Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,
In today's FIRST LEGO League Oregon Update we will cover these items:
- August Coach, Mentor, and Parent Workshops Starting!
- Free Tables!
- Team Financial Support is Going Out!
- Teams Needed to Help at Maker Faire
- How We Do Things is More Important Than What We Do.
- What Does Kickoff Mean in Oregon?
- Farewell INTO ORBIT
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) August Coach, Mentor, and Parent Workshops Starting!
ORTOP's Free Coach, Mentor, and Parent Workshops continue into August! This is a great resource FIRST LEGO League and learning about ORTOP.for learning about the LEGO EV3 system as well as understanding the basics of coaching
August Workshops
- Workshop Series 3 - Concordia University NE Portland
- All-in-One-Day Workshop, Mid Valley YMCA, Albany
- STEAM Summer Institute - Umpqua Community College, Roseburg
- Workshop Series 4 - ORTOP Workroom, Beaverton
- plus several more in September!
Looking for additional training and resources? We have some highly recommended sites and groups on the ORTOP Workshop Page.
2) Free Tables!
Wilsonville - contact Jhuma for details.
Bethany Neighborhood, Portland - contact Shiv for details
*ORTOP does not interfere in the exchange of tables, please contact the table owners for details regarding their table. Tables tend to rehome quickly. If your team has a table that is no longer in use, anywhere in or near Oregon we are happy to help you find it a new home through sharing your email on this newsletter/blog
3) Team Financial Support is Going Out!
Team Financial Support Letters are arriving in applicant emails inboxes (and hopefully not the spam folder). If you submitted your applications before June 20th and I was able to match your team to a current sponsor you will have received a letter for each funded team. Not all teams were funded based on the information provided. If you think you left off information on your application that would have helped us match you to a sponsor (especially around your coach training to work with your team in an inclusive manner, and concrete plans to do so), please reach out or complete another application.
Team Financial Support is still available at this time. We are also looking for more sponsors to help fund teams and other ORTOP activities. Many employers will also offer volunteer hours funds to ORTOP, please look us up!
To learn more about ORTOP Team Financial Support (and to see the best advice for being prepared to run FIRST LEGO League, please read all of the ORTOP Team Financial Support Application Page. Teams DO NOT need to be affiliated with a school to be considered for financial support, however; there is money specifically for School-based (in class, after school, extra-curricular) teams.
4) Teams Needed to Help at Maker Faire
Sign Up using this FORM - I hope we will see you there!
5) How We Do Things is More Important Than What We Do.
We talk a lot about FIRST Core Values, and at first glance, they look very simple. Looks, in this case, can be deceiving. The FIRST Core Values are what sets FIRST LEGO League apart as an impactful STEM program that is making a proven difference in the lives of real kids, as compared to kids who learn STEM outside of the FIRST programs. If you've been to a FIRST event, you've probably felt or witnessed our values in action. At first, you may think, well that's just good sportsmanship, but as you watch you see it's something more than that. What you are really experiencing is Gracious Professionalism.At an event, that overwhelming vibe of inclusion and acceptance that is brought on by strong FIRST Core Values can impact everyone, even if they don't have strong FIRST Core Values themselves. Ideas are being shared, teams are being lifted up, everyone is buzzing with energy at the event. So what happens in a team meeting, especially where there are new members who have never experienced the FIRST Core Values?FIRST Core Values
We express the FIRST philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition through our Core Values:
- Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
- Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
- Impact: We apply what we learn to improve our world.
- Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
- Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
- Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!
In a team meeting, the staring role of the coach is to facilitate meetings using the FIRST Core Values and help each team member identify how their actions fall in line, or out of line with these behavior and mindful expectations. Have a programmer who won't let any other team members practice programming the robot - remind them of Discovery and Teamwork. Have a team member who is easily frustrated - Innovation. Have a team member who is likely subconsciously assuming the girl with the good handwriting will make the boards and not build the robot - Inclusion. Want to keep all that the team is doing a secret so they have an advantage - Impact! Stressed out and sour faces - FUN (my personal favorite of the Core Values).
The values don't stop there! At the top of our values, you see the FIRST philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition. Yes, all of those other aspects are part of these two philosophies, but Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition is bigger than those simple statements. They go throughout and beyond the team and the tournament.
The FIRST Vision defines them as this:
Gracious Professionalism®Dr. Woodie Flowers, FIRST Distinguished Advisor and Pappalardo Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, coined the term "Gracious Professionalism®."High-Quality work, valuing others, respecting individuals are goals of the Gracious Professional. They should be goals for all aspects of their life. It's a tough thing to teach when, especially in middle school, we see the feather-ruffling of kids trying to be better than their peers, and definitely not wanting to be the one that everyone picks on.
Gracious Professionalism is part of the ethos of FIRST. It's a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community.
With Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions. Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy, but treat one another with respect and kindness in the process. They avoid treating anyone like losers. No chest thumping tough talk, but no sticky-sweet platitudes either. Knowledge, competition, and empathy are comfortably blended.
In the long run, Gracious Professionalism is part of pursuing a meaningful life. One can add to society and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing one has acted with integrity and sensitivity.
Coopertition®Coopertition® produces innovation. At FIRST, Coopertition is displaying unqualified kindness and respect in the face of fierce competition. Coopertition is founded on the concept and a philosophy that teams can and should help and cooperate with each other even as they compete.
Coopertition involves learning from teammates. It is teaching teammates. It is learning from Mentors. And it is managing and being managed. Coopertition means competing always, but assisting and enabling others when you can.
This is a big ask! This is probably the biggest thing we ask coaches all season and it's the ONLY thing we ask coaches to teach - the robot, the project, that's all facilitation. As such we are asking all mentors, coaches, and even parents to at the very minimum read over the following PDF documents, but if they can take the full FIRST Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion online training.
Click here to access the training.
Helpful PDFs for creating your own strategies for helping your team.
- Invisible Equity Strategies
- Hidden Messages Strategies
- What to look for and how to respond - I highly recommend printing this and completing it for your team!
- Inspiring Success
We will continue to feature the FIRST Core Values throughout this season in emails and FIRST LEGO League Oregon Updates.
6) What Does Kickoff Mean in Oregon?
CITY SHAPER kicks off on Thursday, August 1! Yay, it's exciting, everyone is talking about it on all FIRST LEGO League spaces.... but my team doesn't even start meeting until school starts, are we going to be behind?the
No, we live in Oregon. It's beautiful, the sun is out (for those that like that part), and we still have a month before most schools start up again. There is no need to jump right into the challenge. Sure, if the project is in line with a fun activity you can plan, there is no harm doing that before school schedules get crazy. The fact is, most Oregon teams do not start the challenge until school returns. Some do not even start until the after school program is available in the first part of October. Our program is specifically designed to accommodate this.
There is stuff you can do, and having a kickoff party with snacks and watching the videos can be a good time, but you aren't behind if you don't break out the LEGO for another month or so. Finish your summer challenge, enjoy the beauty of our state, our towns, and our cities. You never know, your team members may just find the inspiration for your challenge problem before everyone settles back into the school groove.
7) Farewell INTO ORBIT
The direct links for the photo page, awards pdf or championship page, will still exist, but will no longer be directly linked on our website.
While we await the new game, the new rules, the new challenge - it's time to remember that there are no dumb questions. There are simply things that haven't been yet. Maybe they will work, maybe they won't. The worst thing we can do is act like they aren't important. Let's work hard to lift up all of our team members this year, to encourage each person to reach out of their comfort zone and try something new. To push their abilities and to be willing to fail. Failure will always be our biggest learning tool.
I look forward to working with you as you help your teams, seeing you volunteer, and generally enjoying City Shaper.
Until Thursday, Best Wishes,
Loridee
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