IMPORTANT UPDATE:
COMPETITION DATE HAS CHANGED FROM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2023 to FEBRUARY 24, 2024
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION WILL BE THURSDAY & FRIDAY, MAY 16 & 17 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
We have TWO teams representing the Forest Drone Team!!
Forest Competition Drone Team - CoDrone Edu Edition
Forest, Virginia
OVERVIEW:
For the first time ever, the Forest Middle School is offering an exciting and innovative program designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of drone technology, programming, and real-world applications using the CoDrone Edu from Robolink. Our aim is to inspire and educate the next generation of engineers, drone pilots, and tech enthusiasts through hands-on experiences. Our goal is to pilot this program and teach other local schools how to effectively run a drone competition team.
Currently we have EIGHT teams at FMS with the intention of expanding the program to Jeffeson Forest High School in the next year/ fall 2024.
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WHO SHOULD JOIN?
This after school club/program is ideal for ALL middle school students with a passion for technology, a curiosity about flight, or an interest in programming. No prior experience is required, as our dedicated team of instructors and mentors will guide students every step of the way. We have a minimum of 4 teams already commited to compete but are willing to add more teams as needed. Let's represent FMS as a drone powerhouse at NASA in December!! Space us limited so apply as soon as possible. We will close the registration at 40 students (8 teams).
With the tentative expansion of a high school level team, we will be accepting applications for all 9-12th graders in fall 2024.
The FMS Drone Team is at capacity and is no longer accepting registrations
(How AWESOME that we have soooo many students who want to participate!!)
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BEHAVIOR CLAUSE:
We welcome all well behaved students. Due to the cost of all materials and the number of teammates, there are minimum behavior expectations. The most important behavior disqualifier is if the student receives a referral during the September thru December season (remember 5 lunch detentions = 1 referral = not allowed to remain on the team), they are no longer qualified to participate. We expect the BEST from our teams in the classroom and at practice.
At the beginning of each practice we will meet to discuss the schedule for that practice. When coaches and team members are talking, students will be quiet and listen. Nobody will be on the classroom computers. With the sheer number of participants we need everyone's attention. These teamwork and soft skills learned in practice will carry over to the competition.
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ACADEMIC CLAUSE:
Your first and most important priority as a student at FMS is to be a student!! Academics trump everything! In order to stay on the drone competition team you MUST be passing ALL classes with a "C" or better. This will be checked at interims (4 week and 7 week) and end of quarter.
You will need to have the teacher signed (by class period) grade update form turned in to your coaches to verify your grades. These will be turned in three times a nine weeks.
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SIGN UP YOUR STUDENT HERE:
We need this form completed BEFORE the student attends practices please.
Complete the (red) link above with the embedded Google Form. We have filled 8 teams and are no longer accepting applications.
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$$$S SUPPORT FOR OUR TEAMS:
To make this team work we know we need to partner with our Forest family and community to create a "Village of Supporters." Our Forest teams are supported both financially and thru goods and services from outside of the school system grants/donations/business partnerships and sponsorships. We are fortunate to have applied and earned the NASA Langley Reserach Center's grant to cover some of the initial costs but we need more ASAP.
If you are willing to donate or know of a business/sponsor who can help us, please email the coaches. There is a separate line item in the FMS budget that will house the drone competition team funding. All incoming $$ will go exclusively to this account to be used for our team. We project our financial need to be about $10K per year. All funds at the end of the season will be rolled over into the next season.
For those who donate $$, goods &/or services to support our team, we will show recognition on our google site, recognition in our weekly family newsletter, and shout outs on our various social media platforms. For donations/grants valued at $100 and above, we will show recogintion as listed above PLUS list their name on the back of the team shirts that will be worn at the competition. No amount is too small. We appreciate any and all support!!!
If you would like to donate $$, please send a check to :
Forest Middle School
ATTN: Forest Drone Competition Team
100 Ashwood Drive Forest, VA 24551
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OUR "VILLAGE OF SUPPORTERS" thru Goods & Services, Grants/Donations/Business Partnerships & Sponsorships
AIAA-American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
BAEF- Bedford Area Education Foundation
Bedford County Parks & Recreation
Bedford County Public Schools
Board & Brush- Forest
Chirpy Cuts
Delta Star
Framatome
Frito Lay
Forest Middle School Faculty & Staff
Forest Middle School PTA
High Peak Sportswear
Lowe's
Mullins Media/Charlie Alloco
Mr. Pave
NASA Langley Research Center
Realtor William Lokar
Scott Turf Equipment
Simplimatic Automation
Sonny Merryman
Space For Terachers
Upper Crust Pizza
Veteran Precision CNC
Virginia Department of Aviation
Virginia Space Grant Consortium
Wiley|Wilson
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alan Terpolilli/Apollo Calderoni
Claire Barrett/Landon Harrington
Sean & Cheryl Owen/Jonathan Owen
Christopher & Julia Allison/Timothy Allison
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COMPETITION SEASON:
Our season will include 17 practices and a competition.
Due to our competition date being moved to February, we will be adding more practices to our schedule.
PRACTICES:
We will start practices on Thursdays and Fridays after school from 4 PM (second load dismissal) to 6 PM.
We will meet in Mr. Hammer's room 126 immediately after school.
Team members will be picked up at the front of the school at 6 PM.
Practices will be each week until the competition occurs.
Please talk with one of the coaches to discuss a schedule conflict if you cannot attend for each practice. We want anyone interested to have an opportunity to be a part of the FMS Drone Competition team but need to be accountable for attendance.
Attendance will be taken at each practice.
We are fortunate to have a dedicated classroom to house our practice field. Teams will rotate thru the practice field to perfect their flying and programming skills. Practice fields will be rotated between autonomous/piloting and the alliance courses. Each team is given calendar with information for each practice. Included on the calendar will be which practice field (autonomous vs allianc, and practice field times. Additional practice criteria will be set up at eight stations in the school. Each team (led by their captain) will be responsible for their drone, team notebook and large ziploc bag of game elements.
PRACTICE LOGISITICS:
At each practice all teams meet in Mr. Hammer's room for the first 10-15 minutes. During this time:
1- Attendance is taken (if you miss a practice this must be pre-approved by a coach. Two way communication is essential!)
2- Overview of today's schedule- autonomous vs alliance (copy on your clipboard)
3- Feedback from previous practice's successes and challenges.
4- Any new information pertaining to our teams' success.
5- Distributed to each team.
-Clipboard with Practice Checklist.
-Bag containing 5 batteries, 4 pool noodles, 30 ping pong balls (two colors),1 rope (to keep ping pong balls from rolling everywhere), 1 drone (in the box with controller and connection cord for programming), 2 fourteen inch rings (not on stand), 1 stopwatch, 1 team paperwork binder, 5 safety goggles, 1 tape measure.
-PVC structure that mirrors competition field
-1 eighteen inch ring on stand
-Chromebook with charger
- Great attitude to make the team successful
Students will then disperse to their practice sites/locations (see below) and work on piloting and autonomous skills. Alliance competition field elements are also practiced so they will be ready to perform when it is their turn on the rotation schedule.
Students practice at their sites, rotate thru the competition room and return to their practice sites. Practice checklist information is filled in. This form is completed at each practice and stored in the team binder.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Thurs. & Fri., September 28 & 29
Thurs. & Fri., October 05 & 06
Thurs. & Fri., October 12 &13
Thurs. & Fri., October 19 & 20
Thurs. October 26 (no practice Friday due to Halloween Hullabaloo)
Thurs. & Fri., November 02 & 03
Thurs. & Fri., November 09 & 10
Thurs. & Fri., November 16 & 17
Thanksgiving Week - No Practice
Thurs. November 30
ADDED PRACTICES
Fri, December 08
No practices during Christmas break.
Thurs. & Fri- Jan 04 & 05
Thurs & Fri- January 11 & 12
Thurs & Fri., January 18 & 19
Thurs & Fri., January 25 & 26
Thurs. & Fri, February 01 & 02
Thurs. & Fri., February 08 & 09
Thurs. & Fri, February 15 & 16
Thurs & Fri., February 22 & 23
Mon, Tues & Thurs , March 4, 5 & 7
Mon - Fri, March 11 - 15th
Mon, March 18th
Mon., Tues & Thurs., March 25, 26 & 28th
Mon & Tues., April 9 & 10
Mon - Fri., April 15 - 19
Mon, Tues & Thurs., April 22, 23 & 25
Mon & Tues., April 29 & 30
Since the competition is moved from Dec to next Feb/March we will make adjustments to the practice schedule
PRACTICE LOCATIONS:
After meeting in Mr. Hammer's room to get instructions, we will disperse to perfect our skills. Each team will have a large ziploc with practice items along with their drone. Once the batteries are dead return them to Mr. Hammer's room. We are borrowing small drones from Mrs. Watson's class until the competition drones arrive.
Practice Locations are:
A- Main Street B-Media Bridge C-7th Gr Hallway D-6th Gr Hallway (up)
E-Cafeteria F-Room 206 G- Gym Balcony H-Library Foyer
We will rotate thru the Room 222 practice field
Please refer to the Practice Checklist each day. We will log our practice routine and how each team member performs the required tasks.
SAFETY:
Safety for our teams is a top priority. We have 5 main safety protocols in place.
1- FMS SAFETY GUIDELINES-
To keep our students safe we have created safety guidelines for each of our practices. Here are our guidelines.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TAKCJ85KlJ6VCSQO9g3HVhJm1MTIAwwPvcXYPRDiIpk/edit
2-FAA TRUST:
To keep our teams safe and also keep our drones functioning properly, all coaches and team members will complete the FAA TRUST (The Recreational UAS Safety Test). Each team member must pass the test to fly and remain on the team. This test is an online course with multiple questions to test their knowledge. Certificates are printed for each student and are on file with the team.
Here is where we completed the FAA TRUST coursework: https://www.scouting.org/the-recreational-uas-safety-test/
3-PARTICIPANT RELEASE FORMS:
Each team member will complete a release form and have it signed by a parent/guardian. This form is submitted digitally on the Robot Events site. This must be completed prior to competing at an event.
4-SCHOOL MEDIA RELEASE FORMS:
Each team member will complete a Media form and have it signed by a parent/guardian. This form is filed with our school, This must be completed prior to paticipating in any practices and events. This was part of the onlne registration form.
5-FIELD TRIP PERMISSION FORMS:
Each team member will complete a field trip form and have it signed by a parent/guardian. This form was orginally dated for the December 2023 competition but will also serve as the permission for the February 2024 competition
COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
We love what are learning and are thrilled to share our skills with everyone.
Two events will be :
1-SHOWCASE EVENT:
We are so excited about how hard our teams have been working. We held a Showcase Event that was attended by our family, friends, principals, school board members and BCPS central office personnel. 200 of our biggest fans showed up to support us!! THANK YOU!!! This event has boosted the confidence of our teams. Below is the flyer we shared.
2- 2nd ANNUAL ROBOTICS & DRONE ACADEMY
This summer we will be helping with the Robotics & Drone Academy. Part of the week will be taking the younger students under our wing and teaching them the basics of being on a competition team. We will also assist in them learning the essential knowledge for the FAA TRUST (drone safety) certification. Here's information on the Academy.
COMPETITIONS:
We will travel to NASA Langley Research Center for our competition on Saturday, February 24,2024 (changed from Dec 02). We will need to leave on Friday, February 23 to travel. We will be staying at a hotel near NASA Langley. Our transportation is tentatively one school bus. More info on that will be forthcoming. Also, if we do well we will qualify for a regional event in WV or a national event in TN in May 2024.
W ewill travel to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for the May 16&17. We will leave on Wedensday, May 15 and return on Saturday, May 18. We will be staying at a hotel near the competition. Out transporation is tentatively a school activity bus. More infor on that will be forthcoming.
END OF SEASON CELEBRATION:
We are tentatively planning an End of Season Celebration at FMS is tbd.
More details to follow soon!
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TEAM DYNAMICS:
Our ELITE EIGHT competition teams will be made up of 5-6 students each. Students can chooose which individual team they want to join. Each team is already assigned a team number (for example 24551A, 24551B, etc) based on the registration process.
And, each team will choose a captain, and a name for both their individual team & drone.
Each team will be assigned a coach to oversee their progress. Multiple teams may need to share a coach.
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COACHES:
Your 3 volunteer coaches will be
Steve Hammer- shammer@bedford.k12.va.us
Karen Quintana- karen.quintana@bedford.k12.va.us
Cindy Watson- cindy.watson@bedford.k12.va.us
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ELITE EIGHT TEAM ROSTERS & LEADERSHIP ROLES
Each team member is assigned a particular task for each practice. If a team member is absent another team member will fill in the void.
24551A- The Unos with their Drone Eagle 1
Captain: Oliver S.
Equipment Mgr: Micheal D.
Drone Dr: Timothy A
Scribe: Oliver S
Coder: Timothy A.
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24551B- The Sky Warriors with their Drone Lightning
Captain: Jonathan O.
Equipment Mgr: Kennedy S
Drone Dr: Landon H
Scribe: Nicholas B
Coder: Nicholas B
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24551C- The Bolts with their Drone Cyber Flyer
Captain: Alex H
Equipment Mgr: Alex H
Drone Dr: Aiden S
Scribe: Aiden S
Coder: Garrett B & Isaiah B
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24551D- The Quad Tech with their Drone Quad Flyer
Captain: Cameron P.
Equipment Mgr: Bradley A
Drone Dr: Marcus F
Scribe: Marcus F
Coder: Apollo C & Jake D.
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24551E- The Fantabulous Five with their Drone Voler
Captain: Sophie B.
Equipment Mgr: Mia D
Drone Dr: Leila T
Scribe: Olivia D & Julian Z
Coder: Julian Z & Leila T
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24551F- The Ducks with their Drone Flying Duck
Captain: Aiden S
Equipment Mgr: Daniel S
Drone Dr: Lucas E
Scribe: Daniel S
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24551G- The Project Drone with their Drone Timmy
Captain: Kaydence N.
Equipment Mgr: Kaydence N
Drone Dr: Scout Y
Scribe: Scout Y
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24551H- The Astro-Nauts with their Drone Astro
Captain: Ben W
Equipment Mgr: Owen E.
Drone Dr: Holden C
Scribe: Bradley L
Coder: Owen E & Ben W
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TEAMS IN ACTION:
We will be taking pix & videos at each practice of our great teams in action
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TEAM SWAG:
We will custom design a team shirt that will represent our teams and school. Students will be encouraged to submit design ideas. Shirts offered to the students and families will be short sleeve, long sleeve, crew neck sweatshirt and hoodie sweatshirt. We also have multiple requests for hats/baseball style caps.
We will distribute an order form prior to the design being finalized due to each team contributing to the design idea. We want to be sure the vendor has all of our swag items in stock with enough advance notice to be sure we have the items we need. These will be available at cost.
We will be ordering Team Swag in late October to insure all sponsors names will be listed on the back.
Link to the swag order is pending.
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BACKGROUND LINKS TO HELP JUMPSTART OUR TEAMS:
Mission 2024: Eclipse Game Video
REC Library - filled with lots of resources on getting the team started
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KEY FEATURES:
Drone Basics & Flight Training: Before taking to the skies, students learn the fundamentals of drone operation, safety protocols, and flight basics.
Programming & Coding: Using the versatile CoDrone Edu platform, students get hands-on experience with coding and programming a drone's flight path, behaviors, and operations. The drone offers a unique opportunity for students to see their coding skills come to life in a tangible way.
Real-world Applications: Beyond basic flight and coding, students will be exposed to the myriad ways drones are used in various industries today – from agriculture and filmmaking to environmental monitoring and search and rescue missions.
Teamwork & Collaboration: Drones, by nature, require a significant amount of collaboration. Students will work in teams to plan, code, and execute flight missions, simulating real-world drone operations.
Challenges & Competitions: As the team progresses, they'll have opportunities to participate in drone challenges and competitions, putting their skills to the test against other schools and organizations.
Hands-on STEM Learning: The drone team experience integrates multiple aspects of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education, making it a holistic and practical learning opportunity.
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EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY:
At the heart of our program is the CoDrone Edu from Robolink. This educational drone is designed specifically for learning and teaching coding. It's equipped with intuitive software that's beginner-friendly but can challenge even the more advanced coders as they progress. Its modular design also allows for hands-on tinkering, teaching students about the hardware aspects of drone technology.
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PROGRAMMING APP:
Videos
More Blockly Coding - added 12/4