General Information for Our Students & Parents

Required Forms | Important Dates & Deadlines

Team Administration
Mrs. Hall is in charge of administration. She will hand out and collect all paperwork. She is in charge of maintaining records and team ranking. If you have any questions concerning this, you may reach her by email at: anniem81949@yahoo.com or by telephone
at 508-697-7003

Team Communications
It is necessary for every student member to have access to email. This is the main way we correspond. It is important that you check your email daily for any current updates. It you do not have access to email at home, please see Mrs. Calef to make arrangements for an account that you can access at school. Mrs. Hall will keep parents updated by email. Parents who do not have access to email may call Mrs. Hall to stay connected and informed.

Activity Fee
TJ² is considered an activity. As a result, a one-time $50 activity fee must be paid to the B-R district. This fee need only be paid once and it covers all activities that a student is involved with during the school year at B-R. This fee must be paid by 12/1 to be considered for the travel team.

Qualification For Travel Team
Required for students to be considered for selection to the travel team:

Attendance at team meetings (no more than 3 unexcused absences)

Hours at group meetings

- Minimum of 30 hours for veteran members

- Minimum of 20 hours for new members

Fundraising: minimum of $700

Good academic standing

Mandatory forms turned in on time

Donation of at least one auction item (valued at a minimum of $25)

Sell a minimum of 2 tickets to the auction

Team Meetings
There are “team” meetings and “group” meetings. They are not the same. Team meetings are held every other Friday, following the close of school in Mrs. Calef’s room, H106. In the event that the date for a team meeting falls on the Friday of a holiday weekend, then the meeting will be held on Thursday. These meetings are mandatory for students. If you are making a commitment to the team, then as part of this commitment, you are expected to make arrangements to be at these mandatory meetings. We understand that some of our most committed members are involved in other activities, which may include sports, etc. When there is a conflict, we would expect you to come briefly to the meeting, sign in, and pick up agenda, other necessary paperwork/notices, and stay as long as you can.

In the event that you cannot attend a mandatory meeting, notification must be made to either Mrs. Calef, in her room, or to Mrs. Hall, by email, prior to the meeting for your absence to be considered “excused”. If you have more than 3 excused absences, then your commitment to the team will be questioned and dealt with. It will be your responsibility to pick up a copy of the agenda, etc. on the next regular school day and to check on any important information you may have missed.

The dates for team meetings are as follows:
9/11, 10/8 (Thursday), 10/23, 11/6, 11/20, 12/4, 12/18, 1/15, 1/29, 2/11 (Thursday), 2/26; other dates TBD.

Other occasions for mandatory team meetings:

2009-2010 Student/Parent Information Night to kick-off season
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 7 pm, B-R auditorium

FIRST Kick-off
Saturday, January 9, 2010, 10 am- 12 pm, at B-R in lecture room

Robot Design Day
Sunday, January 10, 2010, 12- 3 pm, DePuy, Paramount Dr., Raynham

Robot Send-off Party
February 22, 2010 at B-R

During the year, there may be other occasions for mandatory meetings that will be announced in advance. Points for mandatory meetings go towards a student’s ranking. Points will be given as follows:

Present: 50 points
Excused Absence: 25 points
Unexcused Absence: 0 points

Group Meetings
Group meetings are those held on a regular basis during the week. These are our specialty groups. They include Build, Tie Dye, Web, Computer Animation, Community Connections, Programming, CAD, Administration, and Student Board (open to corporate officers only). This is how students can earn hours. Students are to keep track of their hours by using the Hours Form. < Download Form >

These hours forms will be turned in on the following dates:
11/6, 12/4, 1/9, 2/26.

Note: Ten points are given for each hour of group service towards a student’s ranking. Students will also receive points based on the form being turned in on time. This will be described further on.

Academic Standards
It is important that students maintain good grades and are in good standing with their teachers. We expect students to do homework and complete projects, etc. in a timely manner. Students should go back for extra help as necessary to maintain good grades.

We do verify students’ academic progress by requiring copies of progress reports, report cards, and teacher update forms. We uphold the same standards set by the MIAA for athletes and more. We believe that academics are of prime importance.

Academic Progress Form due dates:

Copy of Term 1 Report Card. Due: 11/20
Teacher Update Form. Due 12/18
Copy of Term 2 Report Card and Teacher Update Form. Due 2/26
Copy of Term 3 Progress Report. Due 3/12.

For all forms that must be turned in, due dates are final dates. Any paperwork can be turned in prior to these dates and we encourage students to do so. There will be penalties for paperwork turned in late. In some instances, selection to the travel team will be jeopardized as a result of paperwork either being turned in late, or not at all. There is a drawer in Mrs. Calef’s room for depositing all paperwork.

Points will be given as follows:
Forms turned in on time: 50 points
Forms turned in up to 2 weeks late: 25 points
After 2 weeks late: 0 points

Note: We will uphold the point schedule as described above. Turn in paperwork early to avoid tardiness. If a student is absent on the final day a mandatory form is due, then student should send paperwork with a friend or relative, or have a parent drop it off.

Fundraising
A student is expected to raise $700 to qualify as a member of the travel team. There will be many methods for students to raise this money, with no burden to the family. Personal checks will be accepted up to $100. For amounts over $100, only bank checks will be accepted. Business checks will be accepted for any amount.

The following methods of fund raising will be used:

Business Sponsors
A business gives the student a money donation; a list of
businesses that have donated in the past will be kept in Mrs. Calef’s room. Students should sign up for local businesses so that a business is only contacted once.

Canal Day
A student will get sponsors for each mile they walk, ride a bike, rollerblade, etc. along the Cape Cod Canal. A special form will be given to students for this purpose. A student may also get a straight donation. This year Canal Day is scheduled for Sunday, 10/17. Many students are able to complete their fundraising through this one event.

Dinner/Auction
E ach student is required to turn in a minimum of one donation to our auction that has a value of at least $25. There is no maximum number of items that a student may turn in. Students will earn credit for silent auction items, based on the actual amount the item sold for. Students will receive credit for Chinese auction items, based on the number of tickets turned in for that item….$1/ticket. Students will be required to sell a minimum of 2 tickets to adults (21 and over) and will receive a bonus of $5 credit for each ticket sold after that. This will go towards their fund raising. Many students use this fund raising event to raise most if not all of their money. We do stress quality over quantity.

This year’s event will be held on Friday, December 4th
at Roseland Function Facility in Taunton, Ma.

Auction items can be items donated by businesses, craft items, services, vacation homes, etc. Theme baskets have been very popular as well as tickets to sporting events. More information on the auction will follow.

Candy
Hilliard’s Candy Bars; students receive $.40 credit for each bar sold, which is $16 credit for each box of 40 candy bars.

Donations in kind
If there is a parent that has a business that can donate an item or a service that the team would have to pay for, then the credit will go towards a student’s fund raising. For example, if your family owned a pizza shop and donated $200 in pizzas for a TJ2 event, then the student would receive $200 credit towards fund raising.

We often will offer something like sales of products from at home shows like “Tastefully Simple”, “Avon”, “Tupperware”, etc.; if there is a parent willing to take on the responsibility of running such an event. These companies will offer dollars instead of products for the items that students have sold.

Please do not drop off any money to Mrs. Calef.

Ms. Souza will be in charge of fund raising. All monies are to be given to her in H203. You should turn in money as soon as you have collected it. All monies from Canal Day should be turned in within 2 weeks of the event. All fund raising is to be completed by 1/9. We will not be offering any other fund raising events after this date.

Final ranking and the selection of the travel team will be based on what has been completed as of this date. (For Veterans, in particular: there will be no work-a-thons provided this year.)

There are numerous ways to fund raise. Students are not to wait until it is too late to ask for help. Updates on ranking and totals will be posted frequently so that students know where they stand. If there is family financial hardship, please see Mrs. Calef. This will be handled with strict confidentiality.

If a student has not fully funded his/her $700 by 1/9, then a family check of $300 will need to be turned in on 1/9. This check will not be returned even if the child has not earned his/her place on the travel team.

All money, including checks, must be placed in an envelope with the name of the student, clearly marked. Please indicate what the money is from; for example, “business donation”, “candy money”, “Canal Day money”, etc. Ms. Souza will give you a receipt for each envelope turned in.