RSM Robotics Team
---please email me at [email protected] for questions or comments---
2024-2025: RSM Robotics Team
Sponsor/Coach: Mr. Elliott/STEM Teacher
Assistant Coach: Mr. Morris/8th Grade Science Teacher
This year we will not be participating in the Best Robotics event. Instead, we are planning on participating in one or more of the regional Vex IQ robotics competitions. Ideally, we will participate in one event this Fall and do another Vex IQ event in the Spring. We are also planning on again participating in the local RCS Kilobot (battlebots) league in the spring.
Team Try-Outs (Vex IQ/Kilobots): Four-Step Process
We, Mr. Morris and I, will examine student responses, behavior, performance, aptitude, and attitude during each part of this four-step process to select our RSM Robotics Team members. We are looking for about 20 total members and would prefer to have a balanced mix of 6th graders, 7th graders, and 8th graders.
Step One:
Students that are interested in trying out for our robotics team need to email Mr. Elliott from their school email account. In this email, students should include a brief message telling me what grade they are in. They also need to tell me that they want to try-out for our team.
Due Date: Communicate with Mr. Elliott in person or by email about when this is due for the Spring Season.
Note: No student will be allowed to start try-outs for the Spring 2025 season after FRI Feb 14, 2025 at 3PM.
Step Two:
I will reply to each student's email message, and I will give them two questions to answer. Students need to carefully and thoroughly answer both of these questions and send their responses to Mr. Elliott via email.
Due Date: Communicate with Mr. Elliott in person or by email about when this is due for the Spring Season.
Note: No student will be allowed to start try-outs for the Spring 2025 season after FRI Feb 14, 2025 at 3PM.
Step Three:
Next, in order to participate in the hands-on portion of these try-outs (step four), each student will need to get a permission form signed by a parent or guardian and submit it to me, Mr. Elliott. I will email a copy of this form to each student. Students can also get a paper copy from the front office. Additionally, parents can download this form off this webpage (click on the link below to download this form).
Due Date: Communicate with Mr. Elliott in person or by email about when this is due for the Spring Season.
Note: No student will be allowed to start try-outs for the Spring 2025 season after FRI Feb 14, 2025 at 3PM.
Step Four:
After I receive each student's signed permission form, I will email each student to inform them which days they will be coming to my classroom during 1st period to do the hands-on part of the try-out process. This will involve them working with my other team members. I will be observing student's individual skills and how well they work with others.
Reminder: Students will not be allowed to participate in this hands-on tryout until they turn in the signed permission form to Mr. Elliott. Again, communicate with Mr. Elliott in person or by email about when this is due for the Spring Season.
Note: No student will be allowed to start try-outs for the Spring 2025 season after FRI Feb 14, 2025 at 3PM.
When do we meet:
Most of the time, team members will meet in Mr. Elliott's STEM classroom (room 502B) during 1st period/R&E time. However, occasionally we may need to meet after school and/or on Saturdays.
Note: All competition events are on Saturdays.
Spring 2025-Team Fee: The cost for each individual student to participate with our Kilobots robotics team is $75. This money will mainly be used to purchase robot parts, tools, and related sources and to pay for the Kilobots registration fees which is $100 per robot.
Our History:
---Best Robotics (4 Years)
Mission: During a 6-week season, a team of RSM students were tasked to design, build, and program a robot to accomplish specific tasks using provided materials. Our team competed against other regional schools on game day at Lipscomb University.
Year 01: 2020-2021 (Fall)
---participated but did not compete (7th team to register out of only 6 teams allowed due to Covid)
Year 02: 2021-2022 (Fall)
---competed, 10th place out of 11 teams, honored as best rookie team
Year 03: 2022-2023 (Fall)
---competed, 8th place out of 9 teams, won a wild-card round and therefore also competed in a championship round
Year 04: 2023-2024 (Fall)
---competed, 8th place out of 10 teams (earned 340 points in nine 3-min rounds (8 seeding rounds and 1 wild-card round)
---Kilobots (Battlebots) (2 Years)
Mission: A team of RSM students are tasked to design a small robot that has a mass no greater than one kilogram. Team members design their robots using a CAD program (Tinkercad), and then they 3D print it. All external parts of these robots are 3D printed, and motors and controllers are installed inside the 3D printed frames. Then, on game day at Stewarts Creek Middle School (SCM), pairs of these Kilobots battle each other in a small arena via remote control.
Year 01: 2022-2023 (Spring)
---participated but did not compete (event was cancelled). Our school's team designed and 3D-printed a functional "battlebot." Only three schools managed to accomplish this (SCM, BMS, and us). As the junior team out of these three, the other two schools gave us an honorary award of 1st place.
Year 02: 2023-2024 (Spring)
---competed: Our school fielded three Kilobots on game day, more than any other school. We battled with robots from two other schools (SCM and BMS) and earned 4th and 5th place.
---Vex IQ (1 Year)
Mission: 4-person teams of RSM students are tasked to assemble and operate a Vex IQ robot in a Vex game that is different each year.
Year 01: 2024-2025 (Fall)
---participated in a Vex IQ scrimmage event hosted at nearby Thurman-Francis Academy. Our RSM team fielded three Vex IQ robots and competed in multiple rounds.