HD3: Getting Into the Flow

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. Parent Information Night and Building your Roster
2. Project Updates!
3. ¿Su equipo habla español?
4. Coach, Mentor, and Parent Workshops END this month
5. Building a Welcoming Team Environment
6. Looking for something for younger siblings to do? FIRST LEGO League Jr Information sessions scheduled.

To read this update as a blog, please click here.

Oregon Update: 3

Welcome to the official FIRST LEGO League Oregon Update. All Oregon FIRST LEGO League Coaches are automatically added to this list weekly! In each update, which you can read in an email or on our blog (cross posted on both G+ and Facebook), you will find out what is happening in Oregon, the important things from Headquarters in NH, and tips to keep your team on track. This blog will be posted nearly weekly and all posts are archived. All official updates this season will be numbered HD# If you've missed an update, please read the archive to catch up!

1)  Parent Information Night and Building your Roster

In an earlier update, we talked about the importance of building your team roster during the early season parent night. I still think this is a great plan, unfortunately, FIRST has been unable to give a date when the online system will be ready. Do not let this stop your parent night from happening. It doesn't even need to stop you from building your roster!

What you should cover in a parent night:

• The FIRST LEGO League team meeting schedule, including bonus meeting times in October/November.  Just because your team is meeting 3-4 hours a week now doesn't mean they won't want extra meetings before competition
• The FIRST LEGO League Oregon Qualifying Tournament dates. While I am still confirming some tournaments all tournaments in Oregon will take place on December 2, 3, 9, or 10*. This is an all-day commitment for ALL team members and most likely at least one adult chaperone in addition to the team's two coaches, if you have more than one team, you will need more adult help. A team that is missing team members at the competition is at a disadvantage, especially in judging as all team members must participate in all parts of the three judging interviews. Team members who are missing put the burden of representing their efforts on their teammates. Just like you don't miss the big game, you don't want to miss your qualifying tournament. Your team won't know which tournament they have been assigned to until the end of October, but you as the coach need to know which dates work best for your team and your location. More information regarding the Oregon events will be posted soon. Confirmed tournaments are already posted on the website and with FIRST. These are not the only tournaments we are working on.
  *The Ontario Qualifying Tournament will take place on December 16.
• The work expected between meetings. Even if your team is meeting 2-3 times a week, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Some of this can be done without the rest of the team. Parents need to understand the importance of completing research, design, building, and programming assignments between meetings so the team can keep moving forward. This is especially important when researching your human water cycle problem which your team should have decided by mid-October.
  
• Getting your student officially on the roster. This is the part where I had planned to give you a walkthrough of the new student roster system. Instead, we are going to take a step back. At this first meeting of parents, please distribute the linked paper consent and release forms. Make sure each parent completes the form and returns it to one of the coaches. It's best if they do them during the meeting! Coach, you are responsible for these forms until December. Keep them with the team materials. Make a photocopy or digital copy if you need to. We will accept photocopies at the qualifying tournaments. Your adult chaperone, if you know who they are, may also use one of the paper forms or you may invite them as a Mentor through the FIRST system.
• English Language Forms
• Spanish Language Forms
  At FIRST's request, these forms WILL NOT be available on the ORTOP website. If the link no longer works please email Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org
• To invite a Mentor through the official FIRST system:
• go to www.firstinspires.org
• login using the prompt in the upper right corner
• make sure you have the team you want to add the Mentor to selected on your Dashboard
• in the middle section "Team Contacts/Roster" select Contact Options
• Select Manage Contacts
• From this screen, you can add any additional adults who will be working with your team as Mentors 
• Have the mentor go to www.firstinspires.org and login
• The mentor will have a three people icon by their name in the upper right corner, they can accept their invitation to the team using this icon.
• Team volunteer sign-up! Successful teams have engaged parents. If your team is meeting during business hours this can be a challenge for your parents to participate in the team meetings themselves, but there are many roles that parents can help fill, from making sure the team has snacks, to being a communication liaison for the coach, and even working on finding local sponsorship for the team - we just ask that you do not make additional financial requests of the ORTOP sponsors who are already contributing to the teams through ORTOP. 

Did I miss something you normally include? Please let me know. I will make sure to add it to future emails to help all teams!

2) Project Updates!

How is your team coming on their HYDRO DYNAMICS Project? Many returning teams tell me that they did not start their project early enough, or read the requirements clearly their first season. The project is a required component of FIRST LEGO League, with 3 very specific requirements that must be met BEFORE the Qualifying Tournament.

In the HD1 update, I recommended all teams focus on the Project aspect of the challenge in the month of September. If you don't remember, I recommend going back to read that update in the archive. Since that post, there have been more official updates to the project challenge - especially with regard to what subjects qualify as a human water cycle problem. All teams must have a clearly identified problem which their innovative solution attempts to solve in order to have a complete project and be eligible for advancement and champions or project awards at the qualifying tournament. 

As your team moves forward with the Project aspect of the challenge make sure you reference both the challenge guide and the judging rubrics to make sure your team's work is appropriate! We are using a similar rubric to the pilot we used last year, but there have been a few changes, please make sure you are aware of them now.

REMINDER: All teams are welcome to share their innovative solution at OMSI on October 28 and November 11, sign-ups start in October.

3) ¿Su equipo habla español?

At the request of some of our Spanish speaking teams, I have reached out to the FIRST LEGO League partner in Uruguay and they have provided Oregon teams with full translations of many of the HYDRO DYNAMICS materials. Whether you are looking for the kick-off videos, the challenge guide, how to assemble the LEGO, the coach handbook, or even rubrics - please use this folder to assist your bilingual team.

At this time your team does need to complete FIRST LEGO League judging in English. Team members who need assistance with the language may explain this to our judges. Our judges will use the English language rubrics at events.

Would materials in another language help one of your team members? FIRST LEGO League is active in 90 countries around the world. The challenge materials are direct translations of the English. Please let me know what you need.

4) Coach, Mentor, and Parent Workshops END this month

If you are new to FIRST LEGO League we highly recommend attending the Coach, Mentor, and FIRST LEGO League team. There is still space and time to join us this year.
Parent Workshop. These workshops are designed to take anyone from able to check their email to able to provide knowledgeable responses to their FIRST LEGO League questions.

• Tomorrow's workshop in Roseburg still has space at Umpqua Community College in HNSC room 101, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm 
• There is still room to attend the Salem workshop at Garmin on September 23rd, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. 
• The final series, our prototype rapid workshop series, will take place at Hillsboro High School on September 26, 27, and 28 from 6-9 pm - This workshop will be CANCELED if more people do not register to attend.
• The final workshop of the season will take place on September 30th at Eastham Community Center in Oregon City from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Please sign up online at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48ada929a6f94-ortop1

5) Building a Welcoming Team Environment

FIRST LEGO League Core Values are much more than good sportsmanship, they are the way we present our team to the world; as coaches, and as team members. Even with the best of intentions, there are large populations in our community and schools who do not feel welcome or valued at robotics team meetings. To help all coaches understand the best strategies to create an inclusive environment for all ORTOP highly recommends coaches, mentors, and parents take the time to explore FIRST's Diversity and Inclusion Course in Schoology.

If your school, club, or neighborhood group is facing challenges, please reach out. We are happy to help brainstorm ideas, send in support, and provide resources so that all members of your community can have the opportunity to experience the FIRST programs.  Just because your door is open to all, does not mean that everyone can make the leap to enter it. Let's all work together to bring FIRST Core Values to everyone we come in contact with.  

6) Looking for something for younger siblings to do? FIRST LEGO League Jr Information sessions scheduled.

Do you have Kindergarten through 4th-grade students who wish they could be on a FIRST LEGO League team, but aren't ready for the rigors of competition? ORTOP is holding two FIRST LEGO League Jr and introduction to WeDo 2.0 workshops!  Sign up to attend the workshop that works best for you.

• October 16, 6:30 - 8:30 pm at OMSI's Classroom 1
• October 19, 6:30 - 8:30 pm at OMSI's Classroom 1

Sign up using this Google Form!

Unable to attend the workshop but want to learn more about FIRST's introductory program for our youngest engineers? Email Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org or see the FIRST LEGO League Jr website. 

Have a wonderful week. If your team is having any trouble with the registration please call ORTOP or email Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org

Best Wishes,
Loridee