No School = No Competition :(

[Sscamatt]

Woke up this morning to find that our school system is the only one without school in the state. The reason being power outages. We are now not able to attend the UTC Regional on Thursday and will miss out whole work day. Who thinks this isn't fair?

[KenWittlief]

what?! why cant you goto the event if the school is closed today?

your bot is already there - all the team needs to do is show up, right?

[Sscamatt]

screw the board of education! we will go on our own!

[KenWittlief]

is the event in your home town?

[BoyWithCape195]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

is the event in your home town?

Close enough

[Ryan M.]

Wow, that's annoying... I would sort of understand if it was a snow day, but just because of a power outage?!?!

[Tom Bottiglieri]

we are about 25 minutes away from the competetion... BUT.. our school is mucho up tight about going places without a bus and without school supervision. We are going anyway, but it was still hard to even get to that point.

[KenWittlief]

as long as your teacher or mentor makes it there to register your team - and your parents agree that its ok for you to be present I cant see any reason why the school board would have a problem

SOMEONE needs to get a hold of the school board and get that bus infront of the school NOW!

they apparently have no idea how much time MONEY and energy went into this program

[Gamer930]

It is a day off. You should be able to do whatever you want to do. Some people may go to the park or go to friends houses. But your team is just going to the Robotics Competition.

I see tomorrow different. When you come home tonight. Then just take a bus tomorrow as planned

I hope you can still go today

[KenWittlief]

Wild horses!

(couldnt drag me away :^)

[mzitz2k]

We had a situation this year, too, at our school. Team 302 builds their robot at Lake Orion High School, which we are extremely proud of because the students get an amazing amount of 1-1 time with the robot. Every year we do our testing out in the hall way adjacent to the shop where we build the machine.

Our principal and school district is absolutely fantastic, but we had a problem with the janitors!

They apparently were upset that our gum rubber material on our wheels were leaving temporary (I repeat temporary) marks on the carpet. They also accused us of tearing carpet right off the floor, which this was a complete lie. Also, the janitors tried to make us leave a couple of times because "in our contract it says 'no students are allowed to be in the school unless a janitor is there' ".

What?!? A janitor must be at the school for us to work on our robot? What kind of logic is this?

I was extremely frustrated to say the least because I love pulling the all-nighters and working late. Why? Because I want to learn and I love the whole FIRST process.

I think these ridiculous janitors forgot what exactly a school does - teach people! They let their "contracts" and egos get in the way. I really think they should be ashamed of what they tried to do - stop us from learning. Team 302 will not be stopped by some janitor and nor should you let your school district stop you! Go to that competition, work on Thursday, be competitive Friday, and then go for the win Saturday. And at the end... Thank yourself not the school district that got in the way.

[ngreen]

Originally Posted by mzitz2k

Also, the janitors tried to make us leave a couple of times because "in our contract it says 'no students are allowed to be in the school unless a janitor is there' ".

Your right. That make absolutely no sense. He was there to tell you that you couldn't work because he was not there. So where is he? Is he there or not there? That is kind of a Catch 22. If he is there he can't tell he you can't be there because he is not there because he is there and if he is not there he can't tell you that you can't be there because he is not there.

The janitor needs to get a better lawyer because he wrote in a paradox. You can be there as long as you want if the janitor is the only one trying to enforce it.

[Jim Giacchi]

Originally Posted by mzitz2k

What?!? A janitor must be at the school for us to work on our robot? What kind of logic is this?

I understand where your coming from, but the key here is that any school with a boiler for steam heat has to have a certified boiler operator on site at all times when the building is occupied.

Also if the janitor wanted to leave and go home, and your still in the building he can not lock it and set the alarm.

So i understand where your coming from, wanting to work, but you have to look at it from a legal stand point. Also when our team runs into this situation, we usually just take the bot to someones house.

[mzitz2k]

Originally Posted by Jim Giacchi

I understand where your coming from, but the key here is that any school with a boiler for steam heat has to have a certified boiler operator on site at all times when the building is occupied.

Also if the janitor wanted to leave and go home, and your still in the building he can not lock it and set the alarm.

So i understand where your coming from, wanting to work, but you have to look at it from a legal stand point. Also when our team runs into this situation, we usually just take the bot to someones house.

Believe me Jim, I understand where they are coming from. Here is the problem though: they are stopping us from doing what the building is there for in the first place! They wouldn't be at the school if there were no students, so the legal side is a good point to their argument, but learning should come first. Why? Because a school is built to teach. I think that people let these rules and laws get completely out of control. This is just my opinion though.