Team Selection Process
Elementary School Teams
The Plainwell Robotics Club (PRC) will create VEX IQ Robotics teams following the guidelines below. To be eligible, a student must be enrolled in a Plainwell Elementary School and be in the fourth or fifth grade.
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Teams should be as balanced as possible in terms of grade (age) and experience.
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Each team will consist of 3 - 4 students.
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Practice time availability will be a priority over having friends on a team.
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Students will have an opportunity to indicate one friend that they would like to have on their team. Every effort will be made make this happen, although this is not a guarantee. There is a better chance of having friends on a team if both students chose each other as their one friend.
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Team membership will be announced in late May, but will be subject to change whenever necessary.
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Each team will have at least one dedicated coach.
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The Elementary School Director, together with the PRC Management Team, will create all teams.
Beginning in June after team membership is announced, PRC students and their team coach(es) will begin discussions of the fundamentals of building robots and using the Engineering Notebook. They will be expected to brainstorm ideas for how best to design a robot that will accomplish the year’s game objectives. This will allow coaches to observe interactions among students and determine the skills of each student. Coaches will be expected to observe and guide teams, bringing any potential changes or conflicts among team members and teams to the attention of Elementary School Director as soon as possible.
Based on past experience, there will likely be some attrition during the first several months of the season which may warrant some team changes. It is also likely that some student schedules will change because of other commitments during the season. Change in a student’s schedule does not warrant a change in team composition, but it may require a change in the practice night for that team. The coach(es) for that team will consult with these parents to determine which night of the week is best for practice.
Middle School Teams
The Plainwell Robotics Club (PRC) will create VEX VRC Robotics teams following the guidelines below. To be eligible, a student must be enrolled in the Plainwell Middle School and be a veteran of an elementary school VEX IQ team, or be in the seventh or eighth grade, or be a sibling of another middle school robotics team member.
-
Teams should be as balanced as possible in terms of grade (age) and experience.
-
Each team will consist of 3 - 4 students.
-
Practice time availability will be a priority over having friends on a team.
-
Students will have an opportunity to indicate one friend that they would like to have on their team. Every effort will be made make this happen, although this is not a guarantee. There is a better chance of having friends on a team if both students chose each other as their one friend.
-
Team membership will be announced in late May, but will be subject to change whenever necessary.
-
Each team will have at least one dedicated coach.
-
The Middle School Director, together with the PRC Management Team, will create all teams.
Beginning in June after team membership is announced, PRC students and their team coach(es) will begin discussions of the fundamentals of building robots and using the Engineering Notebook. They will be expected to brainstorm ideas for how best to design a robot that will accomplish the year’s game objectives. This will allow coaches to observe interactions among students and determine the skills of each student. Coaches will be expected to observe and guide teams, bringing any potential changes or conflicts among team members and teams to the attention of Middle School Director as soon as possible.
Based on past experience, there will likely be some attrition during the first several months of the season which may warrant some team changes. It is also likely that some student schedules will change because of other commitments during the season. Change in a student’s schedule does not warrant a change in team composition, but it may require a change in the practice night for that team. The coach(es) for that team will consult with these parents to determine which night of the week is best for practice.