C.O.R.E. 2062 would like to extend a huge thank you to the student and adult volunteers from teams 1714 and 706 who were able to help out at our FLL tournament on Sunday Nov. 10th. It was a fantastic success, and we received nothing but good feedback from teams and parents! This is a very important event as it can serve to inspire many young children to pursue their ambitions concerning engineering and robotics while having a blast, and our volunteers helped to make that a reality. We had around 50 volunteers help run a tournament where 420 people attended, and we would not have been able to manage the tournament without the help of of these teams. Again, thank you for your time and enthusiasm!

Sincerely,
Team C.O.R.E. 2062

On September 12th  possible rookie members and veteran members met at C.O.R.E.’s freshman orientation night. The first order of business was showing the rookies how the team works. Afterwards, they took a tour of the 6 general sub teams ( chairman’s, programming, non- robot programming, mechanical -fabrication, mechanical -design, Electrical/Controls) in order to choose which to join. At the end of the night C.O.R.E. members jumped into the pre-season agenda, Vex league. This started with a description of the VEX game and a semi- lively strategic discussion.

It all went according to plan… except for the low attendance rate. C.O.R.E. would like anyone interested in the team to know that they are welcome to join late.

C.O.R.E. 2062 had the great opportunity to tour and a day of collaborated with our long-time sponsor: Zeman Tool. Our team went to their facility and went through a full tour of the company, from their manufacturing area to their engineering labs. During our tour of the manufacturing area, we were shown the individual machines and what their function was. C.O.R.E. team members fielded some great questions, and were really engaged during the tour. Perhaps the best idea that we took away from the tour was that Zeman Tool was using the same techniques to manufacture parts that C.O.R.E. was using on the robot everyday! Another highlight from the day was that we got to show the employees of Zeman Tool our robot. It was a great sight to see when the Zeman employees driving the robot and having fun! Overall it was a day of collaboration and learning, C.O.R.E. 2062 had a great opportunity for a day well spent.

Two weeks ago C.O.R.E. was in St. Louis, competing at the Championship level. Although it is always an honer to compete alongside teams from across the globe, it was a little humbling. All in all, we were the 65 ranked team in our division of a hundred. This gives us something to work for. As Dale Carnegie once said “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success”. On a different note, the St. Louis experience was quite enjoyable. We thank the parents, mentors, and sponsors who make trips like this possible. Lastly, congratulations to all of the teams that made it to Einstein, the final field of play, as well as everyone that competed.

As part of Rockwell Automation’s engineering week Rockwell Automation had a day for the organizations that they sponsor as well as for their employees to show of their patents. On Feburary 20 C.O.R.E. attended and had the opportunity to present about FIRST to Rockwell’s employees and employee families. Team members showed off our robot from Rebound Rumble, last year’s game, and even explained it in detail to some technically enthusiastic employees. With there being a FLL and a FTC team in attendance all of FIRST was represented. The dinner at the event was great and there were even some activities for kids. It was fun to attend.

By way of invitation from MSOE, C.O.R.E. swooped into the How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular! After a pizza dinner and a technology presentation by MSOE, 34 lucky mentors, parents, and students went to go see an anamatronic version of DreamWorks’ popular animated film. Thirteen different dragons soared across the stage in this family-friendly show. Some of these marvels had a wingspan of 46 feet! All in all, this was a very fun experience for the team, and we would be happy to go see it again! Thanks to MSOE for inviting us!

C.O.R.E. had a great time fundraising at Marquette High School.  A select group of students helped managed the concessions for two FLL tournaments hosted by the Hilltoppers, team 1732. This was of great benefit for the team and helped the Hilltoppers by freeing up their volunteers for the rest of the tournament.  All in all, this was a great two days for C.O.R.E.!

On November 12, C.O.R.E.  held a FIRST LEGO League tournament at Waukesha West! Over 35 teams showed up to compete. There were many amazing projects and creations for the judges to revel in and comment on. The highest score of these creations got over 400 points!  Even the non-robotics related parts were great! We ran a very successful concessions stand, and had a DJ rocking the tournament all the time! Overall, much fun was had by all, and we would love to do this again!

On Saturday November 3rd, 2012, C.O.R.E. volunteered and competed in the high school VEX tournament.  There was a lot of excitement in the elimination rounds, as team number 1200B made a huge comeback in the very end to overcome a point deficit.   Rookie members of  C.O.R.E. competed at the tournament also.  Although the C.O.R.E. VEX team was not on a winning alliance, all participants gave a great effort with many making it into the quarterfinals and semifinals.  One of our teams (2062E) made it as far as the final rounds. In the end, all competitors had a great time. Congratulations to Appleton 1200B for qualifying for World Competition! Keeping up with C.O.R.E. values, we made sure that everyone in the pit area were wearing safety glasses, both enforcing safety and creating good safety habits for the future.  Staffing went so smoothly that we are thinking of hosting another VEX tournament next year!

On August 30th 2012, C.O.R.E. 2062 participated in the Rockwell Automation Employee Appreciation Day.  In this event, we went to the Rockwell Automation Headquarters to demonstrate our robot and to show one of our sponsors what we’ve been up to. Six members went along who drove  the robot, talked to Rockwell employees, and learned more about different engineering careers. This was a fun, enlightening experience for C.O.R.E. members.  We would be happy to do it again!