Team 1710 2005-2006
FIRST Robotics Team 1710, The Ravonics Revolution, was established at Olathe Northwest High School in Olathe, Kansas, in September of 2005 by Aerospace & Engineering instructor Mrs. Susan Rippe and Mr. Matt Breitkreutz, an instructor in the e-Communications department. Founded and originally funded on a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the 2005-2006 team was 27 students strong – with little more than a couple of classrooms to work out of.
Team 1710 at the FIRST Championships in Atlanta
Mr. Darren Worcester – an expert CAD instructor – joined the team in 2006, bringing much needed engineering and building experience. He also opened up his classroom – consisting of a full computer lab, project room, and shop area for the team’s base of operations. This supercharged our team’s abilities, leading to a win at the 2007 Midwest Regional in Chicago, and a trip to the FIRST Championships in Atlanta.
The very next year, in the fall of 2007, we welcomed Mr. Matt Peterie to the coaching staff. Mr. Peterie, a physics instructor in the Aerospace & Engineer department, brought even more expertise and design process knowledge to the table.
At the 2011 FIRST Championships in St. Louis
Years passed and Team 1710 kept on its missions of promoting safety, young women in STEM, and the tenants of Gracious Professionalism to the Olathe community and schools. We picked up a few awards along the way, including several Spirit, Safety, Website, and Animation Awards, the 2009 Greater Kansas City Regional Chairman’s Award, and the 2011 Kansas City Engineering Inspiration award. We were humbled to be awarded the 2011 FIRST Championship Safety Award in St. Louis this past April, and will strive to live up to the title in years to come.
Team 1710 2011-2012
Today, our team consists of 40 members and still operates out of Mr. Worcester’s CAD Lab. 2011 again found a new coach joining the roster, and we’re so happy to have e-Communications instructor Mrs. Melinda Robino on the team as an official coach – she’s been secretly helping our animation team for the past 7 years from her classroom. Now we get her all the time!
Team 1710 continues to grow and spread the word of FIRST. We’d like to thank all of the alumni, mentors, coaches, parents, and sponsors for seven great years. Here’s to all FIRST participants and volunteers!
