The Pomperaug High School Robotics Team showcased their robot at the Friendly’s Restaurant in Heritage Village 
to raise money to register and further build their project for a robotic world competition. The students in attendance were 
John D., Pat P., Laurence C., Tom P., Josh Z., Matt R., Emily D., and Hunter K.

   “Our team will receive twenty percent of the night’s proceeds from the Friendly Restaurant Corporation. 
Additionally, we received generous donations from patrons as well as proceeds from our silent auction,” said team 

advisor Christine Dibble. “We hope to have raised $6,000 by December 5th and the students have participated in a number 
of fundraisers this year so far. Last year we begged, borrowed, and dumpster-dived for all the additional material we needed. 
The students built a very competitive robot, so with a little funding we could really excel!”

   The Robotics Team would like to thank the many local companies who donated items for the silent auction.

   The proceeds from the event will be used to register for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) 
event and to purchase the required Kit of Parts.  The Kit of Parts contains some but not all of the parts required to build the robot 
(some base parts, motors, sensors, wiring, and software). The registration fee and kit is $6,000.

   At the kick off in January, the PHS Robotics Team (along with more than 1,300 teams across the world) will receive the parts kit 
and tune into NASA TV/Web to view the announcement of the game challenge. From that point, the teams have six weeks to 
design and construct the robot and ship it to the competition. There are three days of practice and competition.  

   “This year, the Robotics Team has had the benefit of the assistance of the Mrs. Kathleen Shannon’s marketing classes at PHS 
to promote the program,” said Mrs. Dibble. “The program has the potential to involve many more students beyond the small engine 
and design classes. Teams across the nation engage the physics, engineering, design, marketing, business, and computer graphics 
and web design classes in the make up of their team members.”

   Additional information on FIRST can be obtained at www.usfirst.org, and for the local program at Friends of Region 15 FIRST 
Organizations c/o 690 Main Street South, Woodbury, CT 06798, or by contacting Christine Dibble 203-263-5999. FOR15 Friends of 
Region 15 FIRST Organizations LLC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the FIRST programs at PHS (The Panther 
Project FIRST Robotics Team), Memorial Middle School (Mindstorm Mustangs FIRST Lego League Team) and Long Meadow 
Elementary School FIRST Jr. Lego League Enrichment Program.