rookie question about planning your schedule

[Ian W.]

Originally Posted by haverfordfords

ALSO, on onther topic, how has other teams worked around mid-terms? We have mid-terms starting January 22, right in the middle of our build season. Obviously we need time to study for these. Our school's mid-terms span nearly 2 weeks as well! What have you done to get around this? It must be hard.

The best part about midterms is that it generally means while some students have tests on one day, the rest are free all day. So that means you'll get about as much work done, if the students are all about equal.

As for the tests themselves, let the students decide how much time they need to study. If they plan it out, it's not a problem, don't get involved with their personal study habits unless you know they would otherwise fail a test. The reason I say that is I never studied in high school, and as of yet, I still don't need to study much in college. I just get things in class or by doing homework, and when it comes time for a test, I already know it. If your team is made up of all students like this, they don't need to study.

If you do make mandatory meetings, make sure to not have any during midterms, or make exceptions for students in tests. Otherwise, tell them to come when they feel they'll have time, because they should know best about how much they need to study.

[Liz Smith]

There are a lot of good students on our team. More times than not there is someone around who can help you on the subject you need. Time can be taken out of the robot work to review with some of your team mates. Last year some teammates really helped me a lot and I ended up probably getting a lot more studying done than if I had taken off a few days and not shown up.

[KathieK]

We have a rule on our team: Family and schoolwork ALWAYS come first.

[thoughtful]

Yes, exams are often a problem, here in Torono we have our final exams for semester 1 in last week of january. Although what we do is that we let people who can spare 2-3 hours come in every day and work on the robot or other parts of the competition. Also its a good thing to plan out the robot to every single details, figure out what additional materials you need and order them, this is a time saver. Make sure you have a timeline, that lists your goals (e.t.c when the chasis is gonna be made, when the arm will be made, minor details also, like when the gears will be fabricated..)

Other than that just work hard, have fun, and ask help if you need it, thats what FIRST is all about.