The Chairman's team has completed doing their revisions to the essay. They have also finished writing the video script, as well as the presentation script which is now being revised. The Graphics team has been hard at work completing the teams third video to be aired on Lake TV.  Safety is continuing to work on their Mental Health Program. 

The fabrication team has completed a prototype for the frame and elevator, and now have a working elevator with a custom gearbox. The team also completed the hatch intake and all of the field elements, which are now in LASER's practice space. The programming team has written code for the elevator, lift, and arm, and has the framework set for the intake.

The graphics team completed the pit banner and logos for the upcoming season. Graphics has also been making weekly videos for Lake TV to broadcast throughout build season. Story boarding for the Chairman's video started this week. Safety captains are developing a mental health program for the team, and will be attending a mental health and First Aid training soon. The award team is working with graphics to create a video script for Chairman's. The Chairman's essay is completed, and is being put through the revision process. 

The ​field elements are constructed, and the practice field is finished. The fabrication team completed a prototype  drive train, and is currently putting it through the testing process. Programmers completed coding for the drive train and are testing it on the new motors and gearbox. Fabrication is also testing and modifying the prototypes for the intake mechanism. 

The team was hard at work after Kickoff planning for this season's Chairman's Essay. The team began to develop ideas for the Chairman's theme, video, and essay. The team started drafting subsections, and a  draft was developed for the essay. Team members completed their FIRST® Equity Diversity, and Inclusivity training certifications. Team pictures and individual pictures were taken. Graphics for pit banners are underway, and the business plan is also coming along. The Safety Notebook is being revamped, and the Engineering Notebook is being updated daily for the upcoming season.

The team split up into groups to brainstorm ideas, and then presented them to the rest of the team. The programmers have completed downloading the software required for this season. Prototype ideas for the intake were created in CAD, as the team began to research what will work for the current season by researching other season's robot designs.  Members began to CAD different options for the robot and decisions were made in regards to which design will be the most effective. 

On January 5th, LASER was ready to lift off with Destination: Deep Space​! The team was especially excited this year, as senior team leaders traveled to New Hampshire to attend the international season kickoff celebration. While there, students toured Dean Kamen’s company, DEKA, attended a reception at his home, and were able to view the international season kickoff live. 

​Other team members traveled to GARMIN, in Olathe, Kansas, to pick up the team’s kit of parts. The remainder of the team began prototyping, brainstorming, and strategizing as soon as game rules were released online. The fabrication team is currently busy with designing, drafting, modeling, and prototyping. Additionally, the awards team began to cultivate ideas for the chairman's award, updating and expanding the safety program, and writing the entrepreneurship plan and the Woodie Flower's award. LASER is excited to begin its tenth season and to welcome new team members!