Pre-Season CS6: Fun with the Moon and More

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In today's FIRST LEGO League Oregon Update we will cover these items:

1. ORTOP Coach, Mentor, & Parent Workshops.
2. SPIKE PRIME Update
3. Teams Needed to Share their INTO ORBIT Project on July 20!
4. Team Financial Support: Funding In = Support Out
5. Out of Office

Use this link to read this update as a blog post

  If you are new to this email or blog this is the place where you will find all of the OREGON specific FIRST LEGO League information. Coaches and team administrators in the FIRST system for the CITY SHAPER season will be added every Monday until March, automatically. Every update this season begins with CS (CITY SHAPER) and a number, that number lets you know which update it is, if you miss an update you can find it on our blog.  We are currently in the Pre-Season planning and skill growing part of the FIRST LEGO League Oregon Season!

1) ORTOP Coach, Mentor, & Parent Workshops.

The Beaverton ORTOP Coach, Mentor, and Parent Workshop Series begins this Thursday! There is still space, so please join us. This series walks a coach through the introduction of the program to being able to operate a sensor on an EV3 robot and identify common problems. While the training is not required it is highly recommended for any parent, mentor, or coach to better understand the program and what the kids are doing.

Beaverton not accessible to you? What about:

• Concordia in NE Portland
• Albany
• Roseburg
• Beaverton in August
• Intel Aloha Campus
• Girl Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington (do not need to be a Girl Scout leader to attend)
• Bend
• Hood River
• Salem
• Oregon City

If you are in Eastern Oregon and would like to attend a workshop this summer, please email Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org with the subject: Eastern Oregon Workshop.

You can find more information and lots of helpful resources to improve your skills on the ORTOP website.

2) SPIKE PRIME Update

On July 2nd, LEGO Education announced that the launch date for SPIKE PRIME is being moved to early 2020. They cite that they do not feel it is currently up to their quality standards so they are not going to make this kit available in time for FIRST LEGO League this year.

While I know many of us, myself included, were looking forward to this Scratch-based, colorful, easy to use robot kit, I fully understand the importance of not having coaches and young engineers struggle with an incomplete product. EV3 is still available, and LEGO Education has a long life planned for it still as SPIKE PRIME was never a replacement for EV3, but to fill a gap left between WeDo 2.0 and EV3.

We will still look forward to seeing SPIKE PRIME in Oregon early next year!

If your team preordered the SPIKE PRIME through FIRST, FIRST would like to know if you would like an EV3 (at the same price), to keep the pre-order held, or a refund, for the robot kit.

LEGO Education is offering a refund or to continue your pre-order for SPIKE PRIME if you ordered directly from their site.

I will keep providing information about this platform as I receive it, so each team can make a very educated decision when it is available.

3) Teams Needed to Share their INTO ORBIT Project on July 20!

We are still looking for teams to share their innovative solutions with the space enthusiasts attending OMSI's Space Day on July 20th. July 20th marks the 50th anniversary of the first time humans stepped on another celestial body, the moon. Should you choose to help, your team will have a short time on stage to share your project with attendees in the Auditorium.  Is your team moving up to FIRST Tech Challenge? We already have a couple teams committed to coming, and you'll be getting a great headstart on your Motivate candidacy.

Join us by signing up here.

We still are welcoming additional FIRST Tech Challenge teams and FIRST Robotics Competition teams as well!

4) Team Financial Support: Funding In = Support Out

Team Financial Support is open, and the money to fund your teams is on the way in! This means that your teams, if you submit before the 20th, should be notified, and possibly funded before August 1. The first 15 applications just came back from the reviewers today and more are going out this week. Don't miss your chance to get in early!

To see if you are a good candidate for Team Financial Support please read the application page.


Remember it's not just having a group of kids and a robot that makes a FIRST LEGO League team. FIRST Core Values and goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion are extremely important to all of us.  This doesn't mean that you'll only get funded if your team is highly diverse. It means that your team needs to be discussing the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all you do. Your team dynamics, your outreach, the way team members interact with other people in their community. ORTOP and FIRST are both organizations that welcome all. Your country of origin, your financial status, your first language, your gender identity, and your sexual identity are all part of that inclusion. Our differences make us stronger! Teams that are actively working towards these goals, with coaches who have taken steps to improve their awareness and their own actions are critical to improving the FIRST LEGO League experience.

More resources to improve your teams participation and diversity, equity, and inclusion awareness:

• Invisible Equity Strategies
• Hidden Messages & Strategies
• Hidden Messages Worksheet and Ideas
• Inspiring Success

Diversity, equity, and inclusion may not be noticeable in a photo, but it will make a noticeable difference for your team! 

5) Out of Office 

I will be out of the office starting Thursday, July 11th. Don't worry the workshop is in the FIRST LEGO League teams, Pisces of LEGO and Soaring Robotics, at the Mountain Open Invitational in West Virginia. I will be back for the July 20th event, and then gone again for a few days, then in Roseburg for the STEAM Summer Institute. When I'm out of the office I will have either no, or very limited access to email. If I'm in I will be responding as quickly as possible. If you call, your response may be slower.
experienced hands of one of our volunteer trainers. I will be joining two of our Oregon

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. For those attending the OMSI Space Day, the Albany Workshop, or the STEAM Summer Institute, please say hello! I love getting to meet all of you and answer your FIRST LEGO League questions. I'm very excited for August 1, because this new season has so many new and wonderful things I can't wait to share. Unless something urgent happens, this is your July communication. I will talk to you all in August when we kick-off CITY SHAPER!

Best Wishes,
Loridee

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