District Event #1: Milford
The Iron Eagles traveled to Milford this past weekend for our first competition of the season! The event was fun and exciting, and we were all SOARING when our team got selected to be in the Third Alliance with teams 7056 F.A.S.T and 3538 RoboJackets!! We are (as of this writing) ranked #152 in Michigan!
This weekend, (March 8th & 9th) we will be traveling to Belleville for our next competition. See you soon!
Week 3
January 25, 2024
It's a work week for the Iron Eagles!
Today our main focus is driving! We have modified our old robot so it can be used for practice for our new/backup drivers.
We have also been working on the driving code. In order to make the robot work as best as it can, we have to take out a few things and IRON out the kinks.
One of our team members is also finishing up the bumpers for our robot. The bumpers help protect the robot from any impact that may occur and protect all the work we have done.
Our business team is currently working on our First IMPACT award submission as well as finalizing our T-shirt designs.
Week 2
January 18, 2024
It has been an awfully cold week here in Michigan! Due to the cold, we have had a lot of snow which in turn means no school, which means no build dates. This has put our team slightly behind on where we want to be, so today is the day we are trying to make up for it.
We started the day with a debriefing on what we have accomplished and what we want to accomplish, as well as general team information. We also started brainstorming on different ideas for a climbing mechanism for our robot.
We have started training new team members on how to drive the robot. We have put them in the hallway with some of our other drivers to learn the basic mechanics of driving. Our hope is that by teaching the basics, they will be able to take over for our current drivers in the future, as well as in case of emergencies.
Our team also began mockups of our playing field. This will give us a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of our robot in a real game. This will also help us with any adjustments of the robots measurements that may need to take place.
We are confident that all these tasks and more will be completed this week and we have a positive outlook on the future build dates. Stay Tuned! Go Eagles!
2024 Season Kickoff!
On Saturday, January 6th, the Iron Eagles started our kickoff event with a viewing/pizza party for the FIRST Robotics livestream on Twitch. We got to witness live the unveiling of the new season's game: Crescendo!
This game sure looks like we'll be facing a few obstacles this season...in addition to assembling the KitBot, (the base kit that FIRST provides all teams) we want to engineer a robot that scores in multiple different ways. A lifting mechanism for our bot to hang from the chain; a potential roadblock that we're sure our team will be able to overcome.
One of our main goals for this year is earing the FIRST Impact Award. This award is bestowed to the team deemed to have the most impact in their community. Formerly known as the Woodie Flowers Award, the FIRST Impact award is the most prestigious award in the FIRST Robotics programme. To be granted this award would be such an honor for the team!
In preparation for the coming build weeks, the team will be going over a game plan of what we would like to accomplish this season. This week (Jan 8th) the team will be poring over the game manual and dissecting old robots in order to get a basis on what type of robot we will be designing.
Hoping for good things in the new season! Stay tuned! Go Iron Eagles!!!! 🦅
***Belleville Excitement***
March 22, 2023
What a great way to end the regular competition season for our team with a 3rd place alliance finals placement at Belleville this weekend with Bedford and Notre Dame Preparatory School. Also, the award for “Gracious Professionalism” at Milford a couple of weeks back shows how hard the students worked each day on building the robot, working as a team, and competing with the heart of our Eagle Nation school spirit. Although our regular build season meetings have ended, we will be watching the rankings for the next couple of weeks as FIRST teams in Michigan continue competing to try to get a position at the State Finals. Each Michigan team competes twice each season for ranking points to try to get to the top to go to the finals; and, there are many teams who are still pending their second event. As of now, we are ranked 113 out of 636 Michigan teams. Last year 163 teams competed in Saginaw for the Michigan finals.
Go Eagles!
March 09, 2023
What a weekend in Milford at the GM Proving Grounds. Iron Eagles won the Gracious Professionalism award!
Dr. Woodie Flowers, (1943 - 2019) EAB Chair Emeritus & Distinguished Advisor, coined the term "Gracious Professionalism®."
Gracious Professionalism is part of the ethos of FIRST. It's a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community.
With Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions. Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy but treat one another with respect and kindness in the process. They avoid treating anyone like losers. No chest thumping tough talk, but no sticky-sweet platitudes either. Knowledge, competition, and empathy are comfortably blended.
In the long run, Gracious Professionalism is part of pursuing a meaningful life. One can add to society and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing one has acted with integrity and sensitivity.
Source: https://www.firstinspires.org/about/vision-and-mission
3 Weeks Left to Go!
February 11, 2023
The team is back for our Saturday build with just 3 weeks left to go! Early this morning we completed additional tests of the "charging station" using a carpet material (just as it would be at the competition). We are still using last year's robot for this test to work out any bugs and get practice before using this year's build. Speaking of this year's robot...all wiring is being finished with the last pieces of the arm being constructed. For this week coming up, our goal is to finalize our bumpers and be ready to spend the last 2 weeks driving and practicing our skills in placing the cones on the posts and cubes on the shelf.
Field Elements
February 06, 2023
Another practice in the books! We had a bit of a setback with the gear shaft issue from AndyMark, but our team is working through this challenge. We tested our charging station today and learned a lot about what we are going to need to do in order to balance. We finished with our buttons over the weekend and are pressing toward the goal of picking up the cones and cubes. We are hoping to have everything mounted and ready to go soon.
New Drivers
January 30, 2023
Our team is in the process of training new drivers for the competition. Students spent time prepping the previous year's robots for practice. Everyone is starting to get a feel for the various positions they will be performing under in March!
FIRST Core Values
January 23, 2023
It has been an eventful robotics season so far. We have spent time organizing the robotics room to ensure operations and safety compliance. Also, we are learning how to drive robots as well as gaining knowledge about FIRST’s Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition.
Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
Impact: We apply what we learn to improve our world.
Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!
Source: https://www.firstinspires.org/about/vision-and-mission
This season we have also received many generous donations from sponsors and parents. Our excitement continues with each meeting. Thanks to everyone who has been involved…Go Eagles!
Community Service
January 14, 2023
Saturdays are a big day for the team. As the engineering, prototyping, and construction are being worked on, the rest of the team spent time cleaning the school grounds. The team wanted to give back to the school for providing an area to build in, rooms to gather in, and resources to work with. Although the cold, Michigan winds may bring back some papers and debris, today the grounds are gleaming.
We appreciate our school and hope everyone does their part in helping pick up litter and put trash in its place!
Thank You!
January 12, 2023
Today we would like to take a minute and thank the wonderful Mrs. Campbell. She has been a tremendous support to our robotics team. She has bought food such as pizza, sandwiches, and pop for the team. She also comes to our various events and shows her support for our Iron Eagles. We are extremely grateful for all of her continued support. Today's pizza was the perfect amount for everyone at our build!
Build Practices
January 11, 2023
Builders continue prototyping for the 2023 Charged Up! season. Members spent a bit of time updating controls and working on ideas on how to pick up game pieces. Additionally, social media channels are starting to populate content and students are working toward updating feeds at least once a week.
Way to go with the safety glasses everyone...Safety FIRST!
Go Eagles!
2023 FIRST Robotics Season - Mason Senior High School - Iron Eagles #8519
January 7, 2023
Today marks Mason Senior High School's kick-off for the 2023 robotics season with FIRST. The team gathered to watch the event on Twitch TV! After kick-off the team started brainstorming ideas for the season and making preparations for the robot build. The social media team worked on their first posts. Please consider following us using the icons above.
Emma Frantz, a 9th grader at Mason Senior High School said that she was "excited and curious to see how things are going to play out." Clara Whalen mentioned that, "the challenge seems a little difficult, but feels that the team is ready to perform!"
Members were tasked with determining what parts of the challenge the team wanted to focus on as the build progresses to competition:
3/2/2023 - 3/4/2023
Milford High School
2380 S. Milford Road
Milford, MI 48357
3/16/2023 - 3/18/2023
Belleville High School
501 W Columbia Ave
Belleville, MI 48111
