Letter to Parents

Dear Parents, 

We are thrilled that your child has chosen to join our high school robotics team, FRC 568 The Nerds of the North. Our robotics team is designed to provide high school students the opportunity to explore engineering, programming, business, project management, leadership, and creative skills within a cohort of like minded students and mentors in an exciting, competitive environment. We appreciate your role, as parents, and want to make sure to keep you informed about team matters! 

MEETING DATES/TIMES

Our team uses an app called TeamSnap to communicate meeting dates, times, and agendas. All team members must be added to TeamSnap. Typical off-season meetings include:

• *Thirsday Evenings, 7:30-9:00 PM
• *University of Alaska Anchorage, Engineering and Industry Building, Rm 309
• *2900 Spirit Dr, Anchorage, AK 99508

Be sure to sign up for TeamSnap to receive updates to the schedule, as meeting times and work days will become more frequent during build and competition season.

CALENDAR/IMPORTANT DATES

The following is an outline of dates to be on the lookout throughout the season. Once again, specific dates and times can be viewed on TeamSnap.

• August 27-December 16, 2019: Off-Season Meetings:During the off-season, we schedule regular whole-team meetings in order to establish the team, design and prototype robot components pre-kickoff, conduct outreach, etc.
• January 4, 2020: FRC Kickoff: Typically, this is a full day event. The team gets together to watch the season’s game reveal video. We then jump straight into game strategy and build season planning. Stay tuned on TeamSnap!
• January 4-March 5: Build Season:During build season, whole-team meetings and build sessions will become more frequent, and often extend longer. We schedule several weekend build days, as well.
• March 5-16: Competition Travel (approximate): Our team competes at two back-to-back robotics competitions in the Portland/Seattle area. We schedule these competitions on either side of Anchorage School District’s spring break in order to minimize the amount of school missed by students.  This year’s competitions include Auburn-Mountainview, WA (3/6-8) and Wilsonville, OR (3/12-14).
• April 1-4: Pacific Northwest District Championship in Tacoma, WA : We may qualify to compete with our robot at the District Championship in Tacoma, WA, in which case we will need to travel again. In some cases, the team qualifies for the District Championship solely in a judging category, in which case we will participate in the event remotely, skyping in for a judging session.
• April 15-18: World Championships in Houston, TX: There are two ways our team may attend World Championships: through advancement from the Pacific Northwest District Championship, or through a lottery system designed to distribute extra wait-list slots to FRC teams.

FIRST DASHBOARD: YOUTH/PARENT REGISTRATION

We require all of our students and mentors to register themselves on our team through the FIRST Dashboard. Student profiles require parents to sign on to provide emergency contact information and sign a waiver. Additional instructions can be found on page 6.

FEES/EXPENSES

It is important to us that finances do not keep any student from the opportunity to participate in, or travel to competitions with FRC 568. For that reason, we do not charge a participation fee for students to join the team. We do ask students to assist in fundraising and writing sponsorship requests, in order to offset the cost of the robot and team administration costs. We also make travel scholarships available for students who need financial assistance in order to attend competitions. Please indicate if your child will need any financial assistance on page 6.

LEARN MORE

• Team Website: frc568.akfirstrobotics.org
• Team Twitter: twitter.com/frc568
• FRC Website: www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc
• Team Facebook Page: facebook.com/frc568
• Team Instagram: instagram.com/frcteam568

Please feel free to reach out to either of the team’s coaches, Wade Roach or Vicki Nechodomu, with any questions or concerns. Thanks!

*Changed During Covid-19