A New Year!

It's 2013 and were back! Starting up a whole new year with some new people but the same joy and excitement!
We have started building and drawing some blue prints for our brand new robot! This year the competition is called Toss Up. It has the robots hanging from bars and throwing objects. We are using the biggest object ever used in the Vex Robotics Competitions. We are looking very forward to doing this all over again, and hope to go back to Worlds this year for another fun and great learning experience for the whole team!

We also hope people can help us out with funds and the team! You can donate money right here on the website, just click on the link on the main page to donate.

Sincerely, The Syntax Errors

P.S. Thanks for checking our website!

Basking in the Glow

If it seems too quiet here at the blog, that's because we've taken a short hiatus while we basked in the glow of REACHING OUR INITIAL FUNDRAISING GOAL!!

To date we have raised $11,400 which will go to sending our team to Anaheim in less than a week. We could not have done it without all of the funds donated through this blog. Thank you.

If you are visiting us for the first time and are interested in donating, please do! Any funds which are not spent on our trip will go towards building our program next year. This year's program was started entirely with grant money which will not be available next year. I have a feeling that our numbers will swell given the success in our first year and would be great to have the resources to support the students.

While we are in Ahaheim we will blog daily, so stay tuned April 17-21 as we take on the World Championship!

~The Syntax Errors

Warm Fuzzies

Last night the Mountain Mahogany Community School shone with their support for our students and our fundraising efforts. Photos will be posted later, but we wanted to be sure we thanked everyone for helping us raise over $1500!

A huge thank you to Mr. Seth for organizing the entertainment, Debra for getting the food piece in order, Cathy for getting the word out through the Leaflet, Brian and Alex for staffing the 'bot drives, Socorro for handling the money, the Syntax Errors for representing the team and to everyone else who supported the event. We are oh so grateful!

The official fundraising tally will be posted this weekend--check back tosee if we met our goal!

~The Syntax Errors

Fundraising Update

To the fans of the Syntax Errors:

We have broken the $6000 mark! As of yesterday we raised just over $6500 and today we were able to add more than $300 more to our total--$230 of which was from Hexbug sales alone! I love how our school (and extended) community is coming together to support these amazing kids.

If you ordered a Hexbug Ant, don't worry, they are on "backorder" and we should have them tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks so much!
~The Syntax Errors

Selling Like Hotcakes!

The school support for the Hexbug fundraiser has been absolutely astounding! We raised about $400 over the last few days, enough to send another student to Anaheim!

Thanks MMCS for supporting our team through this fundraiser!
~The Syntax Errors

A Milestone!

The blog has reached over 1,000 visits since it's start just two weeks ago. Thanks to all of you that have come by and continue to check in. As you can see from our counter on the right, we still have a few thousand dollars to raise so anything you can do to get the word out is greatly appreciated.

This Friday from 5-8 is our Music Review fundraiser--just $5 per family and you can be entertained for 3 hours! We will also have a bake sale with sweet and savory treats, robot drives for $1 and Hexbugs for sale. See the map below for directions.

In the event that you cannot attend Friday's fundraiser--please use the PayPal donation button on the right to support our team. It all adds up!



View Larger Map

Variety Show Fundraiser

Image from pixelgirlpresents.com

This Friday, April 5 from 5-8pm our school is hosting a variety show fundraiser for the Syntax Errors.

Students, families and community members will sing, dance, act, and otherwise entertain us through the evening.

$5 per family is our suggested donation. Hexbugs will be for sale ($7 for the Nano and $12 for the Ant), and robot drives will be $1.

We hope you can join us for an excellent evening showcasing our local talent.
~The Syntax Errors

HexBug Fundraiser

Ant Hexbug image from Cutebiz.com

To support our fundraising efforts we are selling Nano and Ant Hexbugs! They are for sale on the Mountain Mahogany Community School campus and will be at any of our community fundraisers, such as the bake sale at Altura Park.

Hexbugs are micro robots that move and have sensors which allow them to do unique things.

The Nano, for example, vibrates to move and if it ends up on its back is able to right itself. We are selling the Nano for $7 a piece. You can see the Nano in action here.

For $12 the Ant could be yours! The Ant is larger than the Nano and zips around on hard surfaces. When it runs into an obstacle, the sensors on its antennae signal it to back up. When it backs into an obstacle, the sensors there indicate that it should move forward. Click here to see the Ant in action.

Bake Sale UPDATE

Today at the bake sale we raised $254!! That's a whole lot of muffins, cookies and robot drives. A HUGE Thank You to everyone who supported this event-from the delicious food to the organizing to those of you in the community who purchased these treats. We had so many items to sell that they were distributed amongst the team members to sell around town this weekend. Keep an eye out for Syntax Errors at your local park or dog park and pick up a sweet treat this afternoon.

Sevilla Explaining the 'bot to a Happy Customer

Something for Everyone

Bake Sale TODAY!

Borrowed from the Village Voice blog

From 9:30-1:00 at the SW corner of Altura Park (near Carlisle between Indian School & Constitution) we are holding a bake sale to raise funds for Anaheim. Last night many Syntax Errors and their families were baking away. I, for one, will be there with coconut bread and my signature grapefruit cake. Come by for a treat, a coffee, a chat and to pick up a Hexbug Nano--just $7! Hope to see you there on this gorgeous Saturday.

 ~The Syntax Errors
View Larger Map

Kickball for Robots

Our school community is really banding together to support our trip to Anaheim. The Hexbug fundraiser has been an incredible success so far and classrooms are finding unique ways to raise money.

Ms. Conna's 5th grade class is playing kickball to raise funds for our trip, too. For every point they score Ms. Conna will pay $.50. They have had two rousing games of kickball so far and from what I hear, those 5th graders really know how to score some points!

Thanks for supporting the team, 5th grade!
~The Syntax Errors

Fundraising Event This Saturday!

This Saturday (3/30) we will be hosting a bake sale at the Altura Park Soccer Fields here in Albuquerque from 9am-1pm. We will have most delicious treats, hot coffee and Hexbugs for sale! The Hexbugs are the Nano and the Ant and sell for $7 and $12, respectively.
If you can come out and support us, or if you have some goods to donate to the cause, please leave a comment and how we can get in touch!

Wow!

Today we received $1250 in donations! We are on our way to Worlds!

Please use the PayPal button to the right to make your tax-deductible donation to our team.

We are so grateful!
~Syntax Errors

If you would like to donate...

Dear Supporters of Syntax Errors,

If you would like to donate money to help us get to Anaheim, you can send your tax-deductible donation endorsed to Friends of Mountain Mahogany (FOMM). This is the non-profit arm of our school. FOMM's mailing address is:

5014 4th St NW
Albuquerque, NM 87107

In the very near future our Kickstarter campaign will also be live. When that happens you can use your credit card or PayPal account to donate directly.

We are also looking for donations of snacks, banner printing, small New Mexico Zia flags, small ristras, a button press to borrow, and new, white t-shirts in a variety of sizes. These donations can also be delivered to our school at the address above.

Whatever way you choose to support us, we're ever so grateful!

The Syntax Errors