STUDENT and PARENT AGREEMENT 2026-2027
Contact Information
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions!
Important team communication is always sent to students and parents via email. We also heavily rely on Discord communication within subteams.
Our website provides more information about FIRST and the team, an event calendar, and more: team2342.org
You can reach the Lead Mentors and Student Officers by email at info@team2342.org
Students communicate internally using a secure, private Discord server maintained by the Lead Mentors.
We share our story with the world on Facebook (TeamPhoenix4HRoboticsClub), Twitter (@team2342), TikTok (team.phoenix2342), and Instagram (@team.2342).
More info about FIRST and FRC: firstinspires.org firstnh.org and firstinspires.org/robotics/frc
In case of emergency, contact the Lead Mentors:
TBD *looking for a new lead mentor!
Alec Muller 603-264-2873 | alec.muller@team2342.org
Team Phoenix 4-H Robotics Club andFIRSTRobotics Competition
Team Phoenix 4-H Robotics Club began in 2007. Over the years, the team has grown in size and responsibility, won numerous awards, and participated in local and world-wide competitions. Team members have gone on to higher education, careers in STEM, and some have become mentors to FIRST teams.
FIRST describes the FIRST Robotics Competition as “The varsity sport for the mind”. Students build and program robots to participate in a global competition while challenged to raise funds, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills, and inspire and attract other students to STEM-related activities and education. FRC is challenging not just because designing, building (and maintaining) functioning robots is hard but there is so much more that is needed and gained as knowledge – fundraising, business & finance management, art, leadership, teamwork. Like all FRC teams, Team Phoenix is a collective of mentors, parents, and students.
Our Mission:Changing the Lives of Youth Through Robotics.
We value student learning above winning at competitions. We strive to embody all of the values of FIRST, which means we take Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition seriously. This is a way of behaving that blends fierce competition with mutual respect, high-quality work, and kindness towards others, while cooperating with and helping other teams both on and off the field. Our team focuses heavily on outreach, which means we work hard to help youth from all backgrounds gain exposure to STEM education and the FIRST program.
Why join the team?
A FIRST robotics team provides a wealth of real-world experience and opportunity for students committed to actively participating on a team, including:
- Teamwork with peers and adults.
- Learning to establish and work with a schedule and finish a project on time for a deadline.
- Opportunity to work directly with professionals in engineering, finance, computer technology, and marketing. Most students are not exposed to this in school!
- Develop leadership, communication, and presentation skills.
- Being a team player, as well as an independent problem solver.
- Being a role model to elementary and middle school students by getting involved in other FIRST programs.
- The opportunity to share and gain more knowledge in STEM.
- The opportunity to access all facets of a program that designs, delivers, and uses a real world product (the robot) to perform specified operations to achieve certain goals – FIRST is the closest a student can get to experience actual engineering.
- Over $50 million in FIRST college scholarships.
- A team bonding experience and friendships that last a lifetime.
Mentors
Team Phoenix is a student-led team where adult volunteer mentors advise and provide guardrails, keeping the long term interest of the team in mind, but do not actively “work” on the robot. They donate a great deal of their time and energy to teach, lead, and help students on the team. Mentors provide team organization, technical understanding and guidance, and support students in all aspects of running an effective and successful robotics team. Serving a team as a FIRST Mentor requires dedication and a significant time commitment. Mentors work extensively with team members throughout the entire calendar year and especially during build season, designing, building, and fabricating a functional robot for competition. Their expertise and experience is the catalyst for the team’s and students’ success.
Mentors engageand inspirestudents in ways far beyondscience and technology. They enable both students and adults to appreciate the value of sportsmanship, teamwork, and Gracious Professionalism. Lead mentors are directly responsible for communication and interaction with FIRST, the town, the school district, and team parents, as well as the long-term sustainability of the team, and the safety and wellbeing of the team students.
All mentors must pass background checks.
Parents
Parents (or Legal Guardians) are asked to actively support the efforts of mentors and students. We need everyone’s support, both students and parents, to make the team a success.
Parental involvement is a requirement for student participation. We need every family to lend a hand and we welcome your support. Being involved is both fun and rewarding! We respectfully request every parent to volunteer, attend, or help run at least one team event per year.Some examples of ways to help out are outlined below.
Examples of events requiring parental support and involvement:
- Team Lunches during build season (help organize/provide food)*
- Aurum Electronics Recycling Fundraiser (help at the event)
- Ben’s Sugar Shack fundraiser – maple product sales (October/November) – assist your student in selling the minimum required
- Food Drives throughout the year/Thanksgiving basket donations
- Helping the team look for new sponsors (your company or other local businesses)
- Help spread the word about team events
*During build season, parents work together to serve Saturday lunch for the students in the ASD cafeteria. This helps with team morale, team cohesion, and ensures students are well-fed.We ask each family to contribute to one lunch during the build season, working together with 2-3 other families. A team parent coordinator will send out an email in the fall with all the details and a sign-up sheet will be provided so each family can plan far in advance which weekend they can assist.
For team members without driver’s licenses, travel to and from events must be arranged in advance.We expect students and parents to arrive on time for events at the designated meeting location and be picked up on time at the end of each event. Frequent violations may result in restricted event attendance.
Ways to help
Parent support for outreach and fundraising events and competitions helps alleviate the workload on mentors. Here are some of the ways you can help with events and competitions:
- Donating bottled water – At each event, we consume a case (24 bottles) of water per day.
- Team meals and coordination – On the weekends during build season our students and mentors dedicate long hours to preparing for competitions. Parents can help by donating meals or snacks.
- Show team support – Competitions are exciting – for students and mentors! It can be a real boost for students to see their family in the stands. Team spirit wear will be available for purchase (optional for families, t-shirt required for members)
- Field element assembly – Annually we need assistance building the game pieces we use to test the robots.
- Transportation –Provide transportation to and from outreach or fundraising events and competitions
- Outreach and fundraising event supervision – Team Phoenix is very active in our community. We attend many outreach events throughout the year and participate in fundraisers. We need parent support at these outside of meeting events in order to not burn out our mentors.
Students
The student role is to gain knowledge from their mentors, participate actively in their subteams, learn about team and project management, promote STEM, and give back to the community. Students must be self-motivated, dedicated, responsible, and enthusiastic.
Student responsibilities:
- Act at all times as ambassadors of FIRST, Team 2342, and 4-H
- Be committed to learning from mentors, parents, and other students
- Be open to new ideas and experiences
- Always treat other team members, mentors, ASD faculty/staff/cleaning crew, parents,FIRSTvolunteers, and STEM supporters (including sponsors) with respect and courtesy – Gracious Professionalism
- Be ready and willing to commit to the work that needs to be done to make the team a success
- Adhere to Academy for Science and Design facility rules – no wandering the halls, you must be with a mentor at all times. No food or drink outside of the robotics shop.
Fundraising and Outreach
All team members are required to participate in team fundraising and outreach activities throughout the year. This is an important obligation. To be considered an active team member,a team member must participate in a minimum of twenty hours in fundraising activities and/or outreach events(participation involves being present with the team and actively helping the team at the event). Fundraising opportunity examples: Sept/Oct: Electronics Recycling Fundraiser, October/November: Maple products sale, soliciting donations/sponsorships from local businesses. Outreach opportunity examples: Food drives, Thanksgiving food baskets (November), Robot demos, Girl Scout badges, FLL mentorship, FLL Summer Camp
Ben’s Maple Sugar Shack is the team’s largest fundraiser, and full team participation is essential for the team to have enough funds to operate. All team members are required to sell a minimum of 5 products during this fundraiser. If meeting this requirement is an issue for any team member, please have a parent contact a Lead Mentor.
Member and Team Expectations
Team membership is open to any student in the State of New Hampshire of the age as defined by FIRST, which is grades 9-12.
- All team mentors and members must register with FIRST (Students under 18 must also have a registered Parent or Legal Guardian)
- All team mentors and members must register with 4-H
- All team members (and parents if under 18) and mentors must sign a release agreement with FIRST
- All team mentors and members must complete Safety Training and pass a Shop Safety exam.
- All team members must meet the participation and behavior requirements
- All team mentors, members and parents must sign the Team Membership Contract (at the start of this Handbook) annually
Student behavior
Students must at all times conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the Facility Use Agreement contracted between Team Phoenix and the Academy for Science and Design.
In addition to FIRST and our school, team members also represent our team’s financial sponsors. We require all students, parents and mentors to behave in a way that is acceptable and expected of professional business standards. At all times, students are expected to be respectful of other students, adults, and the facility.
Students are expected to be respectful of their mentors and peers at all team activities. Side group conversations and cell phone use are not acceptable when a leader or mentor is talking and you will risk having your device taken away for the remainder of the meeting or being asked to leave. Repeated instances of disrespectful behavior will negatively impact a student’s ability to attend competitions.
Safety is the team’s top priority, especially at the build site. Students are expected to be responsible for themselves, especially while using the team’s property, tools and computers. Students are also responsible for knowing how to operate the tools and/or use team property appropriately with the guidance of a Mentor.
Closed-toe shoes and safety glasses must be wornin shop areas and in competition pit areas at all times. Long hair must be tied back.
Demonstrate Gracious Professionalism at all times, both within the team, and outside. This also applies to all Internet sites and blogs including all social media and Chief Delphi. When you speak as a member of Team Phoenix, you must speak respectfully.
If you are sick, please be considerate of the other team members, and do not attend meetings or events. If you become ill during a meeting or event, let a mentor know right away, and make arrangements for transportation home.
Bullying, intimidation, mocking, gossip, and other forms of negative behavior are contrary toFIRSTand will not be tolerated.
Participation and attendance
Team members should plan on participating in all team activities. Our goal is to provide an atmosphere of teamwork and dedication to the team. The competitions and the outreach/fundraising events are essential for students to learn what FIRST is and continue to grow with those learning experiences. Team members should feel that they have done something meaningful for the robot/building process or the outreach/fundraising process every time they attend a meeting.
Each student will sign in and sign out at all meetings and events.
Build and competition season (January – April): The team meets Monday and Thursday evenings and most Saturdays and Sundays during the FRC Build Season starting with the FRC Kickoff event (first Saturday in January).
Lead Mentors will only sign merit-based applications (e.g. National Honor Society, NMSP, FIRST scholarships, college recommendations) if the team member has been a regular and active participant of the team(currently set at attending at least 50% of all meetings).
Self-motivation
FIRST Robotics is a self-motivated program – mentors will not tell students what needs to be done. Not sure what to do? Talk to a Mentor or Lead. These team leaders are there to make sure you are given a chance to help the team. Students who actively participate gain the experience to take on future leadership opportunities. The more dedication and time spent learning, the more opportunities you will find! You get out of this program what you put into it.
Communication
All important communication with parents will be sent via email. Students and parents must have an active email address that they check regularly. All emails you receive from the team should be opened and read thoroughly.
An event calendar is always available at team2342.org. This can be added to the Google calendar on your phone for easy access.
In addition, all team members are given access to our team Discord, which provides secure, private instant messaging and collaboration. Mentors monitor the team’s Discord server closely.Team members must install Discord, and check daily, in order to stay involved in communications. It’s important to respond to questions/polls in a timely manner to keep things running smoothly. Note: responding during school hours is not required.