Notre Dame Robotics FIRST Team 1967 Business Plan 2015 Team 1967 Business Plan 1 Table of Contents ♠ Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 3 ♣ Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………… . 3 … ……… ♣ Mission Statement .. ………………………………………………………………………… ……… 3 ♣ Team Goals . ……………………………………………………………… ………………… ……… . 3 … ♠ About Us ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 ……… ♣ FIRST and FRC . …………………………………………………………………………… …………… 4 ♣ Notre Dame High School .. .. 4 ……………… ………………………………………… …………… ♣ The Team . ………………………………………………………………………… ……………… . 5 …… ♣ Team History . ……………………………………………………………… ………………… …… . 5 … ♠ SWOT Analysis . ……………………………………………………………… ……………………………… . 8 …… ♣ Strengths . ……………………………………………………………… …………………… ... 8 ………… ♣ Weaknesses . ……………………………………………………………… ………………… . 8 ………… ♣ Opportunities . ……………………………………………………………… ……………… . 8 ………… ♣ Threats . ……………………………………………………………… ……………………… . 8 …………… ♠ Outreach .. …………………………………………………………………………………………… . 9 …………… … ♣ Impact on School .. …… ………………………………………… ……………………………… … 9 Team 1967 Business Plan 2 ♣ Impact on Community. .. ………………………………………… …………………………… … 10 ♣ FIRST Outreach ……………………………………………………………………………………… .. 11 ♠ Team Structure . …………………………………………………………………………… ………………… 12 …… ♣ Team Leadership . ………………………………………………………………………………… . 12 … ♣ Student Leaders . ……………………………………………………………………………………… 12 ♣ Committees ………………………………………………………………………………… . 13 …… …… ♠ Financial Plan . ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………… .. 15 ♣ Budget . …………………………………………………………………………………… … . 15 …… ……… ♥ Estimated Revenue .. ………………………………………………………… … ……… 15 ♥ Estimated Expenses .. ... … ……………………………………………………… ……… 15 ♠ Support . ………………………………………………………………………………………… …… . .. 16 … …… …… ♣ Sponsors . ……………………………………………………………… …………………… . 16 …………… ♣ Why Support Us? . .. 16 ………………………………………………… …………… ………………… ♣ Ways to Support Us . 16 ……………………………………………… ……………… … …………… ♣ Sponsor Benefits . …………………………………………………… ………………… …………… 17 ♠ Contact Info .. …………………………………………………………………………………………………… . 18 … Team 1967 Business Plan 3 Executive Summary Introduction We are an all-girls Notre Dame Robotics Team, known officially as Team 1967, the Janksters. Our team was founded in 2006 by a group of hard-working, dedicated students. But over these last ten years, our team has gone from 7 students working in the school garage to a more advanced team of 39 students, supported by a dozen mentors. Through each season and competition we participate in, the team grows as each individual student learns values that will stick with them long beyond their four years as a high school student. Mission Statement Our mission is to create a community where students can explore STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) through robotics. Students learn from professional engineers and Notre Dame educators, while aiming for a common goal—building a robot to compete in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) Robotics Competition in six weeks. St. Julie Billiart, founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, once said, “Teach them what they need to know for life.” The Janksters enforce this concept, fostering teamwork, leadership, and service through their experience on the team as they learn and grow. The team strives to maintain an attitude of gracious professionalism and team spirits as they put their best effort into building a robot. Team Goals One of our team goals is to push each student past their limit and help them step out of their comfort zone. We strive to create a safe learning environment in which students can learn new skills and develop leadership and communication skills. Another team goal is to steady and sustain team growth. We hope to do this by increasing sponsorship and getting our mentors more involved. While the Janksters may be an all-girls team, we lack female mentors. We would like to develop stronger bonds with professional female engineers and encourage them to mentor our team. Having steady sponsors and more sponsorship would allow our team to explore more outreach events and new ideas to spread STEM within our school and community. We find it vital to inspire young girls to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) because engineering is a male-dominated field. Over the years, we have participated in events that allow us to meet young girls, but we would like to expand what we have done so far by mentoring an all-girls FIRST Lego League (FLL) team and hosting an FLL competition at our school. Beyond that, we aim to help mentor a rookie FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team and demonstrate our robot at more places to raise STEM awareness. Within our school, we would like to collaborate with the numerous class departments, like math and science. We have already taken the first step in this direction by beginning an Introduction to Engineering class and by building a confetti shooter for the theater department’s 2014 Spring Musical. Team 1967 Business Plan 4 About Us FIRST and FRC FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a program designed to spark excitement and interest in technology and science among youths from grades K-12. Faced with a new challenge each year, students grow into critical thinkers, creative innovators, and strong team players, as well as develop skills in the science and engineering fields. FIRST’s goal is not simply for participants to learn what it takes to build a successful robot, but to also reflect values such as gracious professionalism and coopertition (the concept that teams should help and cooperate with each other even while competing). Founded in 1989 by renowned inventor and advocate for science and technology Dean Kamen, FIRST has a “family of programs” to reach a broad audience of students, schools, potential mentors, and sponsors. The FIRST LEGO League, made up of FLL for grades 4-8 and Junior FLL for grades K-3, introduces students to the world of robotics with LEGO components. These young students learn strategy, presentation and technical skills, and how to work in a team along the way. Student in grades 9-12 can participate in two different competitions, both involving instruction from professional engineers and can help students gain scholarships. In the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), teams actively build robots, which use the LEGO NXT brain and metal parts, and participate in global competition. The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is on a much larger and more rigorous scale. Robots are more intricate, must be built from scratch, and must be programmed with a more complicated language than LEGO Mindstorms NXT. Each competition is designed to introduce students to the exciting world of robotics. FIRST gives students a chance to be part of a team while pushing the mind to think innovatively through a competition. FRC is open to high school students (grades 9-12) and is one of the most intense and exciting programs that FIRST hosts. “It’s the hardest fun you’ll ever have” (FIRST). Tens of thousands of students from 12 different countries participate as a part of over 5,000 teams. Teams are given 6 weeks to design and build a robot from scratch, using only the new game concept for that year and a Kit of Parts. Each team receives a Kit of Parts on the first day of the six weeks, with an average of 600 pieces, which can be used in the construction of the robot. In addition to the materials from the kit, teams are able to order parts with their own funds to add to the creation of their unique robot. There are, however, limits to what the teams can use and build with their robot, in terms of budget and materials, which adds to the challenge of prototyping, strategizing, and constructing. Teams must make use of their resources, which may range from ordering materials online and raising money, to workshops or help from mentors who are industry professionals. In addition, teams can serve as each other’s resources through their websites and forums, adding to the spirit of gracious professionalism. Notre Dame High School Notre Dame High School was established in 1851 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who were founded by St. Julie Billiart. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur came to California in 1851 to establish a school for girls in San Jose. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur value certain hallmarks that we follow, and have goals for their students that we strive to Team 1967 Business Plan 5 achieve. As we grow into a connected team, our values are consistently rooted in the hallmarks of Notre Dame. First, our team values the appreciation of diversity and respect of all people. We embrace all and any talents our members have to offer the team and gladly accept them with open arms. During the build season, every member uses her talents to make a successful robot. Students return with more enthusiasm, understanding and appreciation of robotics every year. One of Notre Dame’s main focuses is on community service. Our team actively participates in this commitment to the community on an individual and team level. Some things our team has participated in is Toys for Tots, leading STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) workshops, and demonstrating our robot at Martin Luther King Library. “Teach students what they need to know for life.” Notre Dame’s philosophy is reflected in our team, as we develop an active learning community where students can learn and grow together as a cooperative team. Teamwork and the appreciation of every effort are two of the most important values we uphold. We believe