CS11: What Was I Doing?

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

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

1. Mea Culpa
2. Saturday Teams Needed to Swap for Salem on Sunday, Dec 8
3. What you absolutely need for your tournament
4. Do Good with ORTOP
5. Free Table in Central Oregon
6. Letters from your Tournament Director
7. Using the Team Meeting Guide

Use this link to read this update as a blog post

CS8 - Meeting the CITY SHAPER Codes

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

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

1. Malheur County Teams ONLY
2. National Registration / Tournament Registration Checkup
3. Is My Team Registered?
4. Your Best Tool - The Rubrics
5. Got Questions? - Find Answers
6. Using the Team Meeting Guide x2

Use this link to read this update as a blog post

IO10: Landing the Robot Game and Presentation Opportunities

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

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

1. All About the Robot Game
2. Advice and Rule Reminders from Head Referee Tom
3. Kidobots host Mission to Mars event
4. Hood River Library Project Presentation Day

Use this link to read this update as a blog post

IO9: Supplies and Paperwork for All!

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

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

1. Team Rosters - Everyone's Least Favorite Task
   
2. Aumsville Elementary Needs HELP!
3. Presentation Opportunity for Rural Teams!
4. Information Day at Intel
5. Presentations at OMSI
6. Presentations at Cedar Mill Libary
7. Stay up to date on the Official Updates!
8. All Qualifying Tournaments NEED Volunteers!

Use this link to read this update as a blog post

IO8: Preparing for the Qualifying Tournament 1: Judging

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

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

1. Three Types of Judging - Commonalities
2. Project Presentation
3. Robot Design - MUST READ FOR ALL TEAMS!!!!
4. Core Values and the Pilot Rubric
5. Practice Makes Perfect

Use this link to read this update as a blog post

HD12: It's All Going Swimmingly

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In this update, you will find:

1. Links About Oregon Qualifying Tournaments
2. Robot Game Rule Advice from the Oregon Head Referee
3. Things about Qualifying Tournaments You Already Forgot (according to my Inbox)
4. Team Goals - NOVEMBER
5. Does Your Project Meet the FIRST Requirements?

Use this link to read this update as a blog post

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

HD7: Keeping the Season Flowing Along

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In this update, you will find:

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

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.

What to Expect at Your Qualifying Touranment

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

This weekend and next we will have ALL of the Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League Qualifying Tournaments. For a list of events please see our events page.
Today we will talk about:

1. What to expect at an Oregon Qualifying Tournament
2. Volunteers still needed at some events
3. Presentations at OMSI
4. Celebrate the Season wth the Winterhawks
5. FIRST 2017 STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant
6. Correction in the Coach Checklist *5 bonus coach points

1) What to expect at an Oregon Qualifying Tournament

The tournament will look different for the three different groups who are in attendance, spectators, volunteers, and teams.

Spectators

Spectators will enter the school and be guided by signs to the arena. This is the primary public area of the event. Here the family, friends, and invited guests of the teams will watch all of the teams compete in the robot table competition. The spectators will see each team compete in the robot game three times throughout the day. Their view will be of an 8' x 8' box which has two back to back ANIMAL ALLIES Challenge tables. Every few minutes 2 teams will approach the tables, one on each side. The teams will have 2.5 minutes to manipulate the models on the table to score points. The 2 teams may work together on one model that exchanges animals. The referees will talk with the teams. There may be a game announcer or emcee that explains the action, there may not. Spectators may also have access to a few other areas of the event, although this is not always the case.

Spectators make the table game fun for the teams. They are encouraged to cheer and celebrate all of the teams. Some teams are not able to bring their supporters as they have to travel or have parents who work on the day of the event.

Volunteers

Volunteers will be greeted upon arrival and directed to their assignment. If they did not complete their FIRST Volunteer registration including the background check (ran out of time) they will need to fill out a Walk-on Volunteer form.  Morning volunteers who arrive early may have time for a coffee and treat. Volunteers will spend most of the day "behind the scenes" in their role at the event. Judges will see every team and interact with them in their judging specialty. Referees will support teams and record all their robot accomplished during the match. Scorekeepers will record the referee sheets to give teams their score for each robot game round. Practice table volunteers will make sure all teams get the time they need on the practice tables to improve their robot throughout the day. Runners will get teams from place to place. Judge door queuers will help keep the entire tournament running on schedule and get to greet all of the teams as they arrive for judging. Regardless of their role, all volunteers will play a critical role in making the event truly remarkable for the teams.

 Teams

 Teams will be exposed to every aspect of the tournament. Teams will be greeted by Team Check-in volunteers who will make sure their team name and all of their information is correct. They will give the team their packet of information for the day which includes that team's specific schedule. Teams will set up their pit and go to the Opening Ceremony. After the ceremony the team will follow their specific schedule to attend a judging session and their first robot round. In the judging session the team will meet 2-3 judges and share all the hard work they've completed this season. In the arena teams will have their robot inspected and join another team at the competition table. In between activities, the team will work on improving their robot, meet other teams in the pit area, and practice for their judging sessions. The team will attend 3 different judging panels, one in each aspect of FIRST LEGO League; robot design, project presentation, and core values. The team will also enter the arena 3 times during the day. Once in the morning, once mid-way through the event, and one final afternoon run. After all of the judging and robot rounds have finished the teams will pack up their pit area, and return to the arena or designated space for the Closing Ceremony. During the closing ceremony the day will be recapped for the teams, volunteers, and spectators, awards and advancement will be distributed and the hard work and accomplishments of all of the teams will be celebrated. 

2) Volunteers still needed at some events 

Many events are still looking for volunteers across the state! All volunteers are registering using the FIRST volunteer system. If you are over 14-years-old and would like to help at a tournament please register today!  If you need help getting through the FIRST registration process, or can't find the event you are looking for please call ORTOP (503-486-7622) or email Loridee for help. Coaches may volunteer at events where their team is not participating. Parents and Coaches should list their team number on their profile to avoid conflict of interest at events. Parents may volunteer at any event!

3) Presentations at OMSI

OMSI is opening their lab to FIRST LEGO League Oregon teams again this weekend. Two time slots are still available if your team would like to use this opportunity to share their project solution with more people before their tournament. This is also a great opportunity to see the solutions created by other teams and to support other teams in our community by coming to watch!

4) Celebrate the Season with the Winterhawks

For many teams the competitive season will be ending in the next 2 weeks. That makes this next opportunity extra exciting! All Oregon FIRST teams have an opportunity to see the Winterhawks on December 28th! Tickets do need to be reserved in advance. Your team will receive vouchers that need to be exchanged at the Winterhawk ticket office in Portland to attend the game. This would make a wonderful end-of-season team activity for FIRST LEGO League teams.  If your team would like to attend the game please fill out this form. Join Oregon's other FIRST teams as we watch the Winterhawks take on the Tri-City Americans. Team shirts are encouraged. 

5) FIRST 2017 STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant

FIRST is looking for communities that are eager to expand FIRST for all students. Collaborations that would like to work to include more underserved students and/or minority students should send their letters of intent by January 20. Please see the press release for all of the details.  All organizations are encouraged to apply, non-profits and school districts especially.

6) Correction in the Coach Checklist *5 bonus coach points

Because many years the same things are needed for events I do make use of the email archive to make sure I don't forget to tell teams something very important. Yesterday's coaches' checklist still contained one reference to TRASH TREK, last year's FIRST LEGO League theme. It has been corrected on the blog to avoid confusion, but if you saw this "typo" consider yourself a skilled reader! You may have 5 bonus coach points added to your checklist total.  Don't know what coach point is, make sure you read yesterday's blog. Please be assured that all projects will involve ANIMALS as outlined in the ANIMAL ALLIES Challenge and Updates.

Tournament Info, Project Sharing, & Status Check

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

In this post you will find:

1. Where to Find Information Specific to Your Tournament
2. Space sSill Available to Share at OMSI 
3. What You Should Have DONE
4. Volunteers Needed!
5. 4H Program Looking to Purchase NXT Systems

1) Where to Find Information Specific to Your Tournament

Information about all of the tournaments, teams, and assignments are posted on the Oregon website. Here is where you find everything you need to know! *note your assignment does not appear on your Dashboard, this has to be done manually for every team we have 440 teams participating in events in Oregon.

• www.ortop.org/fll - the main page! Everything is linked from here.
• http://www.ortop.org/fll/overviewEvents.htm - All the information specific to your tournament, copies of the coach and parent letters, links to judging information, robot game information, etc.
• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12bHCKY-eGxXDNVtxL7UbnbQMNq9EE3JvYIGsMcByTlk/edit?usp=sharing - the ugly link that leads to the Oregon Team Status spreadsheet; assignments, payment status, advancement status (coming in December), etc. Tabs on this sheet list teams at EACH tournament so your team can see who they will be competing with. 
• http://www.ortop.org/fll/QT-ALL_Judging.html - details about Qualifying Tournament Judging in Oregon. Also includes information about awards.
• http://www.ortop.org/Documents/OR-FLL2016_TeamIntroductionPage_QT.pdf or http://www.ortop.org/Documents/OR-FLL2016_TeamIntroductionPage_QT.docx - Team Information Pages, your team needs to bring a copy of these filled out for each judging session - they are available on your tournament website and on the judging page.
• http://www.ortop.org/fll/QT-ALL_RobotGame.html - information about how the robot game will be done at the tournaments - not season specific!
• http://www.ortop.org/Documents/QTCoachesChecklist2016.pdf - checklist of things you need for the tournament for your team!
• http://www.ortop.org/Documents/FLL_2016_CV_ObservationsPolicy.pdf - The FIRST Core Values and how observations will be reported at your tournament (good and bad)

Additionally, please watch for and respond to any communications from your tournament director. Especially weather and venue information as we approach tournament day.

2) Space sSill Available to Share at OMSI

OMSI still has one space this weekend (November 19) and two on December 3rd, for a team to share their Innovative Solution to this year's challenge. Every team MUST share their project before it is considered complete. It must be shared with people outside of the team, ideally, individuals who can use the idea or provide feedback to it's development.
Signup on Google Calendar

3) What You Should Have DONE

From today's mail bag, coaches are requesting another accomplishments list. Here is a mid-November list for your team, these items should be done or near done:

• Your team should have shared their innovative solution with someone who can provide feedback on their idea - or at least have that scheduled to do BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT
• Robot should be built and programmed for at least 1 mission.
• All parents have either paper Youth Team Member Forms to fill out, or have been invited to use the online Team Member Registration System. 
• Parents know which tournament their child is attending. 
• The team has a team identity, it could be based on the team name, a logo, or a way of doing things - the team should be more than just a bunch of kids with LEGO pieces.
• If asked each team member can give a personal definition for Gracious Professionalism and Cooperitition. BONUS: Team members can list ALL of the FIRST Core Values
• Teachers, School Administration, Scout Leaders, and Sponsors have been invited to your tournament as appropriate.

4) Volunteers Needed!

All of our tournaments are still looking for volunteers! Parents are welcome to fill in on non-judging or referee roles. These roles can be judge door queuer, scorekeeper, check-in, hospitality, pit or practice fields, runners, and other day-of logistic roles. Coaches and Mentors are invited to volunteer at events where their teams are not competing. Volunteering can be a great way for anyone who is interested in learning more about FIRST LEGO League in Oregon.

All Oregon events are using the FIRST volunteer system. Please create your account and apply for an event (If you have any FIRST account that will work with the volunteer system). Volunteers will be asked to complete a free online background check which stays in the system for 3 years. If you have any challenges with the Volunteer system please contact ORTOP, we will do our best to help you.

5) 4H Program Looking to Purchase NXT Systems
Long time FIRST LEGO League coach Brenda and the Clovernauts are looking for additional NXT robots to use for workshops. If your team has upgraded and no longer uses their NXT. The Clovernauts of Clark County 4H would be interested in purchasing your old kit. Please contact them at: 4-H Clovernauts cc.4h.robotics.club@gmail.com

Best Wishes,
Loridee