Parent Expectations

Support Students

The parents and guardians of our students are an important part of the success of the team and are considered members of the team. Whether they are mentors, volunteers, or spectators at competitions, they fill a vital role in supporting the students and their achievements.

As part of their child being on the team, each parent has the following responsibilities:

Attend all parent meetings to obtain information about the team, travel, expenses, and involvement.
Coordinate transportation so students are on time for meetings, build times, and events. If you provide carpool rides for students or mentors, be on time (pickup and drop-off) so events can operate smoothly.
Sign and return commitment forms, permission slips, waiver forms, and other legal documents on a timely basis for students under the age of eighteen.
Provide payments for meals, shirts, and other student expenses in a timely fashion.
Provide accurate medical information for your student, including allergy information.
Provide telephone numbers where guardians can be reached in case of an emergency.
Provide a general contact phone number and dependable email address to the OHS Robotics Coach or Teacher Advisor. Check your email often and communicate questions or concerns with the appropriate OHS representative. Additionally, sign up for team communication channels (such as Basecamp and Discord) so you receive last-minute information.
Be responsible for your child's conduct until the age of eighteen. If a violation of the student code of conduct by your child results in a liability, parents will be held responsible. If there is a code violation while on an out-of-town trip, parents are responsible for providing transportation — at their cost — to return the student home.
Attend events (competitions, team gatherings, public events) and provide support for the team — encouraged.
Stay up to date on what your child is working on and the progress the team has made. Feel free to stop in at team meetings from time to time to see how things are going — encouraged.
Become a team mentor. Becoming a mentor adds additional responsibilities, but it is a very rewarding experience — encouraged.
Let students keep their commitment to the team. Participation should not be used as a reward/punishment — their absence affects the whole team.
Notify the OHS Robotics Coach or Teacher Advisor when the student will be absent from a team event where they are expected.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers provide more incidental and operational support for the team — but they are just as critical to its success. Key areas where the team needs support each season:

Area	What's needed
Transportation	Helping deliver students to our events via carpools, and transporting the trailer and robot, are consistent needs for the team each season.
Hosting & supporting events	Our events happen largely through the support of a large volunteer community. For every competition we attend, we are required to supply 2 volunteers from the team to help ensure it runs successfully.
Building our practice field	Each season's new challenge requires a new field to practice on once the robot is built. The more volunteers we have in this area each January–February, the easier it is to get the field built without distracting students from building the robot.
Delivering outreach	As part of FIRST's and our team's missions, delivering outreach to our communities is a key goal to help inspire others in STEM. Volunteering in this area helps us provide more outreach with greater impact than we could do alone.
Fundraising & recruiting sponsors	Building robots is expensive: each season we can spend as much as $40,000 on the robot and registration alone (depending on how far we go), plus field supplies, outreach supplies, special projects, and more. We are fortunate to cover most of this expense through sponsorships, but we would like to do more. Additional support in this area may one day allow us to cover travel costs.
Special instruction	Don't have time to mentor, but have a special skill or experience to share that would benefit students? We would be happy to schedule a time for you to share with the team. We are also always interested in taking students on a field trip to related businesses, to further inspire them and give them ideas about their future direction.

Even if you don't feel you have the time or skill set to mentor, volunteering gives every parent an opportunity to engage in supporting their student and the team each season. Volunteer opportunities will be announced throughout the season — please consider signing up when they do. And if you have an idea for a team activity or outreach, new ideas are always welcome!