We may be done with build season and our competitions, but we aren't stopping here. This summer our team has a lot planned from training sessions for new and veteran members in anything that they want to learn more about, continuing our outreach events all over the state, helping start FLL teams and FTC teams, helping out our community and others through charity events, and most of all having fun in the company of friends. We have a lot planned and hope to get many students interested in STEM and FIRST. We can't wait to continue spreading FIRST and what it means to us across North Carolina.
Summer here we come!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
How FIRST has impacted my life!
When I first joined the Flying Platypi I had no idea of what I was in for. In the first few weeks I was amazed by what we were expected to do. We had to raise money for the team, write an essay for the Chairman's award, create individual parts for the robot, and write code for the robot, among many other things. But after we finished the robot within the timeframe of build season and completed all the other marketing tasks we were finally ready to go to the regionals. The regionals we went to were fantastic experiences. It is amazing to see so many people in one place that have all been given the same tasks to solve and with the same interest in science and technology. It creates a sense of community between all the teams even though some may have not even encountered each other.
Last year we went to nationals. It was truly a sight to see FIRST almost take over St. Louis. At times like lunch, wherever you looked you could see FIRST teams walking around. Going to the competitions and just being part of FIRST is truly an original experience and I am glad that FIRST has shown me that there are so many people in my generation that are interested in science and technology.
--Evan
Last year we went to nationals. It was truly a sight to see FIRST almost take over St. Louis. At times like lunch, wherever you looked you could see FIRST teams walking around. Going to the competitions and just being part of FIRST is truly an original experience and I am glad that FIRST has shown me that there are so many people in my generation that are interested in science and technology.
--Evan
Monday, April 9, 2012
Last Day of the North Carolina regional!
Wow! It has been a long, exciting day! Overall the Flying Platypi is proud of all the work that each and everyone one of our students has done this year.
The second and final day of the NC regional was just as hectic and fun as the first. Everyone woke up in the morning ready to start the day. The drive team and robot did very well in every match we were in and became better as the matches, on both days of the regional, progressed. And even though we were not chosen to progress on into the finals; we were all very proud of the drive team, the scouts, and everyone else on the team whom came together and made it possible for us to win the Entrepreneurship award and the regional Website award.
We are very proud of Annalise Wenig for winning the regional Dean's List award. This is a huge honor for her and we are very excited to support her as her submission will go on to the National level to see if she wins there. We are all very proud of her and all that she has done for the team and FIRST.
This summer will be filled with learning, spreading FIRST and our team, and having fun as a team. We will have summer classes to prepare newcomers and current members in new areas to them. This is the perfect opportunity for students: new and old to learn something they think they have an interest in. We will be continuing our outreach program and will be trying to reach as many people as we can. The team as a whole will also be spending time together whether that is going to see a movie, having a movie night at someone's house, or having a summer get together with students, mentors, and families in a park. We may be focused on our mission but we will have fun along the way.
Even though our Build Season and Competition season is ending; we are still going to be active. This is a year round team and our mission for the summer is to do more, go more places, and let everyone who will listen know about what we do and the impact it has on our lives.
Summer and Off-season here we come!
The second and final day of the NC regional was just as hectic and fun as the first. Everyone woke up in the morning ready to start the day. The drive team and robot did very well in every match we were in and became better as the matches, on both days of the regional, progressed. And even though we were not chosen to progress on into the finals; we were all very proud of the drive team, the scouts, and everyone else on the team whom came together and made it possible for us to win the Entrepreneurship award and the regional Website award.
We are very proud of Annalise Wenig for winning the regional Dean's List award. This is a huge honor for her and we are very excited to support her as her submission will go on to the National level to see if she wins there. We are all very proud of her and all that she has done for the team and FIRST.
This summer will be filled with learning, spreading FIRST and our team, and having fun as a team. We will have summer classes to prepare newcomers and current members in new areas to them. This is the perfect opportunity for students: new and old to learn something they think they have an interest in. We will be continuing our outreach program and will be trying to reach as many people as we can. The team as a whole will also be spending time together whether that is going to see a movie, having a movie night at someone's house, or having a summer get together with students, mentors, and families in a park. We may be focused on our mission but we will have fun along the way.
Even though our Build Season and Competition season is ending; we are still going to be active. This is a year round team and our mission for the summer is to do more, go more places, and let everyone who will listen know about what we do and the impact it has on our lives.
Summer and Off-season here we come!
Friday, April 6, 2012
First Day of the North Carolina regional!!!
Everyone is having so much fun at the regional. We have so many students, mentors, parents, siblings, and sponsors here supporting us. The Flying Platypi would like to thank everyone who has helped us get this far including our wonderful mentors, sponsors, and parents. You help us all do what we are so passionate about.
Well today was the first day of the North Carolina regional in Raleigh, North Carolina and we all had a ton of fun but are thoroughly exhausted. We were really happy to have won the regional Website Award and the Entrepreneurship Award (Business Plan). It was really exciting for everyone on the team to have won these awards and again we owe it all to our sponsors, mentors, and parents whom encourage, support, and help us achieve all that we can.
Now we are all going to get some very needed rest; for tomorrow is going to be a very long, exciting day. We can't wait!
Day two here we come!
Well today was the first day of the North Carolina regional in Raleigh, North Carolina and we all had a ton of fun but are thoroughly exhausted. We were really happy to have won the regional Website Award and the Entrepreneurship Award (Business Plan). It was really exciting for everyone on the team to have won these awards and again we owe it all to our sponsors, mentors, and parents whom encourage, support, and help us achieve all that we can.
Now we are all going to get some very needed rest; for tomorrow is going to be a very long, exciting day. We can't wait!
Day two here we come!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
How FIRST has impacted my life!
I heard about the Flying Platypi last summer when I was back home in Korea. 'Robot' was not a familiar subject for me until then, so I took interest in what the team actually does to build a robot. I was also not sure of whether I should join since I have never dealth with robots, and building a robot for the entire year would wear me out. However, when I visited the team after coming back to North Carolina, I was surprised that the team builds the robot in one season and prepares for building and the competition in the off-season period. I was also amazed that the team not only builds the robot but also does outreach events, volunteers, and does other activities not involving the actual building of the robot. It gave me a strong impression of how the team members expressed their comments about the team that FIRST has played a huge role in their lives. I have never had such a strong passion for something I did in the past, so their enthusiasm made me want to join the team since I wanted to share their fervor and excitement, and experience different fields involving science and technology. So far, I really enjoy being part of the team and being involved with the team activities. The Peachtree (Georgia) competition our team went to was my first competition and I had so much fun in every single part of it: driving down, the actual competition, meeting new people and many others. Currently, being involved in this team as a FIRST student is helping me to meet new people out of school, learn different areas of STEM and grow personal enthusiasm towards the team and all the activities. I am very excited about how Team 2655 will shape my high school career, communication abilities and interest in different fields of STEM.
-SeoYoung
-SeoYoung
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Preparing for the North Carolina Regional
This week, the week after we returned from the Peachtree regional in Georgia, the team has been preparing for our next regional, the North Carolina regional. We only had certain things that needed to be worked on and could be done without the actual robot (which was bag and tagged again at the end of the Peachtree regional).
Mechanical worked on a new design for the arm that would be able to lower the bridge, so that we could not only get balls that are on the bridge at the beginning of the match onto our side of the field but also so we can balance on the bridge in the last 30 seconds of each match.
Programming worked on working out kinks in the programming code which were inhibiting the robots ability to function at the highest of its ability. They have been working out problems with the code since we returned from Georgia.
Marketing has been working since the minute we returned; picking up with all the stuff that needed to be done between the two regionals. Marketing has been working on a different way to scout at the North Carolina regional. They also have been working on various other things that continue all year round whether it is during build season or not, like robot demonstrations.
There were some problems that became apparent at our first regional which we have spent this week and will be spending a few days next week, before we go to the North Carolina regional, working on. We are also continuing our community demonstrations.
Here we come, North Carolina regional!
Mechanical worked on a new design for the arm that would be able to lower the bridge, so that we could not only get balls that are on the bridge at the beginning of the match onto our side of the field but also so we can balance on the bridge in the last 30 seconds of each match.
Programming worked on working out kinks in the programming code which were inhibiting the robots ability to function at the highest of its ability. They have been working out problems with the code since we returned from Georgia.
Marketing has been working since the minute we returned; picking up with all the stuff that needed to be done between the two regionals. Marketing has been working on a different way to scout at the North Carolina regional. They also have been working on various other things that continue all year round whether it is during build season or not, like robot demonstrations.
There were some problems that became apparent at our first regional which we have spent this week and will be spending a few days next week, before we go to the North Carolina regional, working on. We are also continuing our community demonstrations.
Here we come, North Carolina regional!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Our First Regional
Our second day at the Peachtree regional was just as fun and exciting as the first.
Our drive team worked just as hard as they did on the first day, and we saw improvement as the day went on. It was really exciting to see an all rookie drive team learn the ropes and adjust to the atmosphere of being on drive team so quickly.
The people who had scouted on Thursday and Friday complied all of the data they had collected and used it to figure out who we would want to choose to be on our alliance if we were in the top eight. When it came time for the alliance selections, our team wasn't chosen to move on but that was okay because we could cheer on the other teams who did get picked.
At the end of the day the awards were handed out, and we won the Gracious Professionalism award which we were overjoyed to win. And even though we didn't win the Chairman's award, we stood up and cheered for the team who did win, Kell Robotics.
At the end of the day, we all left to return home after a tiring, eventful weekend of fun filled robotics.
Our drive team worked just as hard as they did on the first day, and we saw improvement as the day went on. It was really exciting to see an all rookie drive team learn the ropes and adjust to the atmosphere of being on drive team so quickly.
The people who had scouted on Thursday and Friday complied all of the data they had collected and used it to figure out who we would want to choose to be on our alliance if we were in the top eight. When it came time for the alliance selections, our team wasn't chosen to move on but that was okay because we could cheer on the other teams who did get picked.
At the end of the day the awards were handed out, and we won the Gracious Professionalism award which we were overjoyed to win. And even though we didn't win the Chairman's award, we stood up and cheered for the team who did win, Kell Robotics.
At the end of the day, we all left to return home after a tiring, eventful weekend of fun filled robotics.
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