Leaving the Station! - Preseason Updates
After our team finished up our 2023 season, we made sure to still stay hard at work! From volunteering at local charity events to hosting robotics tournaments of our own, we have maintained a busy and successful schedule!
Ronald McDonald House
Students and mentors alike working together to make homemade dinner at our local Ronald McDonald House
Giving back to our community is a very big part of our program here at Bedford Express. Every month, members of our team visit our local Ronald McDonald House located in Toledo, Ohio, and make Spaghetti dinners to serve residents. Helping these families has allowed our team to witness firsthand the impact and happiness we can bring to residents in our community and beyond!
Adopt-A-Road
Bedford Express members after a successful clean up during our Adopt-A-Road event!
Making sure to take care of our community and keeping Bedford beautiful is one of our top priorities here at 1023! During our tri-annual Adopt-A-Road event, we make sure to do just that! Team members meet to clean off and pick up trash on our adopted section of Jackman Road right here in Bedford and do our part to keep our area clean!
Monthly Updates
June:
Impact Meetings
After we wrapped up our season, we jumped in head-first to our plans for the 2024 season through our weekly impact meetings and setting our intentions for the year as we began the start of a great season!
Leadership Interviews
In mid-June, we held our leadership interviews to determine who would hold our captain and lead positions for our season. No matter what age and grade, every student was given the opportunity to step up and play a major role in our robotics community! It was a week full of great conversations and inspiring plans for each element of our team.
July:
Indiana Robotics Invitational (IRI)
Bedford Express made the drive down to Indianapolis, Indiana to compete in the Indiana Robotics Invitational. Our team was lucky enough to be one of the 74 teams invited to compete among the best of the best. It was a day full of intense matches, discussing inclusivity with various impact teams from around the nation, and most importantly, fun!
August:
Monroe County Fair Parking
August kicked off the start of our major fundraiser, parking at the Monroe County Fair! We spent the week helping fair goers navigate fair traffic and developing team bonding in the heat and sun!
September:
Football Stadium Clean Up
As the start of the school year began, so did our weekly football game clean-ups! After every home game at our Bedford Stadium, our team stayed after to clean up our bleachers and make sure our stadium looks ready for our next sporting event!
FTC Kickoff
During the FTC kickoff, our team created subgroup stations for our younger FTC teams to learn about each aspect of our team. Then, at noon, each team sat down together to watch the game video, discuss the game, talk strategy, and start each FTC’s season strong!
Goonettes - All Girls Event
Towards the beginning of September, our team took a trip to Woodhaven, Michigan for the annual Girls’ Event hosted by 3604, the Goone Squad! This event gave the female members of our team a chance to step into new roles they normally wouldn’t undertake. The day was spent making memories, learning new aspects of the team, and of course, rocking our pink tutus!
October:
Trunk or Treat
Our team handing out candy at Bedford High School’s Trunk or Treat.
Trick or treat! At Bedford High School’s annual Trunk or Treat, 1023 set up and decorated our trailer to pass out candy to our community. It was so great making fun memories and seeing the smiling faces of so many! A few of our teammates were feeling extra festive and wore some spooky costumes!
November:
Impact Presenters and Drive Team Tryouts
As we drew closer and closer to the start of our season we began our search for our season’s Impact Presenters and Drive Team! We had a long but fun week of testing who would be the best fit and found our teams!
FTC Event
In mid November, we hosted our annual FTC Event for FIRST Michigan. Bedford Express arrived at our school the day prior to set up the field and plan out roles for the following day. The day of the event was a busy but rewarding as we hosted over 30 teams in a successful competition!
December:
Christmas in Ida
Kicking off the start of holiday festivities was the yearly Christmas in Ida Celebration and Parade! Using our robot, a tree, some lights, and a dream, we made a pretty cool float for Ida and our community to see!
Lock-In
Wrapping up 2023 and celebrating the start of the new year, BX had our annual lock-in in our center at Smith Road! It was a great night, consisting of a white elephant gift exchange, watching movies, and being together as a team!
