← Home · For Families: Phase A 2026 Calendar
📅 April 27 — June 4, 2026 · ~5.5 weeks

Phase A Calendar for Families

Spartan Design Robotics runs year-round, but the high-touch family-facing calendar lives in Phase A: 12 Tu/Th meetings (3:00–5:00 PM), 3 Saturday practices (May 2, 9, 16 · 8–12 PM), plus the daily Competitive Robotics Elective at school. Phase B starts June 5 — that's when some teams may take robots home for practice.

This calendar is designed to be printed or added to your family calendar app (Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook). It auto-syncs when subscribed.

📅 Add to Calendar (.ics)
Tu/Th Meeting (3–5 PM)
Saturday Practice (8–12 PM)
Phase boundary
School holiday (no meeting)
Special meeting (V1 Handoff)
May 2026 — The Heart of Phase A
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
26
Apr
27
Phase A begins
28
Mtg 1 · Game Reveal
29
30
Mtg 2 · Rules & Field
1
May
2
Sat Practice 8–12
3
4
5
Mtg 3 · Clawbot Triage
6
7
Mtg 4 · Onshape Day 1
8
9
Sat Practice 8–12
10
11
12
Mtg 5 · Notebook Workshop
13
14
Mtg 6 · Onshape Day 2
15
16
Sat Practice 8–12
17
18
19
Mtg 7 · EZ-Template 1
20
21
Mtg 8 · Onshape Day 3
22
23
24
25
Memorial Day · No school
26
Mtg 9 · EZ-Template 2 + Sensors
27
28
Mtg 10 · Notebook Review
29
30
31
1
Jun
2
Mtg 11 · 8th-Grade Showcase
3
4
Mtg 12 · V1 Handoff (last meeting!)
5
Phase B begins
6
📚 If You're a Canvas Observer

What students are learning each week

Open the matching Canvas modules to see exactly what your student is working on. Use the conversation starter to get them talking about it. Today's week is highlighted — it's where you'll find what they're doing right now.

Week 1
Apr 27 – May 3
Canvas Modules Active
Tu/Th: Game Reveal · Rules & Field Study
Period 4: V1 Drivetrain Conversion (Week 1)
Clawbot Module: Pages 0–3 (Welcome, Build, Drive code, IMU)
Talk to Your Student About
“What did you think of the Override game reveal?”
“What's the most important rule you learned this week?”
Week 2
May 4 – May 10
Canvas Modules Active
Tu/Th: Mtg 3 Clawbot Triage · Mtg 4 Onshape Day 1
Period 4: Hero Bot Arm CAD (Week 2)
Clawbot Module: Pages 4–6 (Arm/Claw, Limit switches, Pot 🛑)
Talk to Your Student About
“Show me how the Clawbot drives.”
“What's a potentiometer? Why does the team check it carefully?”
Week 3
May 11 – May 17
Canvas Modules Active
Tu/Th: Mtg 5 Notebook Workshop · Mtg 6 Onshape Day 2
Period 4: Hero Bot Arm Build (Week 3)
Clawbot Module: Pages 7–8 (Brain Dashboard, Optical Sensor)
Talk to Your Student About
“Show me your engineering notebook.”
“What's the hardest part of designing robot parts in Onshape?”
Week 4
May 18 – May 24
Canvas Modules Active
Tu/Th: Mtg 7 EZ-Template Day 1 · Mtg 8 Onshape Day 3
Period 4: Sensor Integration (Week 4)
Clawbot Module: Page 9 (Distance Sensor on the back)
Talk to Your Student About
“How does the robot know where it is on the field?”
“What's the difference between manual and autonomous driving?”
Week 5
May 25 – May 31
Canvas Modules Active
Mon May 25: Memorial Day — no school
Tu/Th: Mtg 9 EZ-Template Day 2 + Sensors · Mtg 10 Notebook Review
Period 4: Programming Integration (Week 5)
Clawbot Module: Pages 10–11 (Macros, Auton mission — stretch goals)
Talk to Your Student About
“What surprised you in this week's work?”
“What's something about robotics you want to teach me?”
Week 5.5
Jun 1 – Jun 4
Canvas Modules Active
Tu/Th: Mtg 11 8th-Grade Showcase · Mtg 12 V1 Hero Bot Handoff
Period 4: V1 Owner's Manual + Handoff Prep (Week 6)
Clawbot Module: Pages 12–13 (Field practice, Handoff)
Talk to Your Student About
“Tell me about the V1 Hero Bot handoff at Mtg 12.”
“What are you most proud of from Phase A?”
👪 New to Canvas? How to view it as a parent
Canvas has a free Observer role for parents — read-only access to your student's Canvas courses. You'll see assignments, due dates, and the same module pages your student does. Setup is typically:
  1. Your student generates a pairing code in their Canvas account
  2. You create a Canvas Observer account using that pairing code
  3. You then see their courses (read-only) for the rest of the year
Specific district workflow varies. If you don't have your pairing code yet or aren't sure how to set this up, email Coach Tansopalucks — we'll walk you through it.
🕒 Recurring — Tu/Th Meetings
Every Tuesday and Thursday, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM. 12 meetings total across Phase A. Whole program (39 students). Meetings are held at school. Topics rotate each meeting; see calendar grid above for the topic of each session.
🏁 Saturday Practices — Phase A
Three Saturday practice sessions during Phase A: May 2, May 9, May 16, all from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Held at school. Hands-on practice time for both squads — V1 Hero Bot iteration for the qualifier squad, Clawbot training and field practice for the league squad.
🏫 Daily — Competitive Robotics Elective
Held during the school day Mon–Fri. Vets-led V1 Hero Bot build for the qualifier squad; Clawbot training for the league squad. Families do not need to plan around this — it's part of the regular school schedule.
🏆 Target — Competition Ready
No official competition date confirmed yet. Coach Tansopalucks's target: comp-ready by Labor Day (September 7, 2026). First competition typically falls within Phase E (August 18 – September 5) or shortly after. Watch for emails as dates are announced.
📝 Engineering Notebook
Students keep a notebook throughout Phase A. Cross-team review happens at Mtg 10 (Thu May 28). Final handoff and presentations at Mtg 12 (Thu Jun 4). Families are welcome to attend Mtg 12 to see what students built.
🔗 Where students do their work
Day-to-day assignments and meeting topics live in Canvas. The deeper technical reference library is at spartandesignrobotics.org. This calendar is a high-level family overview — for the kid-facing detail, point them at Canvas.
📅 Full Season at a Glance
Phase A
Apr 27 – Jun 4
Preseason. Game reveal, V1 build.
Phase B
Jun 5 – Jun 21
Take-home practice begins.
Phase C
Jun 22 – Jul 7
Pre-Camp Prep.
Phase D
Jul 8 – Aug 12
Summer Camp.
Phase E
Aug 18 – Sep 5
Early Season.
For details on each phase see the season roadmap. Phase B–E calendars are released as those phases approach.
👪 A note for families
Most days during Phase A, your student does Spartan Design Robotics work at school during their Competitive Robotics Elective — nothing extra for you to plan. The dates that affect your family's schedule are the 12 Tu/Th meetings (3–5 PM), the 3 Saturday practices (May 2, 9, 16 from 8–12 PM), Memorial Day (no school), and Mtg 12 on June 4 (the V1 Hero Bot Handoff — families welcome). Phase B starts June 5; if your team takes a robot home for practice, expect Coach Tansopalucks to email a take-home protocol covering equipment care.