January 2026 Newsletter

At CircuitRunners Robotics, we’re all about pushing the boundaries of innovation, teamwork, and engineering excellence. From shop updates and project highlights to important events and team milestones, we’re here to keep you informed and engaged.

Once a month, we will publish an informative newsletter, keeping you updated on all the latest events and news CircuitRunners has. We will include a calendar of upcoming events, as well as a summary of the key things that we are doing as a club. We hope you enjoy it!

Upcoming Dates:

Dustin Coha from Ingenuity Works was able to visit our shop. He taught skills about problem solving and the process of innovation, inspiring our members during the beginning of the FRC season.

Our members learned so much from him, and we loved having him in the shop! We hope to have him back again!

Our FTC teams went to Daniel Middle School, showcasing the FTC robots. Many middle schoolers attended and were able to be exposed to robotics.

Both of our FTC teams finished off their fourth League Meet this month with a day full of competition and collaboration. Throughout the competition, both teams adapted quickly and pushed their robots to the next level. This experience clearly showed how our teams and robots have progressed from the start of the season. A special congratulations to our FTC 11347 team who placed 3rd FTC 1002 team who placed 6th!

This month marked the start of our FRC season with our annual FRC kickoff with the reveal of the REBUILT game. Members watched the game animation, brainstormed robot designs and ideas for the new seasons, and strategized our game plan to maximize points. This kickoff set an exciting tone for the rest of the year and set the foundation for this year’s competition!

CircuitRunners hosted FLL Super Regionals for the 2025-26 season, centered around the UNEARTHED challenge. The best teams from across the region showcased their robots, presented to judges, and demonstrated strong innovation, teamwork and problem-solving abilities. Elementary and middle schoolers proudly drove their Lego robots, representing the future of robotics and STEM!

This month, our country commissioner, Ms. JoAnn K. Birrell, was able to to visit our workshop. She was able to drive some of the robots, take a look around our workspace, and see how we design and build a functional robot. We loved having her in the shop!

Dear PARENTS,

Volunteering for events is vital to support our club. Many of our events that we host require adult volunteers to run. Without parent volunteers specifically, we would not by able to host all the events that we do throughout the year. Volunteering as a parent can help your child earn a letter for robotics, which is great for college applications. As a CircuitRunners parent, it is critical to support your student, and a great way to do that is through volunteering at CircuitRunners events!

We also need volunteers at the event as referees, field resetters, judging, etc. Below are instruction to volunteer:

A special thank you to Parker’s 3D Prints, ClickUp, Cobb County, GM, Canva, Gene Haas, Elro Signs, Signs and More Inc., Kantan Solutions, Automation Direct, PolyMaker who have supported us and allowed us to keep doing what we do at Circuitrunners. We would not be able to build our robots, compete, and uplift our community without our amazing sponsors!

CircuitRunners is a student-led, student-driven organization, but none of our amazing achievements would have been possible without the invaluable support of our teachers, parents, sponsors, and mentors. As high school students, we deeply value the experience, wisdom, and knowledge you bring to the table - whether it’s programming expertise, mechanical skills, business sense, or marketing proficiency.

In addition to your time and expertise, any financial support would be greatly appreciated. Whether it’s a small donation or sponsoring one of our events, every contribution makes a significant difference.

If you know about schools or communities that can get involved with CircuitRunners, send us as email at: [email protected] or visit our website: www. circuitrunners.org

We are truly grateful for everything you are doing for CircuitRunners! Thank you!