Parent Page

Hello New & Returning Beak Squad Parents!!

After the past few years working through the challenges of the pandemic and coming off a thrilling, successful 2022 Competition Season at Worlds, we are excited to continue rebuilding our team.

While our Competition Season doesn’t begin until January, building our team roster for 2022-2023 during our Fall Pre-Season is important for training, practice, etc.  Our team is composed of multiple subteams:

• Mechanical (hands-on manufacturing & robot assembly, includes CAD & 3D printing),
• Controls (electrical engineering; programming for operator robot controls & autonomous routines)
• Scouting & Strategy (“competitive intelligence” & liaison between CHCA robot drive team and competition alliance members)
• Business & Branding (communications, public relations & community outreach, documentation & content creation, fundraising & accounting, project management, etc.)

  • !!New!! Beak Squad is partnering with CHCA’s Entrepreneurship Certification Program!  Contact Sarah.Hendrix@chca-oh.org to learn more about how joining the Beak Squad Business & Branding subteam can function as your Internship requirement!

Registration

Please note, there are multiple steps for Beak Squad Registration.

1. UltraCamp - The yearly registration fee is $275 (plus additional costs for team dinners and competition travel).  The registration fee includes team shirt and transportation from MSL to Robotics HQ for week-day practices.  There are important participation release forms for safety, so students must be registered in UltraCamp to attend practices.  The registration window closes on 12/01/22. Ultracamp registration
2. Register with FIRST as a confirmed member of the CHCA Beak Squad by 12/10/22 at 11:59 p.m.  A link and instructions are in your UltraCamp Confirmation email.
3. Download TeamSnap to receive team communications. Students and primary parent contact are automatically invited when registered via UltraCamp - additional parent contact information can be added.
4. Students are required to register attendance (yes/no) via TeamSnap for ALL meetings so that meals and work planning can be sized for attendance.

 

Team Meetings

Pre-Season: September - December
Mondays & Thursday 4:30 - 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Onboarding & training, Pre-Season challenges
• We may compete in fall Pre-Season competitions
• Community involvement activities; mentoring CHCA Grade 3-8 Robotics Teams

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Build/Competition Season: January - April
Monday: All Team Meeting & Dinner 4:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday - Thursday: 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

• Mechanical and Controls sub teams: Minimum 12 hrs/week
• Business & Branding and Strategy sub teams: Minimum 6 hrs/week

Field Set Build: January – February
Saturdays and other as-scheduled starting 2nd Saturday in January through completion.

Jan - Feb: Intensive six-to-eight-week robot design and build period
March - Early April: Regional and Championship events for qualifying teams
April 19 -22, 2023: World Championship held in Houston, TX for qualifying teams

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Summer Off-Season: May - August
(TBD) Thursday 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

• (May) On-board interested rising CHCA 9th graders
• We may compete in Off-Season summer competitions
• Strongly encourage our 9-12 students to help with robotics summer camp

 

Team Expectations

All students are expected to attend designated “All-Team” meetings/dinners (held once a week) and specialized trainings/workshops throughout Off, Pre, and Competition Seasons.  These are important practices where we join together to share the status of our work and future goals in addition to sharing a meal together.

Students interested in Controls & Mechanical subteams should plan to attend 1-2 practices per week during the Pre-Season.  These students should plan to attend at least 2 week day and a weekend practices during Build/Competition Season depending on their skills/tasks.

Students interested Business & Branding or Strategy & Scouting will have lighter/more flexible schedules which will be confirmed as team members are designated in these roles.  *Students partnering with the Entrepreneurial Certification Program will have individualized schedules to ensure fulfillment of the internship requirement via Beak Squad.

 

Meals

Dinner is provided on a rotating volunteer-basis during the week-day practices with lunch provided on Saturdays during Build/Competition Season.

 

Communication

Use use TeamSnap for scheduling & attendance - it is important for students to mark “yes” or “no” for practices so that accurate plans can be made for work and meals.

We have a shared One Drive in which documents & spreadsheets are available for student reference & updates.

We will be launching a Slack Workspace with multiple channels - this will enable communication within subteams that is also visible for everyone to cross-reference as needed.  There will be a dedicated “Announcements/Updates” channel in addition to separate dedicated parent & student channels for messaging as needed.

Our Business & Branding sub team will be working on regular email newsletters, micro-site updates, social media, etc.

 

Go, Beak Squad #4028!

We realize that you may have many questions about the team and the processes around it.  Please feel free to email Sarah.Hendrix@chca-oh.org with any questions you may have.

Thank you for allowing us to work with your wonderful kids!

Sarah Hendrix, Beak Squad Coach