SCECHs l MDE Grant l 2019-20 Kickoff l Registration l Grants l Technology Updates l Parts l Program Info
2018-19 SEASON CLOSING NOTES
SCECH LOGS DUE BY 6/28
Michigan Department of Education recognizes educators who coach or mentor a FIRST team, across all FIRST programs, by offering SCECHs (State Continuing Education Clock Hours). The MDE has extended the SCECH log submission deadline and will be accepting logs through June 28, 2019.
Details on submitting for SCECHs can be found at the MDE’s Techplan.org site page https://www.techplan.org/professional-development/first-robotics-sb-ceu/. Resources include a downloadable SCECH time log. If you coach/mentor multiple FIRST teams, hours can be captured on the same log. Adding your last name to the beginning of the spreadsheet name will make things easier for those reviewing your log. Once your log is completed, email it to Amanda Stoel, with the MDE, at stoela@michigan.gov. Please include “FIRST Robotics SCECHs” in the subject line.
MDE STATE GRANT ADVANCEMENT AWARD (correction)
FIRST Tech Challenge teams awarded the 2018-2019 Michigan Dept. of Education (MDE) FIRST Robotics grant that qualified for and competed at the 2018-2019 FIRST in Michigan FTC State Championship will receive a $200 advancement award. There will not be a Championship advancement award.
Payout is made directly to the school as part of the school’s monthly state aid payment and will occur with the July 21 payout (adjusted date).
As many schools close their financial books at the end of June, teams that were awarded the MDE grant(s) should connect directly with the school or district on how to access the awarded funds. List of MDE FIRST Robotics grant awarded teams can be found here: Public School Recipient List & Non-public School Recipient List.
CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION
2019-2020 SEASON
SEASON KICKOFF
Save the date for the 2019-2020 FIRST Tech Challenge season kick off on Sept. 7th with the reveal of the SKYSTONE game! Kickoff events will be held around the state. Many events feature workshops, training sessions and the opportunity to network with your local FIRST community. Select events will include a fully outfitted SKYSTONE playing field. Kickoff events will be listed on the FIRST in Michigan website’s EVENTS page.
SKYSTONE GAME ELEMENTS
The official FIRST Tech Challenge playing field and game elements are available from AndyMark, a FIRST certified vendor. SKYSTONE full and partial sets of game elements are now available for pre-order. Factor this in when setting the team’s summer fundraising goals!
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 Team List.
- 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.
EXPLORE GRANTS
Visit the FIRST in Michigan GRANTS website page for the latest available grant opportunities.
Grant note: Rookie teams are eligible for grants when all existing team(s) out of the same school/organization are registered for the 2019-20 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.
TECHNOLOGY UPDATES
2019-2020 season technology updates can be found at this link: http://firsttechchallenge.blogspot.com/2019/06/first-tech-challenge-technology-updates.html
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) website:
- Run a Team – Addresses many FAQs
- Resources – Links to FIRST HQ resources, parts and vendors, logos, etc.
- Grants
- Team Eblast Archive
- 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 has begun for 2019-20 season events. Event hosts for league events (League organizers, meet and tournament hosts) and qualifiers are needed. Past hosts that haven’t signed on yet, we’d love to have you back! Event host 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.
- Curriculum. This free curriculum can be used as a stand-alone course or as a supplement to areas where the team needs extra support. FTC Curriculum
