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About Us
Mission Statement
The mission of FIRST Team 1676, the Pascack Pi-oneers, combines the fundamental beliefs of FIRST with the desires of our team members to pursue and promote future careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) and to provide STEAM education for our community. Our goal is to operate as a cohesive team, competing with Gracious Professionalism under the guise of FIRST and developing our students’ abilities to collaborate, create and develop as individuals and collectively as a team. We strive not only to build a successful robot, but also to master and exhibit the many life-skills necessary to succeed beyond FIRST Team 1676.
Team Description
FIRST® Robotics Competition Team 1676, The Pascack Pi-oneers, is located in Bergen County, New Jersey, in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District. The team consists of four towns: Hillsdale, River Vale, Montvale, and Woodcliff Lake. Students from Hillsdale and River Vale attend Pascack Valley High School, and students from Montvale and Woodcliff Lake attend Pascack Hills High School.
Pi-oneer students work alongside mentors to build a robot capable of meeting a specific challenge, write award submissions, design team logos, complete a business plan, and more, all within eight weeks. The robot then competes in local, regional, and international competitions in the spring. The program encourages teamwork, creativity, and community service, instilling self-confidence, critical-thinking, and Gracious Professionalism in students. It introduces participants to technical and non-technical disciplines such as programming, mechanical and electrical engineering, 3D Animation, CAD, photography and videography, writing, and business applications. The Pi-oneers become leaders, inspired to mentor others during Build Season and throughout the year.
The community is very supportive of the Pascack Pi-oneers. The mayors and councils of all four towns publicly recognize the team for their accomplishments at the end of the season. Local businesses donate meals to the team and sponsors provide mentors. Coaches and mentors volunteer much of their time to work with the team. Teachers and staff in the school, engineers in the community, business professionals, and parents all work tirelessly to ensure that FRC Team 1676 meets their goals each year. The Pascack Pi-oneers Parent Association organizes Build Season meals, provides carpools for students, and sells team spiritwear.
Pi-oneers constantly strive to educate others about STEAM subjects, specifically children – the future of STEAM and FIRST®. The team is passionate about what they do and apply the values they learn from FIRST® to everyday life.
Team History
In the fall of 2004, Team 1676 was established by Pascack Valley High School senior Matt Hayon, Philip Paspalas, a former Technology teacher at Pascack Hills High School, and Mercedes-Benz, the team’s first corporate sponsor. Their hard work and dedication to establish a new technology and engineering after-school program created the Pascack Pi-oneers.
The name of the team, The Pascack Pi-oneers, was developed in the team’s first season when a game clue referenced the mathematical symbol “π”. Since the mascots of Pascack Hills and Pascack Valley were a Cowboy and an Indian, the team created the name “Pascack Pi-oneers”. Choosing the team colors proved a difficult task because the team did not want to show favoritism to either high school by choosing the colors of one of the schools. A freshman team member solved this problem by designing a logo using the colors yellow and black, two colors which are not associated with either school.
The Pi-oneers have come a long way since their successful start in 2004 and winning the Rookie All-Star Award in their first year. In 2009, when Mr. Paspalas was promoted to Vice Principal and Athletic Director.