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The Aviation High School
robotics team is registered as Team 1983 Skunkworks
with FIRST (For Inspiration
and Recognition of Science
and Technology). To learn more
about our team's connection with FIRST and
the impact it has on the team and its members,
go to our About FIRST page.
Team 1983 is affiliated with Aviation High School
(AHS). AHS provides the facilities, coach and some
of the mentors. The PTSA at AHS has been an avid
sponsor of our robotics team. To learn more about
Aviation High School and AHS PTSA, how they support
robotics and what we do for them, go to our Aviation
High page. While robotics is our theme and
passion, Team 1983 recognizes that FIRST calls
upon them to do more than just build robots. Skunkworks
can and should have an impact on students, school,
the surrounding community and even other FIRST teams.
"To be a premier FIRST participant
while preparing for college and our futures."
In order to accomplish this
vision, we want to create an environment where
we, the students:
- Participate safely
in an intense program without compromising
our education
- Are engaged and feel
valued
- Take responsibility
for the leadership of the team and its
future
- Design and build high
quality products with defined purpose and
pride
- Are committed and
strive to be competitive and continually
challenged
- Help others and openly
share what we know for the betterment of
all
- Are actively involved
in our school, community and in the promotion
of FIRST
- Want our experiences
on the team to be positive to promote others
to join
- Want to create opportunities
for personal growth and for having fun
- Act with "Gracious
Professionalism"
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From the outset, students know
that to be a member of the team requires dedication
and commitment both to the team and to their classwork.
They are told that the six week build season will
be intense. They can only remain active on the
team if they keep their grades up and their meeting
attendance and participation high. During the build
season, meetings run two to three hours on four
week nights plus weekends. Study sessions are held
after school. The number of days a student is required
to attend varies with their current grades. Grades
are collected each week.
This is our fourth year and
our team now consists of 41 dedicated students
and 16 mentors. With such outstanding support from
our corresponding community, each year the team
has prospered more towards the goal of being a premier FIRST team
in Washington.
Since our rookie year back in 2006, our team has
flourished. We have spent a great amount of time
spreading the message of FIRST and reaching
out within our own community. We have gained lots
of recognition within companies, as well as influencing
other schools to create their own FLL, FTC or FRC
teams. Community and parent support has grown as
well. More parents have become consistent participants,
and several engineers from local firms have embraced
working with our members.
Due to the increasing number of students and amount
of mentor support, the structure and organization
of our team has increased tremendously. We currently
operate in a number of sub-teams. Our current sub-teams
consist of Systems Integration, which is the overall
management of the team, CAD team, Build and Design
team, Creative team, Programming team, VEX team,
Safety team, Pit and Crate team, and Practice Field.
The Mentor Team aids and supports
the students in the technical aspects of the competition,
including robot design, materials, robot building,
and safety supervision. Mentor involvement has
created an outstanding environment for students.
Mentors assist the students in the concept development
of our robot. Our design students were assisted
by a Boeing mechanical engineer in developing our
assembly and parts drawings. Mentors take students
to the Omax water jet machine shop to help when
parts are being cut. Students engage mentors in
countless discussions on many subjects.
The Parent Team manages logistics
details associated with the running of the team,
including communications, transportation, procurement,
food, team activities and setting up fundraisers.
Parent involvement has helped assure that we work
in an outstanding environment for both studying
and working. Our parent team has provided meals
two and sometimes three times a week, staffed our
study hall, and hosted team parties. Our coach
has set minimum standards for team participation
and travel. Our study hall uses these standards
to assure our student's grades do not suffer.
Over the years, our team has
reached out to many local elementary and middle
schools to help them start FIRST Lego League (FLL)
teams. We have started FLL teams at Chinook Middle
School, St. Francis of Assisi School, North Hill
Elementary, and Marvista Elementary. We send students
from our team out to these FLL teams as mentors
to aid and encourage the development of these young
students. To learn more see our Outreach page.
Community involvement has also
become increasingly important to the development
of Team 1983. The team strives to involve both
the community of Aviation High School as well as
the local community within the surrounding area.
Aviation High School does not have athletic programs;
therefore, FIRST Robotics is one of the
only competitive “sports” available
to students. Assemblies and pep rallies are held
for the team before competitions, and the entire
school attended last year's Microsoft-Seattle Regional
in Seattle, Washington. To learn more, see our Outreach page.
While we have progressed greatly
over the years, Team 1983 still has much more room
for improvement. We are aware that we will not
be able to make all of the desired improvements
in one year, so the team, and specifically the
systems integration team, have made extensive future
plans for the development of Team 1983 for years
to come.
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