Local Kickoff Events l Giveaway of ROVER RUCKUS Parts l Funding Opportunities l Curriculum l Parts l Program Info
ATTEND A SEASON KICKOFF EVENT
The clock is ticking! Be sure to attend one of the 2019-2020 FIRST Tech Challenge season kickoff event happening around our state on Sept. 7th. Visit the EVENTS page of the FIRST in Michigan FTC website for a list of locations. These listed events will feature a reveal of the SKYSTONE game!
Teams register to attend a kickoff directly with the event host, not with FIRST in Michigan. Click on the event name to be directed to that specific event’s information.
Many events will feature workshops and training sessions. This is a great chance to meet your local FIRST Tech Challenge community, learn some new skills, and/or hone some old ones. Together we RISE!
ROVER RUCKUS GAME ELEMENT GIVEAWAY
There will be a first come-first served giveaway of last season’s ROVER RUCKUS game elements this Sunday, August 25th. There are landers, craters, balls, cubes available. Think prototyping material! Details:
- Date: Sunday, August 25th
- Time: 10am – 2pm
- Location:
Gorman’s Warehouse (back lot; entrance is off Halsted Rd.; look for the gray trailers near the back)
23231 Industrial Park Drive A, Farmington Hills, MI 48335
Map of entrance - Items Available: 12 Landers (2 additional in pieces); 25 craters, cubes, balls
- Contact: Bob Van Ham mentorvanham@comcast.net
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Arconic Grant – open, closes Aug. 30
This grant is open to FIRST Tech Challenge teams for the 2019-2020 season. A submission does not guarantee funding.
- Team must be located within a 25-mile radius of the Arconic locations within the United States. Link to Argosy locations.
- In Michigan, the Arconic locations are in Farmington Hills and Whitehall
- FIRST Tech Challenge Rookies – $1,000
- FIRST Tech Challenge Veterans – $500
Visit the GRANTS page of the FIRST in Michigan FTC website for details. Direct link: Argosy Grant Application
DonorsChoose: Special offer Aug 18-24
Attention Teachers: From August 18-24 only, when you submit your first DonorsChoose.org classroom project, your project will receive an automatic $50 kickoff donation from the DonorsChoose.org Team. You’ll also receive a shareable promo code, doubling additional donations made during your project’s first week on the site.
You can create projects for Pitsco and/or Andy Mark materials or robot parts, tools, laptops, tablets, 3D printers, or any other related team materials. Get started here.
FIRST has announced a sweepstakes sponsored by AndyMark. FTC teams registered for the season by September 4, 11:59 p.m. ET will be entered to win one of these three prizes: a REV Competition Kit, a TETRIX competition kit, or a full SKYSTONE game field set. All details, official rules, and link to the no-purchase entry form are on the FIRST Tech Challenge 2019 Kickoff Sweepstakes landing page. All winners will be announced during the Kickoff celebration on FIRSTtv.
REV Robotics Veteran Team Sponsorship Opportunity – closes Sept. 30
For the 2019-2020 Skystone Season, REV will sponsor 50+ veteran teams from a variety of regions (our region is “Michigan-FiM”) with $250 store credit for use on REV products. The sponsorship is intended for veteran teams that excel on the playing field while being good stewards of their local FIRST community through sharing their knowledge with other teams.
Fill out the form embedded on this page: http://www.revrobotics.com/team-sponsorship/. Applications must be submitted no later than Monday, September 30, 2019. Teams must be registered for the current season.
REGISTER YOUR TEAM
FTC 2019-2020 season registration is open! It’s important to register early so that enough competitions can be organized to support all of our teams.
The registration guides linked below contain info on establishing a FIRST Account, setting up a team profile, inviting contacts, applying for screening, accessing the Storefront, etc. with screenshots.
- Returning Teams (veterans) – remember to register using your existing team number. MI FTC Archived Team Lists
- Veteran Team Registration Guide
- Update team contacts – Remember to have matriculating team contacts invite their replacements before moving programs.
- New Teams (rookies) – start the team registration process but DO NOT PAY for anything until applying for the FIRST FTC HQ Rookie Team Grant. Apply for this grant using your temporary team number which starts with “2019”.
- Rookie Team Registration Guide
- Team Name is a mandatory field when setting up the Team Profile. If your team does not have a name yet, just fill in TBD. You can update this field at a later time once a team name is chosen.
FTC MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
FIRST in Michigan is taking steps towards connecting the FTC experience to middle school curriculum standards. The current Schoology curriculum is more of a “how to” guide and is geared towards high school teams. Our approach will utilize currently existing materials and resources, fit them to middle school curriculum standards, and develop the necessary materials/resources to “fill the holes” and create a cohesive, quality product that can be used both in and out of the classroom.
If you are an educator or curriculum person and would like to be a contributor on the investigative stage of the initiative, please fill out this FTC Curriculum Survey. To explore the sample first unit of the curriculum and provide feedback: FTC Drivetrain and Gearing Sample Unit.
EXPLORE GRANTS
Visit the FIRST in Michigan GRANTS website page for the latest available grant opportunities. Key elements for most grants:
- Teams must be comprised solely of middle school grade team members.
- Affiliated with a school or established youth enrichment 501(c)(3) organization. A school affiliation maximizes the use of available grants.
- Must compete in a FIRST in Michigan sanctioned event in the given season.
- New teams are eligible for rookie grants when all existing team(s) out of the same school/organization are registered for the current season.
- The intent of the grant funding is to assist a new team with their initial start up costs (FTC registration fee and reusable kit of parts).
- Team members and mentors may move through the program but the team number and kit of parts stay with the school/organization for reuse year to year.
PARTS & EQUIPMENT
- SKYSTONE game elements are available for pre-order from AndyMark.
- Veteran teams are able but not required to purchase FTC Kit of Parts components through the FTC Storefront. Storefront purchases are limited to once per season per component category.
- Discount codes for REV and Pitsco are available through the FTC Storefront. From the FTC Storefront, click on the “SUPPORT” link on the top right corner. Once redirected, scroll down the site page and click on “How to Order Extra Parts” link in the leftmost sidebar. REV offers a 15% discount and Pitsco offers 25%.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Links to program information on the FIRST in Michigan (FiM) and FIRST HQ websites:
- Run a Team – Addresses many FAQs
- Resources – Links to FIRST HQ resources, parts, and vendors, logos, etc.
- Grants – information will be updated as grants become available; check back periodically
- Team Eblast Archive
- FIRST FTC HQ Blog – latest program announcements
- FTC Curriculum – Free curriculum; can be used as a stand-alone course or as a supplement to areas where the team needs extra support.
- Alignment: In Michigan, we run a slightly different progression of programs from FIRST national. In Michigan, FTC is a middle school only program with teams comprised solely of MI middle school aged/grade team members. Teams must be properly aligned in order to be eligible for FiM FTC grants and to participate in FIRST in Michigan FTC events.
- Team Size: FTC team size is capped at 15. Multiple teams out of a given school/organization are welcome and can be eligible for all grants. Please review grant requirements in the above linked doc.
- Team Eblasts. FIRST in Michigan FTC team eblasts (sent from michiganftc@gmail.com) are sent to the Team Administrator and Lead Coach 1 and 2 for each team. The eblast distribution list is pulled from the FIRST Team Registration System, per FIRST HQ protocol, so additional email addresses cannot be added to the FIRST in Michigan FTC eblast list.
- Season Events. Planning is continuing for 2019-20 season events. If you’re interested in hosting, information can be found on the RESOURCES site page on the FIRST in Michigan FTC website (toggle box under General section). Send a note to michiganftc@gmail.com with your event hosting interest. The event fee is the basis for an event’s budget.
