A Panoramic View of the NE FIRST Event at RMHS Field House

Last weekend, the Reading “Robockets” team joined 39 other teams from all over New England to compete in the NE FIRST North Shore District Robotics Event, which was held at our own RMHS Field House.  This year’s game is called RECYCLE RUSH, which is a recycling-themed game played by two Alliances of three Robots each. Robots score points by stacking Totes on Scoring Platforms, capping those stacks with Recycling Containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing Litter. In keeping with the recycling theme of the game, all game pieces used are reusable or recyclable by teams in their home locations or by FIRST® at the end of the season. Each Alliance competes on their respective 26 ft. by 27 ft. side of the playing field. Each RECYCLE RUSH Match begins with a 15-second Autonomous Period in which Robots operate independently of their drivers. During this period, Robots attempt to earn points by moving themselves, their Yellow Totes, and their Recycling Containers into the area between the white scoring platforms, called the Auto Zone. During the remaining two minutes and 15 seconds of the match, called the Teleop Period, Robots are controlled remotely by student drivers located behind the walls at the ends of the field. Teams on an Alliance work together to place as many Totes on their white Scoring Platforms as possible.

During the weekend, Reading finished 11^th in the qualifying round out of 40 teams.  They then became eligible to compete in the competition round of 8 alliances where they finished as the third best alliance in the entire competition.  In addition, Reading received one of the prestigious Judge’s awards, the Entrepreneurship award for their outstanding business plan, implementing that business plan, and reaching out to the greater community.  Congratulations to the Robockets who now will compete in Smithsfield, Rhode Island on March 20-21^st.  If they rank high enough, they will be invited to compete in the district tournament at WPI in April.

The Robockets Team Pit Area at the Event

Some additional thoughts about last weekend’s event

Over the last several years, our school district has focused on our mission of Instilling a joy of learning and inspiring the innovative leaders of tomorrow.  The NE FIRST program and this competition clearly supports that mission.  FIRST goes far beyond what those other STEM opportunities provide because for six weeks, students are given a challenge that goes well beyond building a robot to perform a task.  Students have to be entrepreneurs and raise funds, they have to use technology and engineering skills to develop a design and plan, they have to market and brand their team to the community and to sponsors, they have to have people willing to lead, and those that are willing to follow.  They have to test ideas, fail at those ideas, and retest them with new solutions. Team members have to work together because if they do not, they will not be able to fulfill your challenge.  And, they had to face unexpected obstacles, like multiple snow storms.  All of this had to be done in 6 weeks’ time, while at the same time they need to continue to participate in school, a job, their family, and other responsibilities.  It is evident that this process prepares students for life with skills that will give them the ability to face many more difficult challenges.

The NE FIRST Teams all seemed to have three common themes.  First, there was this consistent buzz of positive energy and enthusiasm.  Many participants said during the event that this program has changed their life because it is exciting, challenging, builds lasting friendships and is hard work.  One student even quoted saying, that “this is the hardest fun that he has ever had, but he would never stop doing it”.  It is this contagious enthusiasm that was heard consistently all weekend.

Another theme that was observed was the different types of students that participated.  One would think that since this was a robotics event, most students would want to be engineers.  This was clearly not the case as teams had not only future engineers, but future artists, entrepreneurs, storytellers, scientists, teachers, architects, and computer software designers.  What is evident is that this program is for every student, regardless of their background, skills, or talents.  Each member of the team finds his or her own role and contributes in a very powerful way.

The final theme that emerged is that this process is more than building a robot to complete a task.  Participating in FIRST teaches skills that a student will need well beyond this competition.  Skills like communication, time management, innovation, problem solving, creativity, and most importantly, teamwork.  These are the skills that will prepare students for life, regardless of what field they pursue.

The students that were at the event last weekend could potentially be the future Leonardo DaVinci, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Ellen Ochoa, and other skilled entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers of their generation.  They are part of the generation that will be solving the environmental, fiscal, and technological problems that face our communities, our country, and our world.  It is clear that with events like this, our region is in good hands and their participation in this FIRST program prepares them to work as a team and tackle those challenges.

The overall running of the event was a complete success and like any event of this magnitude it took a Team to make the event run smoothly.  Special thanks goes to NE FIRST,  Co-Chairs Sanat Patel and Kyle Henry, our Reading Robockets Team and their parents, our Facilities Department and our technology departments for the time and effort in planning the logistics of this past weekend.

The Robockets

A Snow Bank Outside of Coolidge Middle School

This winter has been unprecedented in a lot of ways, most notably, the amount of snow days that we have had to take as a school district.  Currently, we have taken six snow days, which brings us to June 25 as the last day of school.  Ironically, we have ended the last two years on June 25th so let’s hope at this point that we can make it three years in a row.

Because of the excessive snow days, there has been a lot of discussion about what we can and cannot do in regards to making up the time. Our primary goal is to provide structured and meaningful learning time for our students. Massachusetts is one of a few states that has both a time on learning requirement (900 hours for elementary and 990 hours for secondary) and a school day requirement (180 days).  Recently, we received the following information from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education:

“With respect to missed school days, the current policy is online. Although the commissioner has authority to reduce the student learning time requirements in extraordinary circumstances, that has always been a last resort. Districts should be making a good faith effort to adjust school calendars for the balance of the year. If the remainder of the winter yields continued weather emergencies, ESE will reevaluate whether there is a need to grant waivers to individual districts, but the agency does not expect to issue a general, state-wide waiver.

The Department has received inquiries regarding so-called “blizzard bags,” assigned work sent home with students in advance of an expected storm. In many cases, this work appears to be very similar to normal homework assignments; there is educational value, but it does not necessarily meet the standard for structured learning time. For this approach to count toward the student learning time requirements, school districts must ensure that such work is structured learning time, is substantial, and has appropriate oversight and teacher involvement. To the degree that learning outside of the school setting may rely upon parental involvement or access to technology, districts must also account for the widely varying circumstances in students’ homes. Districts are encouraged to share their experiences as they experiment with different models so that all can learn about their effectiveness and develop examples of best practices.

Some districts have asked about lengthening the school day so that the minimum total learning time requirement (900 hours in elementary schools and 990 hours in secondary schools) can be met in fewer than 180 days. The Department has not previously approved such arrangements. However, if a district has made every effort to reschedule the lost days, including the use of April vacation and professional development days, we are willing to consider proposals for longer days to make up any remaining days. Such proposals must demonstrate a positive impact on student learning. The amount of time being added to a day must be significant, the reduction in the total number of days must be minimal, and districts will need to provide information on implementation issues including teacher contract provisions, bus schedules, parent input, and students’ ability to participate in afterschool activities.”

At this point, we are in good shape compared with several other communities who started school after Labor Day and will be ending the school year on June 25th.  If we have additional school cancellations, we will need to review some other alternatives.

Hopefully, this weather pattern will change, the air will warm up, and spring will come soon!

Good Morning,

Please see the attached information regarding an Active Parenting of Teens Online Program being sponsored by the Reading Coalition Against Substance Abuse.  At this time only 25 slots are available for this unique program.

If you have any questions, please contact Julianne DeAngelis at jdeangelis@ci.reading.ma.us.

active parenting flyer

Due to the significant snowfall accumulations that we have received over the last several days, there will be no school or extended day programs for the Reading Public Schools for Tuesday, February 10th.  Unfortunately, there is simply just too much snow for the students to come to school safely tomorrow.

Have a great day and stay safe.

No School for Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Good Evening,

The message below is from the Town of Reading.

DUE TO THE IMPENDING SNOW STORM, A SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN IS IN EFFECT UNTIL TUESDAY AT 7 AM. ALL VEHICLES MUST BE OFF THE STREET OR THEY WILL BE TOWED. PLEASE DO NOT PUT YOUR RUBBISH CURBSIDE AS MONDAY’S PICK UP HAS BEEN CANCELLED AND ALL RUBBISH COLLECTIONS WILL BE MOVED FORWARD BY ONE DAY. READING PUBLIC SCHOOLS, TOWH HALL, LIBRARY, AND THE SENIOR CENTER WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE ENTIRE DAY ON MONDAY, AND ALL TOWN NIGHT MEETINGS AND ACTIVITES HAVE BEEN CANCELLED. FOR FURTHER UPDATES AND CHANGES TO THIS ADVISORY, PLEASE VISIT WWW.READINGMA.GOV. THANK YOU.