So this year our team had a huge increase in members than it usually does and next year we are expecting this same increase. Something we lacked this year because of us not expecting as big of a team was team building. Do you guys have any ideas or suggestions for team building activities that could be done? Thanks!
If you’re feeding from only one school, odds are many students will already know each other. Coming from a 45+ member, 2 school team working in a relatively small shop, your new members will gain a sense of team identity the more they work together with experienced members. Don’t make them feel like they’re new; they are just as much a part of the team as any experienced member is. The more they work side by side with experienced members, the more the team will grow together.
How large are we talking? The year I joined 2220, we had over 30 incoming freshmen join the team. Are we talking that scale, larger, or smaller? An influx of 10 kids is a lot easier to deal with that 30.
My team actually expanded into FTC because of our large growth-- FTC gave our students an opporunity to learn and grow, as well as get used to how the team functioned, before they got thrown off the deep end for FRC 
Another thing that the team started last summer was having house parties (student/mentor, and mentor only), as well as a weekend where students visited a local amusement park (which was a blast, and was great for the newer students to talk with us in a casual environment).
Don’t be afraid to get creative. There are all sorts of activities you can do that help build camaraderie within the team.
Our team regularly went out to eat or get ice cream and we once had a movie night at my house after a long build day when it was pouring rain outside. Then again, we were a rather small group so organizing these was easy to do last-second. Bigger groups are more challenging and it really just depends on the kinds of attractions you have in your area.
For our end of the year BBQ, one of our team members’ parents hosted and they had a pool and spa, lots of open grass space, and a ping pong table. It was really neat to just kick back, play a massive game of touch football with everyone, play 5v5 pool basketball and just hang out in the spa afterwards. Some of these students will be seeing each other for another year or two, some probably for the last time. A pool party is a nice, easy way to bond with teammates.
We are expecting 20-25 new students this year.
And it is just one school, but we are a technical school which is made up by I think 7 or 8 sending schools. So a student when entering high school can choose if they want to go to their home school or the county technical school to get their academics and a trade. So that is where the issue comes in is that its a very diverse group of people. Some of the sending schools are very different from others, so people don’t hang out with other people very well.