2006 |  | |
Team Paragon was poised for a change once again.
In seeking out students with programming knowledge, we approached the Metropolitan Learning Center, a seven-community magnet school with a technology concentration in nearby Bloomfield, CT. Enthusiastic new members came aboard, creating a dynamic, diversified team of now over 40 students.
Spirit was still number one, as we attended Bash at the Beach, winning yet another Spirit Award.
A new subgroup was formed to participate in FIRST Vex Challenge, using the mini-robot Vex Design System. At Worcester Polytech's FIRST Vex Challenge, we also took away the Spirit Award.
Team Paragon got a "build space!" A generous landlord gave the team use of a wonderful warehouse for a few months, which was perfect for designing and building the robot. There was room for a sample playing field, and separate rooms for spirit, programming and mini-robot use, not to mention a makeshift kitchen.
Team Paragon decided to spread the word on spirit with a "Spirit Campaign." We distributed spirit bags to each team, and printed a spirit brochure. We cheered not only for ourselves, but for every team. Our efforts paid off as we won our sixth consecutive Spirit Award at our home UTC New England Regional!
The Boston inaugural Regional produced some further kudos from the judges, as we won the Motorola Quality Engineering Award for their unique team innovations, as well as the Industrial Safety Award, for going above and beyond the fundamentals. The post-season produced another Battlecry Award.
In the summer of 2006 Team Paragon took on a new challenge. Wishing to increase our involvement in the community, we approached a local Vintage Radio and Communications Museum that was just setting up a permanent location in town. The team volunteered to help set up walls, dig sidewalks, inventory equipment, and do whatever else was needed to get the museum operational. A great partnership was formed between the two groups, and the museum plans to honor us with a robotics display.
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