CORE Home

Keeping FIRST's mission in mind, we have initiated the Community Out-Reach Events (CORE) program. By reaching out to the community we directly and indirectly communicate to different students, inspiring and invoking them to become science and technology leaders in the future. CORE also gives us the opportunity to expose the general public to the importance of science and technology, its importance, and how FIRST and our team recognize and spread this message. We strongly believe in FIRST's mission and have been making CORE a central part of our team.

On the right side, we have listed the events that our team has been a part of in the past. Please take your time to review these events.

If you would like Team 1403 Cougar Robotics to make a presentation at an event, please contact us.

Board of Education

Our team had the opportunity to make a presentation to the Montgomery Township Board of Education with a private and limited audience. We began with an introduction to FIRST, FRC and our team, continued with a clip of a match and a demonstration of our robot and concluded with a Question & Answer segment. The presentation allowed us to convey directly to the Board of Education how our team helps its students and the school community. The presentation invoked the board of education member's interest in the team and FIRST.

Princeton Demonstration

With the permission of the Princeton Boro our team held a public demonstration at the Albert Hinds Community Plaza on Saturday, September 10, 2008. The location of the plaza was in the center of Princeton downtown, giving us a really large turnout. We were able to demonstrate our 2007 robot, "Tubacca", and showcase our 2008 robot. Our team also had several Vex Robots which younger kids could drive. There were constantly about 5-10 team members at the plaza, along with a couple adult mentors, who were constantly speaking with the public: explaining to them what FIRST was, what our team is, and how they can get more involved. The younger kids were fascinated by the "big robot", its ability to lift the "pool tubes" and place them safely on different targets. The older audience was fascinated how some high school students built a robot that could do a task. As they started to learn about FIRST they got even more interested in the program, and noted some information down to get further involved. Team members got the opportunity to speak with the public about our team and FIRST, while the public got the opportunity to learn more about a great event that they are accessible to them.

Car Wash

On Sunday, October 12, 2008, Cougar Robotics Team 1403 held a public carwash at the Rocky Hill branch of Amboy National Bank. Our team serviced about fifty to sixty cars and in the process informed the public of who we are and what we do. We placed our robot on the corner of the intersection, which gave passerby see what our team does. The Carwash was a successful fundraiser, community service and FIRST informative event. .

Fall Festival

This event brings the Montgomery community together to celebrate the upcoming autumn season. Booths are arranged by many of the clubs and organizations in Montgomery, such as the Emergency Medical Squad and the high school football team. Every year at this activity we set up a display and demonstrate our FRC Competition robot as well as allow younger children to drive VEX robots, allowing the public to experience robotics firsthand.

Relay For Life

Relay for Life is an annual event held at the Montgomery High School by the American Cancer Society. It is an event that honors victims of cancer as well as its survivors. It also raises awareness for the disease. In the months before the event, students, teachers and even parents assemble teams where each member raises money to donate to the cancer cause. During the event, luminaries honoring cancer victims are lit and members from each team walk around the track.

Ever since Relay For Life first started at Montgomery High School in 2007, Team 1403 has been apart of this remarkable fundraiser. The team has exhibited their robot and allowed the kids to drive the drove the robot and spread the word of FIRST. More importantly, Team 1403 has raised close to three thousand dollars for the American Cancer Society.

Science Olympiad

Relay for Life is an annual event held at the Montgomery High School by the American Cancer Society. It is an event that honors victims of cancer as well as its survivors. It also raises awareness for the disease. In the months before the event, students, teachers and even parents assemble teams where each member raises money to donate to the cancer cause. During the event, luminaries honoring cancer victims are lit and members from each team walk around the track.

Ambassador Program

>The main goal of FIRST is to inspire students to enjoy science and technology. Our team believes the best way to approach the goal is by involving students in FIRST. With that in mind, we started an Ambassador program, where school's without teams were invited to send a representative (usually a technology teacher) to Monty Madness. This gave the representative an opportunity to witness FIRST in action. We were fortunate enough to get 3 representatives. One of the teachers now coaches a FIRST Technical Challenge team at East Brunswick. Another is planning on starting a FIRST Lego League team at her school district. We also sent out an invitation to Lenape Regional High School, which now is home to FRC Team 2729. As we continue our ambassador program, we hope to involve more New Jersey Schools in FIRST.

College Fair

At Monty Madness, we played host to about 10 secondary institutions who spoke with FIRST members. It gave these schools the opportunity to meet the unique group of students who participate in FIRST and it gave these students the opportunity to plan their future education. These colleges are all planning on attending the 2009 College Fair and our high school's guidance counselor is working on inviting more schools to this event.

Operation Jersey Cares

Operation Jersey Cares is a non for profit organization that helps out the men and women severing our country abroad. It is comprised of veterans and dedicated volunteers who give their time to make care packages for our soldiers. Each care package contains toiletries, food and cards for the soldiers. The Operation relies heavily on the donation of time and supplies by individuals and companies. Operation Jersey Cares also continues the care by helping the wounded and returning veterans with any financial help they may require. Our team is planning to adopt a unit. We will be sending letters and working to give back to the soldiers who are serving our country.

Our team dedicated an entire day to mentor Boy Scouts in assembling care packages for the Operation. We packed 412 boxes totaling 17,000 pounds of supplies that will be distributed to our troops deployed in countries all over the world. It was amazing to see the passion and sense of gratitude that the soldiers expressed in their thank-you letters. It was an eye-opening experience, one that has truly made us feel more appreciative of the dedicated men and women in the armed forces who make countless sacrifices in order to protect our freedoms.

Boy Scouts Presentation

The Boy Scout and Cub Scout organizations play a significant role in the community. The Scouts involve boys of various ages and allow them to do different activities, developing crucial skills for the future. Our team, realizing the importance of the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, has made several successful attempts in assisting them with different science projects. We also had the opportunity to present FIRST and our team to different local troops. At these presentations, we would mostly concentrate on demonstrating our FRC robot and also have an extended Q & A segment. The robot demonstration invoked the scouts' minds so much, that during the Q & A segment, we were flooded with questions about the robot and about the other things our team does.