READ THIS OVER AND ADD TO IT IF NEEDED.

THIS IS THE CHAIRMAN'S ESSAY SO FAR:
(I'm still fixing a lot of it, I just NEED HELP. )

EDITED:*


The William Floyd Robotics Team has been building robots since 1999, as one would expect from a robotics club. What might not be expected is the level of dedication and diversification involved with being a member. Each year, it seems that both our team size and the intricacy of our tasks grow. Over the years, we have done our best to be a successful and hardworking team. Our team has an outstanding level of enthusiasm and has won the Team Spirit award at SBPLI Long Island Competition for the past three years in a row. Our team exemplifies "Gracious Professionalism" not only at competition, but in our everyday life. We are very professional and we value respect and teamwork above all else as the true meaning of FIRST. We are a diverse “family“; we have come so far and worked very hard to achieve our accomplishments. FIRST has had a large impact on our team and individuals all together. People feel a sense of belonging and a pride in what they do when they are involved in this program. FIRST has boosted our self esteem and our lives all together for success. The members take many hours of their own lives to insure the dream of succeeding to become true. Robotics gives the true impact of being on a team without needing to be athletic to participate. FIRST has it’s doors open to everyone of all skill and experience levels, and so does our team. We welcome all new members with open arms and find their niche; something that they will excel at while contributing to the team as a whole.


Together, Team 287 has made it their primary goal to spread the message and ideals of FIRST robotics to everyone we can. We are in the process of going down to our district's middle schools to demonstrate the positive impact of robotics and to spur interest in technology as a whole. We always open ourselves up for questions among younger students about the program, and are eager to show them footage and photos of competitions. We have even helped with our Middle School’s fledgling FIRST Lego League program. FIRST Robotics has opened many doors for people who are interested in the fields of technology, engineering, and electronics, and we have always felt compelled to share this with other students as well as our community. Members involved in the program have a better understanding of how machinery and technology operate and impact our everyday lives. Our team’s participation in the FIRST robotics program has greatly impacted our skills in problem solving, brainstorming and communicating, along with introducing us to how to use these new skills in our lives outside of robotics.


Volunteering is a significant part of our team. When the team helps out the community, it is an opportunity to show ourselves as role models and leaders. During the weekends leading up to the Halloween of 2008 we helped with the annual Spooky Walk to raise money for Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck, a summer camp for children with mental and physical disabilities. The money we helped to raise will be used towards maintaining the camp and providing “camperships” to ensure that no child is ever turned away from having a great summer experience for financial reasons. We are also in the process of collecting and recycling cans and bottles around our community to help keep our town clean. We were inspired by FIRST’s attention and concern for the environment, and decided to spread that awareness to our hometown. We are going to local businesses as well as our high school and asking them if we can leave a box in their store or restaurant to collect recyclables. By doing this, we’re making recycling convenient for people who don’t always remember when recyclable collection days are, or simply aren’t sure how and where to recycle.


Our team has always cooperated and formed a strong partnership with our sponsor, Brookhaven National Lab. The Lab has helped us build and program our robots since the beginning of our school robotics. This year, our school and the lab have felt economic losses due to the recession. Unfortunately, the lab was unable to help our team for financial reasons. Thankfully, Team 329 graciously stepped in and allowed us to use their facilities. Team 329 has been a close team to us since 2008. At the SBPLI Long Island Competition, they have cheered alongside with us in the stands and we support each other in every effort. We are very close with this team and our members have been in contact with them ever since. We are extremely thankful for their display of gracious professionalism, and assure that if they or any team ever need our assistance we will assist them as we have been helped in a tough time.


Each member of our team is a vital part of our success. We have a President, Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Organization is key when it comes to getting things done at a typical 287 meeting. Our team is organized with many divisions, including spirit, art, animation, mechanics, writing and safety. This is a significant part of our team because it makes us more organized and efficiently complete multiple tasks. Each group operates in separate specific areas of a successful team, but in the end it’s when we bring it all together that our team truly shines. Each division has a leader, so as to avoid putting the burden of every task on our President. We typically have whole team meet two to three times a week, and at weekly executive meetings we have the leaders of each group discuss progress and what needs to be done in the future. Often groups will collaborate on projects. For example, our art and spirit groups often work together in the making of posters and personalized team buttons.


Special obstacles are faced each year as a high school organization. Each year the members listen to horror stories of "robotics withdrawal" as the team loses some of its best members to high school graduation. We are a tight knit group, and the loss of seniors is always something that we dread each June. Thankfully, we have built a strong alumni base, and we are often visited by past members who still care enough to check on our team while in college. It really is a testament to our team as a whole that our graduated team mates remain interested in the program and in our progress, and we thank them immensely for their support. Robotics also relies heavily on our freshman class to join and participate in our team. The newcomers who stay for the long haul are probably the most dedicated members of the team. They are the freshmen who are willing to stay after 2.5 extra hours each school-day for 6 weeks and on weekends, even coming during vacations for engineering and public relations work. These new members are the future of our team, and they make us proud to know that our program will only grow in strength and integrity in the coming years.


As the high school seniors finish out a decade of Team 287 robotics, the team will continue to work hard, and be the best that it can be. We are filled with hope that our team will continue to impact our community and our world with the help of our amazing sponsors, the support of our fellow robotics teams across the country and across the world, and the inspiration of FIRST robotics as a whole, the spark that brought us all together as a new team ten long, tedious, and unimaginably rewarding years ago.

Blue = what Trami has rearranged or added; few sentences have not been noted for its removal (no relevance or it was just filler language.)

The William Floyd Robotics Team has been building robots since year 1999. What might not be expected is the level of dedication and diversification involved with being a member. Each year, it seems that both our team size and the intricacy of our tasks grow. Over the years, we have done our best to be a successful and hardworking team. Our team has a lot of spirit and has won the Team Spirit award at SBPLI Long Island Competition for the past three years in a row. Our team is very honorable when it comes to "Gracious Professionalism". We are very respectful and honor the true meaning of FIRST. We are a "blended family;" we have come so far and worked very hard to achieve our accomplishments. FIRST has had a large impact on our team and individuals all together. People feel a sense of belonging and a pride in what they do when they are involved in this program. FIRST has boosted self esteem and our lives all together for success. The members take many hours of their own lives to insure the dream of succeeding to become true. Robotics is the sport that us nerds can go out for.

Team 287 has tried to spread the message of FIRST in various ways. We are in the process of going down to our district's middle schools to show the importance of FIRST robotics. We have even helped with their FIRST Lego League. FIRST Robotics has opened many doors for people who are interested in the fields of technology, engineering, and electronics. Members being involved in the program have a better understanding of how certain machinery and technologies work. The participation in peoples' experiences has given us better skills of problem solving, brainstorming, communicating, and applying new skills to everyday life.


Volunteering is a significant part of our team. When the team helps out the community, it is an opportunity to show ourselves as role models. During the weekends leading up to Halloween 2008, we helped with the annual Spooky Walk to raise money for handicapped children to go to camp. (Called Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck) We are also in the process of recycling cans and bottles around our community to help keep our town clean.

Our team gets along very well with our sponsor, Brookhaven National Lab, as well as our friends from team 329. The Lab has helped us build and program our robots since the beginning of our school robotics. This year, our school and the lab have felt economic losses all due to the recession. The lab was unable to help our team. Thankfully, Team 329 graciously stepped up and allowed us to use their facilities. Team 329 has been a close team to us since 2008. At the SBPLI Long Island Competition, they have cheered alongside with us in the stands and we support each other in every effort. We are very close with this team and our members have been in contact with them ever since.

Each member of our team is a vital part of our success. We have a President, Vice President, a secretary, and a Treasurer. Our team is organized with many divisions, including spirit, art, animation, mechanics, writing and safety. This is a significant part of our team because it makes us more organized and efficiently complete multiple tasks. Each group is in charge of different aspects, but in the end we all come together to complete it. It's better if there is a leader in charge of a division rather than one person with all team responsibilities. We normally have whole team meetings two to three times a week, and at weekly executive meets we have the leaders of each group discuss progress and what needs to be finished.

Special burdens are faced each year as a high school organization. Each year the members listen to horror stories of "robotics withdrawal" as the team loses some of its best members to high school graduation. Robotics relies heavily on our freshman class join and participate in duties. The newcomers who do stay are probably most dedicated members of the club. They are freshmen who are willing to stay after 2.5 extra hours each school-day for 6 weeks and on weekends, even coming during vacations for engineering and public relations work. As the high school seniors enter out a decade of robotics, the team will continue to work hard, and be the best that it can be.

The William Floyd Robotics Team has been building robots since the year 1999, as one would expect from a robotics club. What might not be expected is the level of dedication and diversification involved with being a member. Each year, it seems that both our team size and the intricacy of our tasks grow. Over the years, we have done our best to be a successful and hardworking team. Our team has a lot of spirit and has won the Team Spirit award at SBPLI Long Island Competition for the past three years in a row. Our team is very honorable when it comes to "Gracious Professionalism". We are very respectful and brimming with honor, the true meaning of FIRST. We are a "blended family"; we have come so far and worked very hard to achieve our accomplishments. FIRST has had a large impact on our team and individuals all together. People feel a sense of belonging and a pride in what they do when they are involved in this program. FIRST has boosted our self esteem and our lives all together for success. The members take many hours of their own lives to insure the dream of succeeding to become true. Robotics is the sport that us nerds can go out for. <(that might b a little offensive....)

Team 287 has tried to spread the message of FIRST in various ways. We are in the process of going down to our district's middle schools to show the importance of FIRST robotics. We have even helped with their FIRST Lego League. FIRST Robotics has opened many doors for people who are interested in the fields of technology, engineering, and electronics. Members involved in the program have a better understanding of how certain machinery and technologies work. The participation in peoples' experiences has given us better skills of problem solving, brainstorming, communicating, and applying these skills to everyday life.


Volunteering is a significant part of our team. When the team helps out the community, it is an opportunity to show ourselves as role models. During the weekends leading up to Halloween 2008, we helped with the annual Spooky Walk to raise money for handicapped children to attend Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck. We are also in the process of recycling cans and bottles around our community to help keep our town clean.

Our team gets along very well with our sponsor, Brookhaven National Lab, as well as our friends from team 329. The Lab has helped us build and program our robots since the beginning of our school robotics. This year, our school and the lab have felt economic losses all due to the recession. The lab was unable to help our team. Thankfully, Team 329 graciously stepped up and allowed us to use their facilities. Team 329 has been a close team to us since 2008. At the SBPLI Long Island Competition, they have cheered alongside with us in the stands and we support each other in every effort. We are very close with this team and our members have been in contact with them ever since.

Each member of our team is a vital part of our success. We have a President, Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Our team is organized with many divisions, including spirit, art, animation, mechanics, writing and safety. This is a significant part of our team because it makes us more organized and efficiently complete multiple tasks. Each group is in charge of different aspects, but in the end we all come together to complete it. It's better if there is a leader in charge of each division rather than one person with all team responsibilities. We normally have whole team meetings two to three times a week, and at weekly executive meets we have the leaders of each group discuss progress and what needs to be finished.

Special burdens are faced each year as a high school organization. Each year the members listen to horror stories of "robotics withdrawal" as the team loses some of its best members to high school graduation. Robotics relies heavily on our freshman class join and participate in duties. The newcomers who do stay are probably most dedicated members of the club. They are freshmen who are willing to stay after 2.5 extra hours each school-day for 6 weeks and on weekends, even coming during vacations for engineering and public relations work. As the high school seniors enter out a decade of robotics, the team will continue to work hard, and be the best that it can be.



*i kinda just added on to trami's essay and junk....the underlined stuff is junk i changed....*

>>>>> This is my little edit lol I just really rearanged some sentances, Carissa, Trammi, and Skippy did all the heavy duty thinking here XD I loved the concept! For clarity, this is an edit off skippy's version. Enjoy, and feel free to rip apart lol




The William Floyd Robotics Team has been building robots since 1999, as one would expect from a robotics club. What might not be expected is the level of dedication and diversification involved with being a member. Each year, it seems that both our team size and the intricacy of our tasks grow. Over the years, we have done our best to be a successful and hardworking team. Our team has an outstanding level of enthusiasm and has won the Team Spirit award at SBPLI Long Island Competition for the past three years in a row. Our team exemplifies "Gracious Professionalism" not only ay competition, but in our everyday life. We are very professional and we value respect and teamwork above all else as the true meaning of FIRST. We are a diverse “family“; we have come so far and worked very hard to achieve our accomplishments. FIRST has had a large impact on our team and individuals all together. People feel a sense of belonging and a pride in what they do when they are involved in this program. FIRST has boosted our self esteem and our lives all together for success. The members take many hours of their own lives to insure the dream of succeeding to become true. Robotics gives the true impact of being on a team without needing to be athletic to participate. FIRST has it’s doors open to everyone of all skill and experience levels, and so does our team. We welcome all new members with open arms and find their niche; something that they will excel at while contributing to the team as a whole.

Together, Team 287 has made it their primary goal to spread the message and ideals of FIRST robotics to everyone we can. We are in the process of going down to our district's middle schools to demonstrate the positive impact of robotics and to spur interest in technology as a whole. We always open ourselves up for questions among younger students about the program, and are eager to show them footage and photos of competitions. We have even helped with our Middle School’s fledgling FIRST Lego League program. FIRST Robotics has opened many doors for people who are interested in the fields of technology, engineering, and electronics, and we have always felt compelled to share this with other students as well as our community. Members involved in the program have a better understanding of how machinery and technology operate and impact our everyday lives. Our team’s participation in the FIRST robotics program has greatly impacted our skills in problem solving, brainstorming and communicating, along with introducing us to how to use these new skills in our lives outside of robotics.


Volunteering is a significant part of our team. When the team helps out the community, it is an opportunity to show ourselves as role models and leaders. During the weekends leading up to the Halloween of 2008 we helped with the annual Spooky Walk to raise money for Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck, a summer camp for children with mental and physical disabilities. The money we helped to raise will be used towards maintaining the camp and providing “camperships” to ensure that no child is ever turned away from having a great summer experience for financial reasons. We are also in the process of collecting and recycling cans and bottles around our community to help keep our town clean. We were inspired by FIRST’s attention and concern for the environment, and decided to spread that awareness to our hometown. We are going to local businesses as well as our high school and asking them if we can leave a box in their store or restaurant to collect recyclables. By doing this, we’re making recycling convenient for people who don’t always remember when recyclable collection days are, or simply aren’t sure how and where to recycle.

Our team has always cooperated and formed a strong partnership with our sponsor, Brookhaven National Lab. The Lab has helped us build and program our robots since the beginning of our school robotics. This year, our school and the lab have felt economic losses due to the recession. Unfortunately, the lab was unable to help our team for financial reasons. Thankfully, Team 329 graciously stepped in and allowed us to use their facilities. Team 329 has been a close team to us since 2008. At the SBPLI Long Island Competition, they have cheered alongside with us in the stands and we support each other in every effort. We are very close with this team and our members have been in contact with them ever since. We are extremely thankful for their display of gracious professionalism, and assure that if they or any team ever need our assistance we will assist them as we have been helped in a tough time.

Each member of our team is a vital part of our success. We have a President, Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Organization is key when it comes to getting things done at a typical 287 meeting. Our team is organized with many divisions, including spirit, art, animation, mechanics, writing and safety. This is a significant part of our team because it makes us more organized and efficiently complete multiple tasks. Each group operates in separate specific areas of a successful team, but in the end it’s when we bring it all together that our team truly shines. Each division has a leader, so as to avoid putting the burden of every task on our President. We typically have whole team meet two to three times a week, and at weekly executive meetings we have the leaders of each group discuss progress and what needs to be done in the future. Often groups will collaborate on projects. For example, our art and spirit groups often work together in the making of posters and personalized team buttons.

Special obstacles are faced each year as a high school organization. Each year the members listen to horror stories of "robotics withdrawal" as the team loses some of its best members to high school graduation. We are a tight knit group, and the loss of seniors is always something that we dread each June. Thankfully, we have built a strong alumni base, and we are often visited by past members who still care enough to check on our team while in college. It really is a testament to our team as a whole that our graduated team mates remain interested in the program and in our progress, and we thank them immensely for their support. Robotics also relies heavily on our freshman class to join and participate in our team. The newcomers who stay for the long haul are probably the most dedicated members of the team. They are the freshmen who are willing to stay after 2.5 extra hours each school-day for 6 weeks and on weekends, even coming during vacations for engineering and public relations work. These new members are the future of our team, and they make us proud to know that our program will only grow in strength and integrity in the coming years.

As the high school seniors finish out a decade of Team 287 robotics, the team will continue to work hard, and be the best that it can be. We are filled with hope that our team will continue to impact our community and our world with the help of our amazing sponsors, the support of our fellow robotics teams across the country and across the world, and the inspiration of FIRST robotics as a whole, the spark that brought us all together as a new team ten long, tedious, and unimaginably rewarding years ago.