THE BIRCH WATHEN LENOX SCHOOL · BIRCH BOTS FRC ROBOTICS TEAM
TEAM #5421
210 EAST 77TH STREET · NEW YORK, NY 10075
Check out our 2026 Season Blog01 — Who We Are
WHO WE
ARE
02 — Our Mission
OUR
MISSION
TEAMWORK
Students from all grades working as one
SERVICE
Giving back to our local and broader community
LEADERSHIP
Teaching our upperclassmen how to pass their knowledge onto future team leaders
INNOVATION
Encouraging creativity and construction that goes beyond the classroom
SAFETY
Adhering to safety protocols as a top priority
COLLABORATION
Working with other teams and organizations in order to heighten our experience
03 — Responsibility
RESPON-
SIBILITY
Our team is made up of high school students and is led by upperclassmen captains along with faculty mentors. Captains and mentors take on the esteemed role of nurturing and guiding our newer members and younger students in order to teach the practices of our team and hopefully instill enough knowledge that they are one day able to become a leader themselves.
| NAME | ROLE |
|---|---|
| Tori Atlas | Head of Operations |
| Matthew Wollin | Head of Electrical |
| Ayesha Rehman | Head of Programming |
| Danny Matut | Head of Mechanical |
| Ajey Jagannathan | Team Mentor |
| Marisa Dinko | Team Mentor |
*If you are looking to get in touch with a specific member of our leadership team please contact birchbots@gbwl.org and we will be happy to connect you with the appropriate team member.
04 — Our Impact
OUR
IMPACT
As a team, Birch Bots makes our school a brighter and more intellectual community by instilling values in our members that they carry with them beyond the classroom. Part of our dedication is to our philanthropic partner Grassroots Grocery. Weekly after school, our team participates in a food packing event to box up leftover food from our cafeteria and donate it to people in need.
We strive to contribute positively to our community, delivering the packaged food to a local fridge where low-income residents in the area can pick up a meal as needed. In addition to our weekly packings, we also participate in monthly produce parties as another form of food rescue.
A major part of Birch Bots is the team's commitment to spreading STEM throughout the school community. The team accomplishes this by hosting STEM days for students interested in joining, as well as for prospective families considering The Birch Wathen Lenox School.
Birch Bots partners with our Lower and Middle School FLL team, the Lego Lions. Our Upper School students work with the Lego Lions to help them develop essential skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, time management, and responsibility. Your contributions to the team will help us continue supporting STEM in our community.
05 — What We Need
WHAT WE
NEED
FUNDING DONATIONS
Donate to improve and brighten the future of Birch Bots by helping to fund our team
EQUIPMENT DONATIONS
Donate needed equipment from our wishlist to improve the quality of material
SPONSORSHIPS
Sponsor our team in exchange for advertisements and company exposure during regional competitions
06 — Benefits
BENEFITS
*All donations and any amount are welcome, and are tax deductible!
- Logo / brand name on team uniforms and posted on our competition pit
- Personalized thank you package
- Shoutout on social media
- All benefits from Tier 1 plus...
- Enlarged logos on uniforms and poster
- Mention during YouTube posts
- Mention on website
- All benefits from Tier 1 & 2 plus...
- Brand logo / name on competing robot
- Verbal mention / shoutout during competition
07 — Weekly Blog
WEEKLY
BLOG
Follow along with our season in real time. Each week the team shares updates on our build progress, competitions, community events, and everything in between.
Week 1 · Build Season
Kicking Off the New Season!
Birch Bots started build season by brainstorming a robot design, laying out the CAD plan, building the chassis, and prototyping different intake strategies. Operations stayed busy preparing Candy Grams to support the season ahead. 🤖💙
Read Full Post →
Week 2 · Build Season
Measuring, Coding & Member Spotlights
Mechanical worked on measuring and finalizing mounts for CAD. Coding set up their environment and installed Python software. Operations prepared Candy Grams and completed member spotlights highlighting Sawyer and Conner's dedication.
Read Full Post →
Week 3 · Build Season
CAD, Launcher Box & Base Code
Mechanical worked on CAD for the intake, built the launcher box, secured robot legs, and cut plastic for the hub. Coding worked on base code and organizational structure for peer review. Operations kept up Candy Grams and social media.
Read Full Post →
Week 4 · Build Season
Flyers, Bumpers & 3D Printing
Operations put up flyers for Candy Gram sales and started working on bumpers. Mechanical stabilized the robot structure and 3D printed parts for intake and electrical. Coding studied Python vs Java to develop robot movement code.
Read Full Post →Week 5 · Build Season
PVC Pipes, Bumpers & Valentine's Day
Mechanical mapped PVC pipes and wheels for the fuel transport system, and cut wood and foam for bumpers. Coding worked on converting Python to Java. Operations finished Candy Grams with bracelets and gave them out for Valentine's Day! 💙
Read Full Post →
Week 6 · Build Season
Hub Build, Investor Presentation & Final Bumpers
Mechanical built the hub and worked on 90° gearboxes. Operations gave a robotics presentation to a potential investor/mentor, finished and attached the bumpers to the robot. Coding reviewed the Python-to-Java code switch. Competition is close!
Read Full Post →08 — Contacts
CONTACTS
For any business or sponsorship inquiries please contact our operations subteam or write to our team email at birchbots@gbwl.org
Week 1 · Build Season
Kicking Off the New Season!
Birch Bots kicked off the 2026 build season with energy and enthusiasm! The team started things off by brainstorming a general robot design and laying out the plan for CAD. Mechanical got to work building the chassis and beginning early CAD work, all while prototyping and exploring different intake strategies to find the most effective approach.
Meanwhile, Operations stayed busy behind the scenes, preparing Candy Grams to help support the season ahead. An exciting and productive start — we can't wait to keep building from here! 🤖💙
Week 2 · Build Season
Measuring, Coding & Member Spotlights
Week 2, Birch Bots focused on continued progress across all teams. Mechanical worked on measuring the mounts whilst finalizing them for CAD. In the meantime, Coding continued setting up their coding environment and installing Python software whilst Ayesha worked to redesign our website.
Operations prepared Candy Grams for the upcoming holiday season and completed 2 member spotlights, highlighting Sawyer and Conner's dedication to our team. Overall, it was a productive and successful week as build season continues to move forward.
Week 3 · Build Season
CAD, Launcher Box & Base Code
Week 3, Birch Bots maintained a strong focus on progress across all teams. Mechanical continued to work on CAD for the intake that takes the balls. They got to work on the launcher box, securing the legs of the robot part, and cutting plastic and building the hub.
Coding worked on getting their base code, and setting an organizational structure for how they're going to peer review each other's code. Operations worked on packing candy grams for Valentine's Day and keeping social media up to date. This week delivered solid progress as the build season progresses!
Week 4 · Build Season
Flyers, Bumpers & 3D Printing
This week, Operations put up flyers around the school to advertise Candy Gram sales, packaged more candy grams, and took notes and pictures on what other subteams are doing. They also started working on the bumpers for the robot, getting ready for comp season!
Mechanical spent time stabilizing the structure of the robot and 3D printing parts for intake and electrical components. They continued working on the hub, which is an integral part of the robot's function. Coding focused on understanding the comparison and contrast between Python and Java language so they can develop the code to assist the robot. This week was very productive for all divisions, and the season continues smoothly!
Week 5 · Build Season
PVC Pipes, Bumpers & Valentine's Day
Week 5, Birch Bots continued to work together to push progress forward. Mechanical worked on mapping out PVC pipes and mechanical wheels to design a system that transports fuel from the intake to the shooter. Additionally they worked on measuring and cutting wood, and foam for bumpers to protect the robot.
Coding worked on finishing their coding assignments, and trying to change our Python code to Java code for the robot in order to help the robot to move. The captain gave a presentation to members about Java to Python and the specifics. Operations worked on covering the bumpers with fabric and drilling them together. Furthermore, we finished packing candy grams by adding bracelets to every candy gram and gave them out for Valentine's Day so everyone could enjoy their sweets. 💙 This week showed strong progress for the team, as we get ready for the competition!
Week 6 · Build Season
Hub Build, Investor Presentation & Final Bumpers
Week 6, Birch Bots continued as a team to drive progress forward. Mechanical worked on collecting the wood in order to build the hub for the robot, and 90 degree gear boxes. On Wednesday, Operations gave a presentation about robotics and the competition we compete in to an interview for an investor/mentor.
Additionally, they finished building and covering the bumpers, and started attaching them to each other. Then, we put it on the robot to see how well it fits. Coding worked on looking over the code for the robot to decipher the switch from Python to Java. As the competition approaches, this week showed significant progress — the team is fired up and ready!