Welcome to the official web site of the Pascack Pi-oneers, an extracurricular high school team bringing together students from both schools in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District in New Jersey. The Pi-oneers, Team 1676, formed in the fall of 2004 and went on to be Rookie All-stars at the 2005 Trenton Regional. In 2006, we were honored at Trenton with a Judges' Award for "Building Traditions" and were part of the Palmetto Regional Finalist Alliance. In 2007, we recieved the Motorola Quality Award at both the New Jersey and Buckeye Regionals. In addition, we took home the Johnson and Johnson Sportsmanship Award as well as the Website Award at the New Jersey Regional.
Founded in the fall of 2004, The Pascack Pi-oneers are a robotics team, made up of both high schools in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District- Pascack Hills H.S. and Pascack Valley H.S. Our founding sponsor was Mercedes-Benz, USA. Their generosity allowed the team to have both the financial and mentor resources to form a solid foundation for long-term success. Over the years, we have added many more charitable sponsors. We have also branched out into local towns, through community service and public fundraising opportunities. The Pi-oneer's are also getting involved in the other branches of FIRST for the second season by competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge and by mentoring three Lego League teams from our sending communities. Our goal is to have a Lego League team in each middle school in our sending district: only one left! Learn more about our team.
Details for NJIT Kickoff on Saturday
Teammates,
Here are the details for the trip to NJIT this Saturday 1/3/2009. Those who provided permission slips by the deadline can join us on the trip.
1. The bus will leave from Pascack Hills at 7:30 am. Be at Hills before that time. 2. Everyone must wear the team uniform of a black Pi-oneers shirt and tan pants 3. THERE IS NO FOOD AVAILABLE AT NJIT ON THIS DAY, because the school is still on break. Bring your own food. 4. We will be providing help at the kickoff. At a minimum, we will be distributing kits of parts and giving three of the workshops. We will also be available to assist in other ways that the organizers may request. Be prepared to do what we ask of you. 5. Additional information, including an agenda for the day, can be found at http://nycnjfirst.org/newark_kickoff.html
Our bus will be returning to Hills at approximately 4:00 pm. At that time, we will begin the "understanding the game" portion of our build season. Beginning in room 104, we will watch the game animation, discuss our interpretations, and play a mockup version of the game. This session will probably end between 6:00 and 7:00 pm. Those who did not make it to NJIT are welcome to join us at Hills starting at 4:00.
Next full team meeting: 3:45 on Monday January 5 in Hills room 104
ASSIGNMENT: Everyone should read the important parts of the competition manual after they are released on Saturday, and before our team meeting on Monday after school. This will assure that we will be productive at that meeting. At this meeting, we will brainstorm what we want our robot to be able to do. The sections of the competition manual can be found on the FIRST website at http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc/content.aspx?id=452 , and sections 6-8 are the most critical to our brainstorming.
Happy New Year to all and enjoy the remainder of your break.
For those of you going to the NJIT FIRST Kickoff on Saturday, January 3rd please note that (as of the information I currently have) there will be NO FOOD served at NJIT at the kickoff. You are responsible to feed yourself before we go, and while we are there, i.e. bring some sort of a lunch. Please also remember that the bus will leave PROMPTLY at 7:30 in the AM, if you are late we will leave without you.
For those of you not going to kickoff but meeting with us at PHHS when we return, we will be returning at or around 4 PM and will meet in room 104.
Our last two PiTech meetings are this week: Tuesday, December 16 from 3:30 to 5:30: Chassis, Website, CAD, Pneumatics Wednesday, December 17 from 6:30 to 8:30: Manipulator, Electrical, Programming, Animation, Non-Tech
I will hold a short meeting during each of the sessions to inform everyone of what to expect during the first week in January.
The First Robotics Competition 2009 Kickoff is on Saturday, January 3. Our team is going to attend the event at the New Jersey Institute of Technology on that day. Many of you have already told Lizzie or Levy of your interest, but we still have more room on the bus. If you are interested in going, let Lizzie or Levy know. Additionally, any student who is planning on going must bring a filled-out permission slip to this week's meetings or get it to Mr. Giraud or me before the last day of school on December 23. Everybody (adults included) must fill out the FIRST consent form and get it to me or Mr. Giraud, also before the last day of school on December 23. Instructions for the consent form: at the top of the page, check "Kickoff," the event is "NJIT" and the rest is self-explanatory. Both of these forms are attached on the permission slips page. Don't forget - print them and get them signed NOW.
If you have time to waste, check out the game clues and muse about what the game will be this year.
On January 3, we will be attending the kickoff meeting at NJIT in Newark. This is an exciting event where we learn what this season's game will be. We will leave at about 7:30 and return at about 4:00. When we return, we will have a meeting where we all try to understand the game as well as we can. I realize that this is during the winter break, so I understand if some of you may still be on vacation and can't make it. I would like to gage how many are interested in going. We cannot take everyone on the team: they limit the number of attendees. If you are interested in going to NJIT on January 3, please let Lizzie or Rob know. They will be keeping the lists of those who is interested in going. Tell them in person or by email by December 10.
There are two more weeks remaining for PiTech. Next week, every team will be meeting on Tuesday evening December 9 beginning at 6:30. The chassis team will begin Tuesday at 3:30, as usual. We are changing the schedule for next week because we want all of the sessions to coincide with the parents' open house. After a parents meeting from 6:30 to 7:15 or so, your parents will walk through the PiTech training sessions to see what you have been learning over the past several weeks.
The following week will be the final week of PiTech. We will be back on the regular schedule: 3:30 to 5:30 on Tuesday December 16 and 6:30 to 8:30 on Wednesday December 17. During those two sessions, I will speak briefly to all Pioneers about what to expect for the first week of January.
During Thanksgiving week, the evening PiTech session (Manipulator, Electrical, Animation, Programming, Web, Non-Technical) will be held on Monday Evening November 24 from 6:30 to 8:30, rather than Wednesday the night before Thanksgiving. The Tuesday afternoon session (Chasssis, CAD, Pneumatics) will be held at its usual time: 3:30 to 5:30 on Tuesday.
Due to a scheduling conflict, the nighttime session of PiTech next week will be on Thursday, not Wednesday. This is for next week only. Next week's schedule is now:
Monday, November 10: Sponsor night begins at 7:00, Pi-oneers arrive in uniform by 6:00.
Tuesday, November 11: PiTech for Chassis, CAD, and Pneumatics at Hills room 104 from 3:30 to 5:30.
Thursday, November 13: PiTech for Electrical, Programming, Animation, Web, Non-Technical, and Manipulator from 6:30 to 8:30.
Sponsor night is this coming Monday, November 10 in the Pascack Hills cafeteria. All team members are expected to attend IN UNIFORM. That means black Pi-oneers shirt, khaki (light to medium beige) pants, and brown or black SHOES or BOOTS (not sneakers). If you don't have a black Pi-oneers shirt, wear your Pandamonium shirt with khaki pants and shoes. We will have some extra Pi-oneers shirts and will try to outfit everyone. No hats.
Arrive by 6:00 pm. Our guests will begin appearing before 7:00.
Our pre-season training program, which we call PiTech Academy, begins this week. There are eight different groups that will be working during the academy. These groups are scheduled to meet as follows:
Session A (3:30-5:30, Usually Tuesday Afternoons): Chassis, CAD, Pneumatics Dates: November 4, 11, 18, 25, December 2, 9
Session B (6:30-8:30, Usually Wednesday Evenings): Electrical, Manipulator, Programming, Web, Animation, Non-Tech Dates: November 4 (Tuesday), 12, 19, 24 (Monday), December 3, 10.
Find your name in the attached PiTech Assignments document to find out which sessions you need to attend.
All students must BRING LAPTOPS to all PiTech sessions.
If you have been assigned to "mechanical," please choose to attend either the chassis sessions (the base of the robot, which includes motors, wheels, transmissions, etc) or the manipulator sessions (the part of the robot that plays the game - ball claw, launcher, gripper, etc).
We'll put the assignments document and session dates on the team website for ready reference during the next two months.
Our departure time from Pascack Hills is 6:00 am on Saturday November 1. Please wear your team T-shirt and remember to bring your safety glasses. Rookies: we have a few extra T-shirts for you to wear. We'll give them out before we leave.
Any students who did not turn in a permission slip may bring it with them on Saturday morning.
I have decided that we are NOT GOING to Ramp Riot on November 8. Due to scheduling constraints, we would have to leave before the playoffs started. I did not feel that this little involvement in the tournament warranted all of the drive time. Additionally, I though it would not be gracious for us to take up a spot without planning on using it to the fullest while there are teams on the waiting list.
If you are planning on going to Brunswick Eruption on November 1, You must submit your permission slip to me or Mr. Giraud. So far I have received a total of one. Download the form from our team website.
WE STILL NEED veteran pioneers to contribute washed team T-shirts for our rookies to wear to Brunswick, Sponsor night, and Kickoff. Please give them to me or Mr. Giraud. So far I have received two.
![Pascack Pi-oneers [Team 1676]](images/header5.gif "Pascack Pi-oneers [Team 1676]")
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