ArgoRobotics 2023/2024

First Lego League (FLL) has already been announced this season’s challenge: “MASTERPIECESM”  

This season’s theme is: “Lights, Camera, STEAM!, children will learn about the role science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) plays in the arts and will imagine and innovate new ways to create and communicate art across the globe.” 

Here is the link to more information about the FIRST LEGO League Challenge & Season:  

https://www.firstlegoleague.org/season 

What is FLL? 

FIRST Lego League (FLL) Challenge is a friendly robotics competition offered to students Grade 4th – 8th. This competition offers students a hands-on learning experience to design, build, and program a robot that will complete a set of missions.  They will also need to research and design a solution to a real-world problem.  At the heart of FIRST robotics are the six core values:   

• Discovery 
• Innovation 
• Impact 
• Inclusion 
• Teamwork 
• and FUN!   

These core values will help students gain lifelong skills such as teamwork, leadership and problem-solving. 

“We express the FIRST philosophies of Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® through our Core Values.” 

Registration: STARTS on Tuesday, September 5, at 8:00 a.m. and ENDS on Wednesday, September 6, at 5:00 p.m.  Registration will be open to 4th & 5th Grade Parents.  Please read all information thoroughly before registering. 

Club Meetings:  We anticipate having two meetings per week after school on Tuesdays and Fridays from 3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.  Our first ArgoRobotics Club meeting will be held on Friday, September 8, 2023. 

Expectations: Teams will need to build the challenge set, and their robots.  In addition, teams will need to test and code their robots to complete the challenge.  All team members will also be working on the required FLL Research Project and Cover Values Presentations. 

Competition: All teams will attend one Qualifier which we will try to book at a nearby location.  If the team advances, they would be invited to attend a Regional Match then the Nationals. 

Donation Request:  In order to cover the cost of team registration and materials, we are requesting a donation of $200 per participant.  If paying by check, please make the check payable to: Argonaut PTA.  In addition, please include your student’s name and ArgoRobotics on your check. This donation is encouraged but not required.  We will not turn anyone away if you choose not to make this donation, however, please keep in mind that without sufficient funding, we will not be able to continue this program.  Additional donations are always welcome. 

Time commitment:  In addition to our regular club meetings, we should keep in mind that team success is being able to work well together, and this requires teamwork in all aspects of the competition.  Besides designing, building, and coding the robot, each team member is required to participate in both research presentation and core value presentation. These presentations may require additional “homework” time outside of the club meeting time. As we get closer to the competition in November, additional team meetings may be required.  In addition, students cannot miss ANY of the club meetings.  Students who miss any meetings may be removed from the team. 

Parent Involvement:  It is encouraged but not required. However, we find that parent involvement serves an extremely crucial part of the success of the FLL Team.  We asked that each parent anticipate at least 20 volunteer hours.  Each team will need (2) two parent coaches, their role is to guide students through technical and non-technical challenges.   You DO NOT need to have a technical background to coach your team. In addition, mentors from Saratoga High School MSET Team will provide training for these parent coaches.  Besides team coaches, we need to have at least (2) parent chaperones during club meetings.  During the competition, we will need parents to be drivers/chaperones to accompany the teams to attend offsite competition. Parents who have been to competitions in the past had found this to be both exciting and enjoyable to see their students in action. Parent volunteers will need to be cleared as volunteers by SUSD to participate. 

Coaches: Teams will be taught and co-coached by members of the Saratoga High School Mechanical Science and Engineering Team (MSET). These mentors will assist in the Robot Game, Innovation Project, and Core Values.   

Materials: All necessary materials for the season will be provided by the school and Argonaut PTA. 

ArgoRobotics program’s goal is to provide our students with the following opportunities: 

• Hands-on learning: each team members will design, build, code and operate the robot. 
• Leadership & Teamwork training: every member will be working as a team in learning to make strategic decisions and working as a group to achieve team goals. 
• Problem Solving: FLL presents challenges that can be solved in many ways. As a team, members will learn how to think creatively and critically to solve each challenge. 

• Empowerment: this team is all about “you”.  As a team, you can decide how your robot will be built and what strategy you take in the competition. 
• FUN: ArgoRobotics is a learning environment but one where we will make it a fun experience for everyone. 

ArgoRobotics Registration: Starts on Tuesday, Sep 5 at 8am PST

Registration for the ArgoRobotics program will start on Tuesday, Sep. 5th at 8am PST and end on Sep. 6th at 5pm.  The registration link will be posted on Argonaut PTA website on Sep. 5th.  It will not be on a first come first served basis like last year.  Participants will be selected at random using a lottery system.  An email confirmation will be sent to selected participants on Thursday, Sep. 7th to invite them to attend a kick off meeting on Fri Sep.8th from 3pm - 5.30pm in the MPR. 

If you have any additional questions regarding ArgoRobotics, please email us at robotics-leads@argonautpta.org.

Here is the link to the registration form: ArgoRobotics Registration Form

Linda Lim/ Mary Ko

Co-Chairs

ArgoRobotics

Questions?  Please feel free to contact: robotics-leads@argonautpta.org 

ArgoRobotics is a program sponsored by Argonaut PTA. If you would like to see this program and other enrichment programs continue to be available to our students, please consider donating to Argonaut PTA’s JUST DO IT fund.  For more information regarding this, please visit Argonaut PTA’s website at: https://www.argonautpta.org/