Keep an eye on
this thread - there's some great stuff in there.
As for general stuff, I think the people who have already posted in this thread have most of it covered. I'd just stress the whole 'not biting off more than you can chew' thing during build season - don't shoot for the moon, but instead go for a well-built robot that leaves you some time at the end of build season for drive practice.
Your suggestion of building a small robot during December seems decent, but it leaves out certain areas. There's a different skill set needed to build an FTC-class robot (which is what I assume you meant) than what's needed to build an FRC-class robot (which is what you'll be building during build season). Your mechanical and software people might be able to get away with the smaller robot, but your electrical and CAD people would benefit from an FRC-specific challenge. I'd recommend doing a tabletop setup for the electronics, and having your CAD people CAD a robot for an old game, so they can get experience with a bigger robot.
As Don said above, please don't hesitate to post here for any questions you may have. Welcome to FRC!