2/28/26 - Event Signup!!

If you don't read many of the blog posts - you will definately want to read this one!

Parents - If you have not yet donated towards meals to support the team, please do so here.  

We are asking that everyone donates $100 towards meals or brings a Saturday meal. Even if your child does not eat with the team, this ensures our mentors (who come straight from work) are able to have a warm meal before working with and teaching your child each night. 

Event Signups

At the bottom of this blog post is the signups. PLEASE READ THROUGH ALL ITEMS PRIOR TO SIGNING UP!

1. Agreements

• Read Event Expectations. By signing up, you agree to follow all posted rules. 

• Ensure your requirements are met, which can be viewed with a non-student account on the Student Dashboard. Requirements are:

  • 15HP Jan, 25HP Feb, 10HP Flex = 50HP total. Flex hours do not need to be completed to sign up, but must be completed before the event.

  • >0AP

  • Signed up in FIRST

  • Paid Fee

  • Handbook Signature Complete

  • Kickoff Attended/Makeup

• Scouting Training must be completed and passed. 

2. Berrien Springs District Event - March 20-22

Due to no longer hosting the St. Joe event this year, all students are required to help clean up after our home event - Berrien Springs - for 2-3 hours on Sunday after awards. This counts as AP hours, and there will be a sign in and out. Students will be dismissed once enough of the event is cleaned up. 

If you cannot stay after the event on Sunday you must coordinate with Morgan beforehand a time to go in and help set up the event. 

3. Kentwood District Event - April 9-11

4. Michigan State Championship (Saginaw Valley State University) - April 16-18

If we do not qualify for States, we will not attend.

5. FIRST Championship (Worlds - Houston, Texas) - April 29 - May 2

 If we do not qualify for Worlds, we will still attend as a team and turn it into a field trip (Space Center, watch matches, go to seminars). 

6. 8th Grade Apprentice Joes Lodging

Eighth grade students do not stay with the team and are required to travel and lodge with parents. If you are planning to attend the Kentwood District Event and you would like a room at the hotel that the Joes are staying at, email Carrie no later than March 10th. If we have available rooms, they will be available for purchase based on student participation. cbrunsting@sjschools.org. 8th Graders should complete the event signup below as well.

7. Sign up here - DUE March 13th

2/23/26 - Outreach Opportunities!

We have two outreach opportunities that count for AP - remember you must have some hours recorded to attend competitions, and 25 are required to receive credit and a chevron/letter!

Summer Camp Planning Team

Join Morgan and Carrie every Thursday from 3-4:30pm to plan this summer's Summer STEAM Week. Hours can count as HP or AP. Students will participate in a planning sessions, team activities, and may possibly have homework to complete for the following week. 

*If you sign up for the team, you are committing to participating until at minimum the end of March. If you must miss a meeting, you must communicate. 

Sign up here

You do not need to be a summer camp counselor to support. 

Little Things Play Cafe 

Who: Average Joes 

When: Friday, March 7  4:30-6:30 PM (IC after school, leave ~3:30 to set up)

Where: Little Things Play Cafe (1332 Hilltop Rd Suite I, St Joseph, MI 49085)

What: the Joes are invited to the Little Things Play Cafe to host a STEAM afternoon. FTC will bring a robot to demonstrate and we will facilitate some other fun activities. The primary age of children will be 1-6.  If you're interested, please fill out the spreadsheet. There are limited spots. 

Complete the Permission Slip  and submit it here.

1/30/26 - One Month Down!

Schedule

Friendly reminder - we do have practice tonight! We follow the weekly schedule, and unless noted differently in these blog posts, the schedule stays the same. 

Parent Meeting - Tuesday

Friendly reminder that we have a parent meeting this upcoming Tuesday from 6-7:30

Hour Requirement - Reminder

There are TWO PRACTICES left in January. You MUST have 15 hours in January to travel and get credit. If you attend tonight and tomorrow, that is a total of 10.5 hours - plus 3 hours available during study hall tonight. 

See if you’ve met the requirements on your Student Dashboard - Last week’s update contains all the need to know about it. 

Backup Drive Team Tryouts (Signup Now!)

We are looking for Drive Team backups! Ideally we will have a backup for each of these following positions: Driver, Operator, and Human Player. These backups must plan to attend both of our District Events as well as the State and World Championships if we qualify. This is only for active High School students who have met hour requirements. Please fill out this form if interested!  Complete the form by 2/6 (Next Friday)

Meal Donation Reminder

We are asking that everyone donates $100 towards meals. Even if your child does not eat with the team, this ensures our mentors (who come straight from work) are able to have a warm meal before working with and teaching your child each night. 

Please donate here. 

Thank you to the families who have signed up to provide Saturday Lunches! (In lieu of the $100)

1/24/2025 - Student Dashbaord, Hour Requirement Change, and more!

Student Leads - Congrats!

Build - Hank and Lucas

Business - Hope and Ako

Programming - Albert and AJ

Safety - Lucas and Josh

Strategy and Scouting - Trent

Student Dashboard 

The Student Dashboard is now available! Check it out here. (You need a non-student Google login to access it). This works best on a computer. 

There are three pages:

1. Main Dashboard - it shows your hours for each month, if you’re signed up/completed necessary things. 

2. Student Time Logs - Shows all HP and AP sessions - This is where to look to make sure you have all your hours recorded. If you do not - email Morgan ASAP. 

3. Student Money Account - This is under heavy construction, but will show all money transactions in the future. 

Hour Requirement Change (2026)

Due to the amount of snow days, shortened practices, and losing an extra week in January - the following requirements will change as follows:

January HP: 15

February HP: 25

“Flex” hours: 10 (Can record in January, February, or March)

You still need 50 hours total to sign up for events/travel with the team.

There are 5 more practices in January, which have a total of 19 hours available!
If you need additional hours, you may work independently during study hall, or talk to Morgan about helping her with projects. 

Fundraising & Sponsorships - Help Needed!

The Joes are currently working on garnering $60,000 this year to support all of the SJR programs. If you know of any businesses or organizations that might be interested in sponsoring the teams, please email Coach Morgan with the organization name and contact email.

We also have two current needs for volunteers:

1. Call companies (from a list that we have already created) to find out contact emails. 

2. Schedule give back nights at local restaurants.

Please email Coach Carrie (cbrunsting@sjschools.org) if you can help with either of the above needs.

Joining Band 

Join our internal communication platform here. This makes it easy to chat with each other for team-related things, post questions, and post announcements during competitions. 

Please note we are required to move to a new app over the summer, and Band will be retired after this season.

1/18/2026 - Week 1 Complete, Week 2 Updates

Below you will read information on:

1. Upcoming Parent Meeting - Fundraising

2. Filming Team Videos - Signups Needed

3. Snow Days

4. AP Signup - Lincoln Science and Culture Night

5. Due Dates for the season

Upcoming Due Date Reminders - Please see previous post for info. 

1. Handbook Signature DUE TODAY

2. Kickoff Makeup DUE TODAY

3. Participation Fee DUE 1/31

4. Students Sign up in FIRST DUE 1/31

5. Mentors Sign up in FIRST DUE 1/31

6. Donation towards Food (Complete ASAP)

1. Upcoming Parent Meeting - Fundraising - Tuesday 1/20 | 6 - 7:30pm

This parent meeting will cover fundraising - with the continuous decrease of corporate sponsorship and increase of costs, funds are more important than ever. This meeting will cover:

1. The “Why” and “How Much” of the program, both for the student and the team

2. Funding Strategies and Ideas

3. Roles and Responsibilities

4. Determining Action Plan and Next steps.

2. Filming Team Videos -  Signups Needed

In order to educate, connect, and grow, we will be uploading videos that share the way our team works or the things that we do. By signing up, you are agreeing to work with Ako to find a date and time to film.

Signup Here

3. Snow Days

This has been an addendum to the handbook, but wanted to also put it here to keep everyone in the loop. 

If there is a snow day, the following will happen. 

1. There is no Study Hall or Dinner

2. We will reach out to the appropriate admin to ask if we can come in for practice. 

3. We will hear at about 2-3pm if we can come in for practice. 

4. If we are allowed to practice, we will communicate what times based on 

   1. Mentor Availability

   2. When admin says we can (Sometimes they have stipulations like must be out by 7)

5. We will communicate times in:

   1. Email

   2. Band/Band chats

4. AP - Lincoln Science and Culture Night

Opportunity to start earning towards your required AP!

Who: Any students (or mentors) who can interact with K-5 students

What: Science and Culture night - show off what robotics is about to our Lincoln kids!

Where: Lincoln Elementary

When: January 29th, Setup 6:30-7:15, Demonstrate 7:30-8, Cleanup 8-8:30

Why: To show off our program to families and students and get them excited about STEM!

Sign Up Here

5. Due Dates

Below are the approximate due dates for event signups, payments, etc. These are not the definite dates, but provided so families can plan ahead and decide on attendance and secure payment. These are subject to change based on needs of the team. 

Please note that due to how close events are together this year and required logistics, we most likely will send out multiple To-Do items at once. 

Costs are discussed in Parent Meeting 1.

Berrien Springs

Signups Posted - 3/6

Signups Close - 3/13

Event Cost Published - 3/14

Event Date: 3/20

Kentwood

Signups Posted - 3/6

Signups Close - 3/13

Event Cost Published - 3/14

Event Travel Details Published - 3/26

Payment Due - 3/26

Event Date: 4/9

State Championship (Must Qualify)

Signups Posted - 3/12

Signups Close - 3/19

Event Cost Published - 9/20

Event Travel Details Published - 4/2

Payment Due - 4/9

Event Date: 4/16

World Championship (Must Qualify)

Signups Posted - 3/25

Signups Close - 4/1

Event Cost Published - 4/2 

Event Travel Details Published - 4/15

Payment Due - 4/15

Event Date: 4/29

1/9/2026 - Welcome to the First Week!

Welcome to the first week of Robotics for the 2026 season! Below you will read information on:

1. Participation Fee & FIRST Registration

2. Parents and Team Meals

3. Handbook Information

4. Missed Kickoff - Makeups

5. Upcoming Schedule

1. Participation Fee & Registration

Participation fee is $100 and due 1/31 for all students participating. Please pay here. Include the Student's Name in description. 

FIRST Registration is required for all Students and Mentors. Complete by 1/31. 

Student Registration Link

Mentor/Volunteer Registration Link

2. Parents and Team Meals

Parents - to support our mentors and students in our meals before practice, we ask that each family contribute. 

This entails:

1. Contributing to meals - $100 donation for 10 weeks of meals OR providing a Saturday meal (signups here). Payments can be made here. (Can combine with Participation Fee payment)

2. If you would prefer to supply groceries, contact Heather or Carrie for a list. 

3. If you would like to provide an evening meal, contact Heather or Carrie

Other Notes

1. We are always in need of individually wrapped snacks. Please label them "To Heather/Carrie"

Contacts

Heather Fisbeck - heather@fisbeck.com | (269) 861-9300

Carrie Brunsting - cbrunsting@sjschools.org | (269) 519-6031

3. Handbook Information

All students are required to read the handbook here and sign indicating they agree to everything stated here.  DUE 1/18

Parents are encouraged to read the handbook to understand all expectations. 

4. Kickoff Makeups

Kickoff is one of the required events for participation. If you did not attend kickoff, please navigate here and complete the items listed.  DUE 1/18

5. Upcoming Schedule

To view the regular schedule, please see here.  Items that deviate from the regular schedule are bolded. 

1/12 Monday - 6-9pm (With Study Hall/Dinner)
1/13 Tuesday - 6-9pm (With Study Hall/Dinner)
1/15 Thursday - 6-9pm (NO Study Hall/Dinner)
1/16 Friday - 5:30-9pm (With Dinner @ 5) **You may attend after exams on Friday - please bring your own lunch
1/17 Saturday - 9-3pm (With Lunch)
1/18 Sunday - Handbook and Signature DUE

1/19 Monday - 5:30-9pm (NO Study Hall/Dinner due to No School)
1/20 Tuesday - 6-9pm (With Study Hall/Dinner)
1/22 Thursday - 6-9pm (With Study Hall/Dinner)
1/23 Friday - 5:30-9pm (With Study Hall/Dinner)
1/24 Saturday - 9-3pm (With Lunch)

1/2/2026 - Kickoff Summary, Parent Meeting, and Upcoming

Kickoff is TOMORROW! Some important things to remember/look at from the previous Blog Update below. 

1. IC Doors open at 9:30, 8th Grade Meeting at 9:45, start at 10 (AKA Be there BEFORE 10!)

2. Bring a potluck item to share - what to bring is listed below.

3. Bring your Chromebook/a laptop/iPad

4. New Mentor Meeting @ Lunch on Saturday 

5. Sunday Breakdown from 1-4pm

6. If you cannot make it tomorrow, you must email mbrunsting@sjschools.org TONIGHT with a valid reason. 

7. 8th Graders - Sign up for the team here.  This is the last email you will receive regarding signups, and you will be removed from the email list for further communications. 

Parent Meeting

If you couldn't attend the parent meeting, check out the slides and a video recording below. All Parent Meeting information will be posted here, and can be found via the menu navigation under FRC. 

Upcoming Schedule:

1/10 Saturday - Kickoff - 9:30am-3pm (Open til 4)

1/11 Sunday - Strategy Meeting - 1-4pm

1/12 Monday - 6-9pm (With Study Hall/Dinner)

1/13 Tuesday - 6-9pm (With Study Hall/Dinner)

1/14 Wednesday - No Practice or Study Hall - Study!!

1/15 Thursday - 6-9pm (NO Study Hall/Dinner)

1/16 Friday - TBD 

1/17 Saturday - 9-3pm (With Lunch)

1/18 Sunday - Handbook and Signature DUE

11/12/2025 - Field Trip Opportunity 

Colson - Sponsor Visit

Who: Average Joes

What: Tour the Colson Facility
Where: Meet at the Innovation Center - Eat A lunch & come to the IC right after

When: November 21st, 12pm-1:30pm (You should make it to 6th hour)

Why: To learn about our sponsor, tell them about robotics, and have a fun field trip!

Other Notes: You must submit your permission slip by next Wednesday, November 19th at midnight (excuses from class will be sent out Thursday morning)

Other Notes: 

• Safety Glasses (required)

• Closed Toe Shoes (required)

• Joes Shirt (encouraged)

• Permission Slip (Required)

  • Permission Slip

  • Permission Slip Submission

7/29/2025 - Buzz Gloves and Outreach Event

Buzz Glove Training

As part of our mission to be more than robots, we've spent the past three years researching and developing our personalized Buzz Gloves -- an effective, non-invasive treatment for hand tremors in Parkinson's. The impact team has worked with many people with Parkinson's and we have spoken at a Berrien County PwP (People with Parkinson's) meeting. Now, with an iterated design and community engagement, we need more Joes to lead the charge.

We're searching for more Buzz Glove Ambassadors on our team. These ambassadors will understand how the gloves function, understand how the gloves connect to our overall Impact mission, and be able to represent this initiative in outreach and judging settings.

To prepare new ambassadors, Elizabeth will be running a Buzz Glove training session on Thursday, July  31, from 12:00 - 2:30 PM at the Innovation Center [confirm location]. This session will cover the glove creation process and the gloves' history relating to Impact. For those of you who are passionate about Impact, this is an excellent opportunity to propel the effort.

Outreach Opportunity - Christ Lutheran Family Night

Need AP hours?

Sign up to help at Lutheran Family Fun Night.

Who: Average Joes

What: Christ Lutheran Fun Night- Science experiments and robot cycles
Where: 4333 Cleveland Ave. Stevensville, Michigan 49127 

When: August 23rd 4-7pm

Why: To spread the message of FIRST, drive some robots, and have fun!

Other Notes: Food will bre provided. Please wear a Joes shirt. 

6/23/2025 - Buzz Glove Application, Fundraisers, and More

Buzz Glove Gifting Application

We are looking for one student who would like to attend the gifting of Buzz Gloves to a local person with Parkenson's in Cassopolis. Please send why you should be considered to attend to mbrunsting@sjschools.org. Day and time is TBD.

See our page on Buzz Gloves here.

Fundraisers

Fundraisers are being added daily to our Fundraising Page. This is an awesome way to earn money for your student account to help pay for travel. 

At the time of this posting, there are fundraising opportunities to earn over $350. You will also earn automatic AP for hours worked to count towards next year's requirments. 

LECO Picnic

AEP Picnic

4th of July Parking

Art Fair Parking

Weekly FRC Meetings & Open Work Times

FRC will meet weekly on Tuesday from 6:30-8pm to discuss the outreach bot and other activities.

Any student interested in working on an independant project is welcome to come during Morgan's Office Hours, or reach out for additional hours. These hours are available on the calendar. 

6/2/2025 - Welcome to the new Blogs!

Hello! Welcome to the new blog format! Hopefull this will streamline the communications for the whole program. 

What to expect:

• Receive an email when there is a blog update, which may be at any time. 

• See the most recent information at the top - no repeated information from precious postings.

• A monthly (or bi-weekly for the busy season) condensed update with only the most important information, critical links, and signups.

Lions Club Presentation

Who: Students, Mentors, and Parents

What: Lions Club Presentation

Where: Innovation Center

When: Thursday, June 5 from 11:45-1:30pm

Why: talk about the season, successes, lessons learned, etc. 

Other Notes:

• Lunch provided to those who RSVP

This Summer - Office Hours, Meeting Times, and More

Shout out to such an awesome robotics community! There are a lot of mentors interested in hosting meetings and additional work times over the summer. 

To support the communication, we will be utilizing Google Calendar. Mentors - if you would like to host times this summer for any activity, please fill out this form.

FRC and FTC Students: Check out the Google Calendar for information about any of the summer offerings. Add the calendar to your own to stay up to date, or copy over events. 

2025-2026 Signups Here!