input as we made changes to our leadership selection process. Due to current circumstances coupled with a desire to improve the way we select our leaders, the following new process has been developed.
Step 1 - Anyone interested in a leadership position on the team should complete the online NAC Leadership Application by 3:00pm on Thursday, August 13th.
Step 2 - Mentors will contact leadership applicants via email to schedule an interview.
Step 3 - Leadership interviews will take place during the afternoon/evening of Monday, August 17th and Tuesday, August 18th.
Step 4 - Functional group leads will be selected by the mentors and presented to the team on Thursday, August 20th. Candidates for president and vice-president will be announced on Thursday, August 20th.
Step 5 - Elections for president and vice-president will take place on Thursday, September 3rd. Each candidate will be given three minutes to present themselves to the team. Voting will take place immediately and the new president and vice-president will be announced at the meeting.
Any questions regarding the process should be directed to Mr. Schuff.
Subcommittees
As mentioned before, we’ve sorted our efforts into nine different subcommittees. Students should select one or two subcommittees to get involved in to help move the team forward. The subcommittees include:
Team Culture and Values
Accountability
Team Bonding and Fun
Onboarding
Training Camp
Leadership Development
FLL Development
FRC Team Workshops
Team Branding
Each one of these subcommittees is meeting regularly between the bi-weekly team meetings to establish plans for improving our team’s engagement of students, increasing the competitiveness of our robots, and expanding our visibility in the community. It is critical that students be involved in these activities and play a role in the leadership of new team initiatives.
In addition, we’ve added a separate subcommittee titled Robot Improvement which will focus on the planning and development of modifications to this year’s robot with the goal of making it more competitive for next year’s competition season. All are welcome to join and provide their input.
Shared Drive
The team now has a shared Google Drive that will contain relevant team information moving forward. The work we’ve been doing through late spring and into summer can be found there including notes from the subcommittees, a team calendar (Google Sheet), and a document that provides an overview of our recent initiatives titled 2020-21 NAC Continuous Improvement Plan. The improvement plan document has a table on the second page where you can sign up for the subcommittee(s) you plan to participate in and the calendar contains meeting dates/times and links to the Google Meet.
Please stay engaged with your team and watch your email inbox for other important information as it becomes available. The silver lining of this pandemic is that it has given us an opportunity to reimagine what we want our team to be and make big plans for the future. I hope you’ll be part of the process.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks and have a great weekend!
Mr. Schuff