Tuesday, October 31, 2017

HD10: Graciously Dispersed Tricks and Treats

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In this update, you will find:
  1. Gracious Professionalism and Sharing Opportunities with ALL Teams
  2. Volunteer Registration is OPEN for All Oregon Events
  3. November Mission Model Discussion
  4. Tournament Assignments Are Now Posted (3 days early!)
Use this link to read this update as a blog post

Friday, October 27, 2017

HD9: Eroding the Chaos One Drop at a Time

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In this update, you will find:
  1. Qualifying Tournament Application Fee DUE October 31st!
  2. Last Call for Team Name/Affiliation/Coach Corrections
  3. New FIRST LEGO League Project UPDATE
  4. Project Demonstrations at OMSI
Use this link to read this update as a blog post

Monday, October 23, 2017

HD 8: Making Use of Greywater

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In this update, you will find:
  1. Thank You, Intel and Thermo Fisher Scientific
  2. FIRST LEGO League Team Information "Typo Form"
  3. More FIRST LEGO League Tables Available
  4. TWO Coaches are REQUIRED Before You Can Access Your Team Roster
  5. Helpful Handouts from Intel and Tualatin Water District

Use this link to read this update as a blog post

Friday, October 13, 2017

HD7: Keeping the Season Flowing Along

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In this update, you will find:
    Water powering a waterwheel
  1. REGISTRATION For Oregon Teams is CLOSED! - What to do if you missed the boat.
  2. LOTS of Opportunities for FIRST LEGO League Teams!
  3. Please Respect Our Oregon Water Experts
  4. Share your Project at OMSI
  5. Table Available in Hillsboro
  6. Team Goals for October
  7. Getting Everything You Need From Team Parents for the Roster part 1
Use this link to read this update as a blog post


Monday, October 9, 2017

Check Your Team's Status! National Registration and Oregon Event Registration Closes TOMORROW

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

The Oregon FIRST LEGO League region will close for the HYDRO DYNAMICS competitive season tomorrow morning! Is your team ready? Check your team's current status using our handy Google Sheet!

  • If your team does not appear at all - you are NOT Nationally registered as of the time of the last update. Please login to FIRST and pay your $225 National Registration (make sure you order the HYDRO DYNAMICS Challenge Kit if you do not have acces sto one!)
  • If your team does not have two green yeses you are NOT fully registered to attend a qualifying tournament. 
  • Please check the Google Sheet to make sure your team name and affiliation are correct WE WILL NOT UPDATE USING THE FIRST SYSTEM!  Directions to correct spelling errors will come out in this week's update! Please do NOT send them by email.

You do not need to have a complete team roster to register for your qualifying tournament! Please complete the application for each team who will be attending a tournament now.

The Team Google Sheet now lives on the Oregon Hot Topics Page, if you haven't you should probably bookmark this page.

If your team has two green yeses you are done for today. Give yourself 5 coach points (redeemable in smiles from your team at the qualifying tournament).
You can skip the rest of this email/blog.


HELP I'M LOST
If none of this makes sense and you have a team that you are working with right now. Let me help!

What is National Registration?Your team must be nationally registered with FIRST in Manchester NH to be eligible to participate in the current FIRST LEGO League season. This is done from your DASHBOARD on www.firstinspires.org

I was trying to register for an event, but I can't find it on the DASHBOARD? Understandable, Oregon does NOT use the FIRST system for tournament registration because we welcome our teams to choose their event and we use this opportunity to get the information we need to run events and talk with sponsors. To apply for an event you must use the link on the OREGON WEBSITE: https://ortop.org/fll/first-lego-league-qualifying-tournament-registration/

Didn't I already pay for this? The National Registration and the Oregon Qualifying Tournament Registration/Application Fee are not the same things. National Registration is paid to FIRST in Manchester NH and goes to the creation of the FIRST LEGO League program. That money does not cover the program costs for Oregon. ORTOP Sponsors cover many of the program's costs, and some sponsors are ready to help teams who are financially unable to pay the full registration cost. Oregon fees go to make the Oregon program and events possible.

 I received a Team Support Award, but I don't know the number.  The number can be found on the back of the award above the box where you are told what is covered in your award.  Still don't see it? It was also on the email subject line that accompanied your letter.

I'm not going to be ready today/my coach is out of town - Take a deep breath, I have some extensions (not many) that we can use. Email Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org or call ORTOP before 5:30 today. Please provide your team number (if you have one) and explain what's happening. I don't want any team to miss out!

I have other questions! Please email Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org. I'm doing my best to help as many of you as I can through this process!

Friday, October 6, 2017

HD6: The Floodgates are Open

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In this update, you will find:

  1. Oregon Qualifying Tournament Registration is OPEN until October 10!
  2. Two Upcoming Water Expert Nights!
  3. Coming Soon!


Use this link to read this update as a blog post

Monday, October 2, 2017

LINKS you need to register for an Oregon Qualifying Tournament

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

Please see HD4 and HD5 for a complete checklist of items you need to prepare for Qualifying Tournament Registration. This is just a brief email with some links that your team will need for the Oregon Tournament Registration process.

The SAMPLE Application
Please use this sample application to make sure you have all your information on hand BEFORE you start the actual Survey Monkey application after Wednesday, October 4 at 5pm. This is pretty close to what you will see on Wednesday. We are still tweaking a few things (like setting which Saturday the Parkrose Middle School event will be), but the sample application is very similar to what you will see.

Qualifying Tournament Application Fee
There are three ways to pay your qualifying tournament application fee, credit card, check, or purchase order. All payment options will allow teams in financial need to request a sponsor to automatically cover up to $100 of their tournament fee. To request a discount your team MUST provide a reason why the discount is being requested. Please use our list of reasons, if possible.

If you have any questions about how the sliding scale works or if your company would like to sponsor teams in this way, please email Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org

Lead Coach 1 in the FIRST system will get the email at 5pm on Wednesday, October 4. This is the ONLY time we use this category exclusively.

A Google Sheet will be added to the ORTOP website later this week with the team information to show who has submitted an application and who has paid. Please be patient as it can take over 24 hours to manually update (still working on better systems!)

Best Wishes,
Loridee