October 20, 2022 Newsletter

#IAmMoreThan

We talked to kids, experts, and parents all over the country to learn about what the current barriers to success were. What we heard the most was that many kids learn to doubt themselves because of the fear of judgment or lack of acceptance. This insight drove us to create our new campaign, More Than.

More Than focuses on dismantling labels and promoting self-esteem through STEM-related activities. At FIRST^®, we want EVERY kid to believe in themselves and know that they are More Than the stereotypes or “boxes” society has placed them in. Together, we can inspire kids everywhere to take pride in being exactly who they are.

Event Preferencing

As a reminder, these are the 2023 events for MN, ND, and SD:

• Lake Superior and Northern Lights Regionals in Duluth, MN, March 1-4, 2023
• Great Northern Regional in Grand Forks, ND, March 8-11, 2023
• North Star @ La Crosse in La Crosse, WI, March 23-26, 2023 (note: Thursday to Sunday event)
• 10,000 Lakes presented by Medtronic in Minneapolis, MN, March 29 – April 1, 2023

Please note:

• Headquarters is currently focused on the teams who had not preferenced an event in the first round. Early next week, 2nd event teams that are on wait lists will be notified if they were accepted.
• If you are facing challenges with events, including finding a 2nd event or additional transportation or travel costs, please contact Ken or Nicole for assistance.
• The wait list at all of our events is slightly larger than normal in case we need to move teams or volunteers between events.
• 10,000 Lakes presented by Medtronic is a wait list only event. Spots need to be held for teams who only compete at this event.
• If you can ONLY attend 10,000 Lakes, please list this as your preferred event and DO NOT list a 2nd preference. Also, email Nicole or Ken to express your need.

Important Announcements

• Team Grants are available NOW! Remember to ask your mentors, as some businesses only allow grant requests from employees. Team grants close October 31, so go check out the list today.
• Event volunteers needed! Due to the changes in our event locations this year, our volunteer base is also facing changes due to schedules and location. As a result, we are anticipating a need for new/returning volunteers this year. Please consider asking team mentors, parents, and sponsors to volunteer at one of our events. Instructions and event volunteer registration can be found here.
• Congratulations to the 2022 FIRST Upper Midwest Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Grant Recipents!
• The Robettes, Team 2177 invites any young woman with any experience level on any FRC team to attend GRIP (Girls in Robotics Improving Performance) on Sat Oct 28th. GRIP is a training workshop to develop and deepen technical skills used on FRC technical sub-teams. Our goal is to enhance the experience of young women in robotics by providing an encouraging environment for girls to hone their skills; to give them a space to learn, fail, ask questions, and have fun! We invite girls to experience any aspect of a robotics team: mechanical, electrical, or programming. Applicants will choose one track in which they would like to improve their skills. All attendees will participate in a communications & presentation seminar. Spots are limited – the first 30 applicants will be accepted.

Who: All girls on FRC Teams
When: 9:00-3:00 Saturday, October 29th, 2022
Where: Visitation School in Mendota Heights, MN
What: FREE workshop for girls to build skills & confidence!
RSVP to GRIP@therobettes.com by Sunday, October 23rd.

• Elevate Your Game Training on November 5th, presented by 2022 FRC World Champion Team 1619 – Up-A-Creek Robotics, and sponsored by Toro Robotics will cover a wide variety of topics designed to help your team improve its on-field performance in FIRST Robotics Competition events. All FRC teams, from Rookies to Super-Veterans, will find something of value during the course of the day. This event is FREE OF CHARGE! Lunch and snacks will be provided. Saturday, November 5th from 9am-5pm. RSVP to Mike Ott to save your spot at training.
• Kick-off your FIRST® Robotics season by attending the fourth annual Jumpstart by Medtronic. We are so excited to be back in person at Medtronic Operational Headquarters in Fridley on Saturday, November 12th. Teams are also encouraged to submit an abstract to present at Jumpstart. Presentations will be 40 minutes in length. Topics of interest to teams include everything from writing an Impact Award submission to building technical skills in the off season. Agenda and attendee details will be shared at jumpstartrobotics.org in the coming weeks. Register today!

• High School Robotics Saturday Seminars at Dunwoody College are back! These Saturday Robotics seminars are intended to support high school students that are new to robotics or considering joining a robotics team. The sessions include information on basic electricity and electronics, shop skills and hand tools, industrial robotics, LabVIEW Programming, and Solidworks Design. Seminars are available Nov. 5 and Dec. 3. Register!
• University of Minnesota is looking for high school teachers interested in teaching Introduction to Computing Systems (ICS) to their students. ICS is an introductory programming course that focuses on engineering applications of computing. It is offered as a College in the School (CIS) course, where high school teachers instruct students in the high school classroom with curriculum, project support, field trips, and mentorship from University faculty. Students receive UofM transcript credit which applies directly to most engineering and computer science major programs. This is an exciting project-based course where students learn to program, then apply those skills to build Internet of Things projects using sensors, actuators, microcontrollers, cell phones, and cloud connectivity. Here is an example of a student project. We are seeking high school teachers for the ’23-24 school year cohort.  You can learn more on our flyer and by reaching out to Prof. Orser.

Quick Bites of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

Youth leadership and youth voice are important to FIRST®. We are committed to helping young people develop leadership competencies to make them better able to solve community and societal problems. FIRST is more than robots, and we want to make sure our students are equipped with the tools and knowledge to be successful beyond the classroom.The Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (ED&I) Youth Training is for all FIRST students. It is designed to educate FIRST students about the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion while providing strategies and recommendations to help FIRST create a more inclusive and diverse environment. The training includes an animation video and three modules. The animation video and modules are each under 5 minutes to complete.

“Working Together” – Animation Video

The short animation video shows a FIRST team working through discrimination and bias while gaining an understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusion.

Pro Tip
FIRST has dedicated webpages for event-specific questions and concerns, including accommodations/accessibility questions, event rules, and where to go to get questions answered and needs met. Bookmark and Scroll through the Events Experience page. Be sure to click on all of the headings!

Mentor Gems
Do you have questions for fellow mentors? Ask here and see the responses in a future newsletter.

Next Question: What were your best outreach activities?
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