FAQ

While there are several great instructional coding and robotics programs available for our students, the competitive aspect has proven to be a true motivator, giving tangible design goals and providing sporting-event level excitement to both the preparation and the competition itself.

We will organize into several 4-5 student teams. The members of the team will cooperate to strategize on the challenges and design a robot to compete. Students will then build the physical robot including drive system and manipulators like arms and grabbers. They will also write all of the code in C++, for both driving the robot with an RC controller and for running standalone in autonomous mode.  

At the competition, they will set up their robot for each match, and those students interested will get to drive for the competition. They will also be responsible for maintaining their robot, working together to adapt to what they see, and strategizing with their alliance partners.

Any student in good academic standing at Summit Charter Middle School may joint a team!  We may need to limit enrollment for a total of 5 teams.

Of course! The VEX software is freely available, and we'll set up shared drives for each team's code. And of course teams are free to scheme and strategize. As the events get closer we may also set up additional sessions to finish up.

TBD, there are several local school districts which host events, and we will target two once we have a roster and register. These are generally on the weekends, so you are responsible for getting to the event. 

We may also host a mini-competition at Summit to show off what everyone has done!

The $100 student fee goes towards program registration, event registration, and annual equipment. This is an all-volunteer run program (note other schools in the area charge up to $300 for this same program). We are seeking company/parent sponsorships to defray these costs.

We want to ensure all students can participate; please contact John (huskyrobots@gmail.com) about scholarships.

Yes!!! We're looking for volunteers to mentor the teams, ideally one per team. No experience required, although you must be signed up as a BVSD volunteer in Raptor.  Snacks for the meetings are also great to keep those brains working.

We're also looking for parent/company sponsorships to defray student fees and expand the program. The student fee only covers the annual costs. These can be made as non-profit contributions Summit.

Please contact huskyrobots@gmail.com if you can help with either of these!