Outreach Binder

Team 1967 – the Janksters

Spotlight Week Outreach within School

Yearly; week of CalGames

Spotlight Week at Notre Dame is a week allotted to each club for showcasing what the club does. Team 1967 uses this week to run lunchtime activities, open to the entire school, exploring various facets of the robotics team. During the week, we invite a speaker from the STEM world to give a talk to the student body at ND; previous speakers include Mark Leon and Jankster alumnae. Activities to promote the team include driving the robot, marshmallow­toothpick challenges, taking apart gadgets and motors, and even a school­wide dance ­ FRC style!

Spotlight Week does much more than increase awareness about the school’s robotics team. Team 1967 has found that students and teachers, being intrigued by the activities, are more willing to support, or become directly involved with, the team. Additionally, the spirit generated in Spotlight Week results in students coming to support the Janksters at CalGames (an offseason event) and gain more exposure to robotics.

I got to take apart a Nerf gun and managed to pull the casing off of an old sander. It was

really fascinating to see all of the inner workings for both.” –Julia Hunt, ‘18

Boot Camp Outreach within School

Since 2014 season; week before school begins

On the last week of summer vacation, Team 1967 hosts a robotics “Boot Camp” at Notre Dame. Open to all Notre Dame students, this summer camp exposes girls to various aspects of the team – such as CAD, programming, and even branding. The camp provides girls the opportunity to go downtown to the TechShop, a local sponsor, to see engineering and fabrication in action, and the students leave the camp with new skills and ideas.

The Boot Camp has been crucial for the team in terms of recruiting, engaging, and training girls. 80% of the girls who participate in the summer camp join the team, and all the girls gain skills that they can use in the future. Students report that the camp leads to new friendships, interest in STEM, competence in tool use, and more confidence.

“The Bootcamp is a great way to recruit but also to let freshmen feel at ease. It's extremely

intimidating starting high school and knowing a handful of people with the same interests as you gives you something to look forward to.” –Minh­Chau Doan, ‘17

STEAM Camp Outreach within School

Since 2014; July

Recently, Notre Dame High School has started a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) summer camp that aims to deepen students’ interests in STEAM pathways. Team 1967 has contributed by teaching a weeklong VEX robotics class and by assisting with other activities during the six weeks.

The STEAM camp has been very successful in exciting young students about STEAM careers and studies. Many girls who are interested in STEM become participated in applying to Notre Dame, joining robotics, and participating in team­run events.

Several of the students were so intrigued by the possibilities of STEAM that they decided to attend our Boot Camp as well. The two girls in this picture later attended the

Boot Camp and eventually joined the team.

Hour of Code Outreach within School

Since 2015 season; December

Hour of Code is a nation­wide event in which people try their hand at programming for an hour. Notre Dame involved the entire school in the Hour of Code starting in December of the 2014­15 school year. Among the main helping force were members of Team 1967; after being trained in an MIT program called Scratch, the Janksters went around the school, teaching the basic program to all the students and assisting with computer troubleshooting if problems arose.

After the hour was over, over 600 students had created basic programs using Scratch. Many students found they enjoyed programming and software engineering after this event, and the student body overall was more interested in computer science.

“I saw that everyone can code, and that it's not always what you think it will be. The programming was fun and entertaining, which isn't what a lot of people expect it to be.” –Camille

Miller, ‘16

Cross­Curricular Partnerships Outreach within School

Continuous; various times during the year

Team 1967 has several partnerships that exist within various school departments. These partnerships generally involve the team assisting the department or organization with an event, or vice versa. One such example is the Performing Arts department; in 2014, the Janksters built a confetti cannon for the school’s musical production of Cinderella. The team has previously partnered with ASB to have a Spirit Week game using the 2013 robot, and the Janksters assisted with basic safety for Spirit Week Build Day.

One major impact of these partnerships is the awareness generated. With each collaboration comes more enthusiasm for Team 1967 and for STEM in general. Introduction to Engineering, as well as other STEM classes, have been added to the curriculum, and the student body has become more active in Jankster­run events.

During Spirit Week 2014, Team 1967 made sure that the students at Notre Dame were building their “gym decs” safely by providing First Aid and basic safety. The Janksters

also used power tools for students who did not know how to safely use them.

ND Kids’ Carnival Outreach within Community

Yearly; April, at ND

Each year, Notre Dame hosts a Kids’ Carnival open to the neighboring community. With help from Bellarmine students, Notre Dame students run games and activities with young children who live near the school. Team 1967 helps lead activities and lets kids drive and operate the robot.

By demoing the robot, Team 1967 allows young children to build an early interest in STEM studies and to be exposed to FIRST and real­world engineering concepts. “When I was teaching kids about the robot, a line would form at times so that the kids could drive the robot. One kid wanted to catch the Frisbees, but after seeing the robot

go, he decided he’d rather drive instead.” –Tamara Kawa ‘16

Light the Night Outreach within Community Since 2015 season; October

Light the Night is an annual walk hosted by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Each year in San Jose, people walk for 2 miles through Guadalupe Park and downtown at night, holding red, white, or gold lanterns. Team 1967 mentor and alumna Mimi Zuniga (’11) participates in the walk each year, as she is a leukemia survivor; because the 2014 walk was held in her honor, Team 1967 decided to participate alongside Mimi.

The Light the Night walk was a huge success for the community. Over $1 million was raised by the walk for cancer research and patient support, and Mimi and her crew (which was full of Janksters) raised over $1,000.

“Hundreds of people showed up for this event, and it had a great impact on the community because the efforts of these people resulted in a large amount of money being raised for the

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.” –Mahima Chillakanti, ‘18

Toys for Tots Outreach within Community Yearly since 2009; December

Each year, BAE Systems works with Toys for Tots to host a toy drive event at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds. At this event, students on FRC teams sponsored by BAE play games with children, demo their robots, and assist Santa in giving children toys. Team 1967 participates by playing games and serving as Santa’s helpers.

Toys for Tots allows socio­economically disadvantaged children to have a good Christmas and get a toy they want. Team 1967 generally provides at least 10 helpers, which allows hundreds of kids to get what they want for Christmas.

Toys for tots not only gives these families something to smile about in the holidays season, it exposes young kids to STEM, something most low income children don't see themselves going into. I think Toys for Tots really serves as a symbol of hope, light, and joy.” –Minh­Chau Doan,

‘18

Bring Your Kid to Work Day Community Outreach

Since summer 2014; late June

Each year in June, Intel hosts a Bring Your Kid to Work Day for their employees and their children, as well as children from local summer camps. At the event, a few organizations run activities, generally related to math and science, with the kids. Team 1967 assists by allowing children to drive, operate, and interact with the robot. They also discuss FIRST with the parents and explain how the robot works.

Bring Your Kid to Work Day allows children to explore science and math while having fun with their parents. By interacting with Team 1967, they gain exposure to robotics and gain familiarity with some of the things their parents may do at work. The Janksters use Bring Your Kid to Work Day as an opportunity to expose children and adults to FIRST and its programs.

“The children were allowed to drive the robot and operate the game component. They really

enjoyed having this power and when the robot would kick the ball, there would be children there to catch the ball.” –Camille Miller, ‘16

SWE Events Community Outreach

Yearly; various times of the year

Society of Women Engineers is an organization that seeks to increase women’s participation in engineering. They often organize events for women to promote gender equality in STEM careers. Team 1967 frequently assists with these events by presenting their team and what they do to the event attendees.

Throughout the years, SWE has successfully promoted gender equality in STEM, and Team 1967 has played a huge part in this. The team benefits from being able to interact with female engineers, and the team is also better able to advocate for having more women in STEM careers.

One member of SWE was so impressed with the Janksters that she decided to stay in contact with us. Later, she was one of the presenting female engineers at the Young

Women’s Engineering Symposium.

Notre Dame LEAD Program Outreach within Community Yearly; February, at ND

Notre Dame High School has a LEAD program that allows 7th grade girls to develop leadership skills through various activities. Team 1967 spends a morning with these girls, conducting activities (e.g. driving the robot, programming activities, group engineering challenges) that allow girls to explore robotics

Through Team 1967’s assistance in the LEAD program, 7th grade girls have been able to gain useful engineering knowledge as well as develop leadership, communication, and collaboration abilities. The girls also gain exposure to FIRST, to robotics as a whole, and to STEM careers and pathways.

Does the girl in the teal shirt look familiar? That’s because she later became a Jankster herself! Doing the LEAD program inspired Gillian McGinnis, ’18, to attend Boot Camp

and join the robotics team after graduating middle school.

Young Women’s Engineering Symposium Community Outreach

Since 2014­15 season; December

Young Women’s Engineering Symposium is a project started by Regina Walker, ’15. Various female engineers from around the Bay Area are invited to give seminars discussing their careers and the importance, to them, of having gender equality in engineering. This exposes female high school students to various STEM careers and to allow them to see possible issues that face women in STEM. Team 1967 helps run the event and facilitate workshops with the engineers.

So far, YWES has been successful in promoting STEM careers to young high school girls. Since most of the girls were from local FRC teams, Team 1967 was able to form bonds with local teams and reach out to other high schools to promote women in STEM.

“[The YWES] further convinced me to consider engineering as a possible field.” –Emma Ryan,

‘18

Various Demonstrations Outreach within Community

Yearly; various times and locations

Team 1967 demonstrates their robot and presents their team at various locations, several times a year. These demos often occur due to partnerships with community organizations. For instance, our partnership with SWE has allowed us to do two demonstrations in the 2013­14 season, and the TechShop, one of our sponsors, has allowed us to demonstrate the robot at multiple open houses and community events.

These demonstrations often allow the Janksters to promote STEM pathways and to spread awareness about FIRST (particularly FRC) and other STEM activities for students.

Team 1967’s all­girls presence has been very influential in promoting gender equality. At a summer camp, when the Janksters opened the floor to questions, a little boy put

his hand up and said “Can boys do robotics too?”

Team Social Outreach within FIRST (FRC) Yearly; during SVR, at ND

After the second day of SVR ends, Team 1967 invites several FRC teams to

come to Notre Dame. Here, the teams share food and socialize with one another. To ensure diversity, the Janksters make sure to invite at least one rookie team, at least one all­girls team, and at least one “away” team.

The Team Social provides more than just an FRC party. Teams invited to the Team Social benefit from getting a good dinner without having to pay too much, and they also gain stress relief after two long days of robot competition. Of course, students and mentors alike also gain friendships on other teams, and the Janksters get to expand their friendly spirit into other teams.

“Because of the Team Social, I’ve been able to meet people that I normally wouldn’t be able to talk to, and it’s allowed me to make new friendships. I loved being able to dance with the others, because when we did the Macarena we did it together, no matter whose

robot was top ranked.” –Tamara Kawa, ‘16

Intel FLL Tournament Outreach within FIRST (FLL)

Since 2013 season; November, at Intel

Each November, Intel hosts an FLL tournament for local FLL teams. Since one of Team 1967’s mentors happens to be an Intel employee in charge of the event, the Janksters are allowed to assist at this event. Team 1967 assists by demonstrating the robot to provide an example of advanced engineering; by selling food and lunches at low prices to help the teams save money; and by providing people to help referee matches.

Because Team 1967 assists at the tournament, both they and the FLL teams benefit. Team 1967 can sell snacks and lunches to fundraise; indeed, the FLL tournament has become a major fundraiser for the team. More importantly, the FLL teams save money by getting low­cost lunches, learn more about FRC and STEM paths for children, and have their matches run smoothly.

“One little girl was very reluctant to try at first which is something I was learning that was very common among girls. Despite refusing to try playing with the Vex robots, she would talk to me and answer my questions. She talked about how she didn't build at home and how her brother had all the Legos at home …. Eventually I even got her to drive the robot for a bit. It really shocked me how against it she was at first because I thought any kid would want to drive

mini­robots. …But this really showed me how exposure to girls in STEM was relevant and vital.” –Minh­Chau Doan, ‘17

Teaching STEM at Lowell Outreach within Community

2 years; Fall

Each year, one or two girls from Team 1967 go to Lowell Elementary School, a nearby elementary school, to conduct an after­school science club. This science club was entirely planned out by the Jankster(s) – from the activities to the timing – and had minimal adult assistance. Once a week, the student(s) would lead a class of young children through activities related to science and technology, and the Jankster(s) would also demo the most current robot with the kids every now and then.

The after­school classes conducted by the team allowed young children to get a

taste of the engineering world. Several of the activities that the students did were fun but intriguing, which allowed them to develop an appreciation for the possibilities of science. Furthermore, showing the robot to the kids exposed them to engineering activities available to students and inspired them to pursue more STEM­related opportunities.

In 2014, Josephine Leingang ’14 (pictured above) planned the entire club by herself and

devoted plenty of time to making sure the activities were fun and educational. She made sure to

plan at least one day in which the kids could play with the robot for a long period of time.

Team Mentorship: ND Belmont Outreach within FIRST (FTC) Since 2013­14 season; ongoing

One of Notre Dame High School’s sister schools is Notre Dame Belmont. In 2013,

students at Belmont expressed interest in starting a robotics team, since their school had none, so they contacted the Janksters for support. Team 1967 invited some of their potential robotics students to our Boot Camp to provide training and provided them with material support. The Belmont girls later attended CalGames as spectators, and the Janksters took them around the pit to give them a snapshot of the FRC experience. When Build Season began, the Belmont girls were once more invited to the first few meetings held at ND San Jose.

The support provided by Team 1967 and the enthusiasm of the Belmont girls resulted in the creation of FTC Team 7593: The Tigerbots. To this day, the teams remain in contact, and the Janksters now provide logistical support whenever needed. Team 1967 hopes to continue this relationship with ND Belmont’s robotics team, and they also wish to assist other robotics teams in similar ways.

In this picture, Team 7593 enjoys a much deserved break after driving their robot around the field. We are very proud of our sisters at ND Belmont, and we look forward to seeing their future

creations.