Team 1100's Response to COVID-19
The novel coronavirus has presented an unprecedented challenge for people across the country, and we have had to adjust our operations to continue our mission of education and inspiration.
Operational Changes
Going Remote
To minimize risk of transmission, all full team meetings will be on Zoom or other web-conferencing software until further notice. Any work that can be done online, will. We will be doing all design, software, outreach, and marketing tasks remotely until it is safe to return to our traditional meeting structure.
A Hybrid Team for a Hybrid School
Our home school, Algonquin Regional High School, will be pursuing a hybrid learning model beginning in October. Following school and district guidance, we will begin meeting in small, socially distant groups on campus once the hybrid model is in place.
Focusing on FTC
Due to the ongoing uncertainty about FRC events in 2021, Team 1100 has decided to run two FTC teams through the Fall and Winter to give our students an opportunity to design a robot from scratch and compete remotely.
Working Towards a New Normal
Our primary motivation has always been the education and inspiration of our students. We are approaching the challenges of COVID-19 as we do all other challenges we face, with a positive attitude and focus on continuous improvement.
On Site Safety Protocols
We understand and acknowledge that not all robot work can be done from the safety of our home offices. When the time comes that we need to return to our workspace, we will meet or exceed the guidelines presented by our school district, a copy of which can be found here. The following are some additional specific actions we will take to minimize the potential for viral transmission during robotics meetings.
- No more than 8 students will be in our 4 classroom workspace at a time
- Social distancing will be enforced whenever possible, we have more than enough room
- Our classroom workspaces are not used for in school classes and we will coordinate with school custodial staff to ensure rooms are cleaned and disinfected between uses
- Students will work with designated sets of tools which will be disinfected between uses
- Mentors attending meetings will complete a self-screening checklist and be thermally screened before being allowed into the workspace.
- Students and mentors will clock in and clock out of meetings, building an attendance database that can be used for contact tracing if needed