{"id":6746,"date":"2023-08-16T04:03:37","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T11:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firstinmichigan.us\/FTC\/?p=6746"},"modified":"2023-08-17T13:45:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T20:45:45","slug":"08-17-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/firstinmichigan.us\/FTC\/2023\/08\/16\/08-17-23\/","title":{"rendered":"08.17.23 Team Eblast"},"content":{"rendered":"

MDE 99h Important Updates\u00a0 l\u00a0 22-23 Season Updates\u00a0 l\u00a0 Coach Workshop 8\/24\u00a0 l\u00a0 Grants\u00a0 l\u00a0 Season Registration\u00a0 l\u00a0 Youth Team Member Registration\u00a0 \u00a0l\u00a0 Rookie Team Grants\u00a0 l\u00a0 Program Information<\/span><\/p>\n

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MDE 99h GRANT UPDATES<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n

2022-23 99h State Grant\u00a0 Amount Amendments to Public School Awards<\/strong>
\nMUST READ FOR RECIPIENTS OF THE 23-24 MDE 99H GRANT:
\nSee below for an important message from the MDE regarding amendments to 2023-24 99h PUBLIC SCHOOL (only) 99h awards. Awards to Non-public schools were not amended. Visit this linked sheet (tab 1)<\/a> for a handy breakdown of original and amended awards to public school affiliated teams Work with your school’s\/district’s Level 5 employee regarding access to these amended funds. The MDE will be communicating the statement below to districts\/schools. Questions regarding the amendments should be directed to Ashley Arras at MDE-edtech@michigan.gov.
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\nIMPORTANT 99h UPDATE FROM THE MDE:
\n<\/strong>The Michigan Department of Education has redistributed extra 99h Robotics funds to eligible teams throughout the State.<\/strong> You can find the new amended amounts on our techplan.org<\/a>\u00a0site:\u00a0Competitive 99h: Robotics Competition Grant – Grants – EdTech Initiatives – TechPlan.org<\/a>\u00a0linked under\u00a02022-23 99h Robotics Amended Funding by Stipend and Support Award.xlsx (techplan.org)<\/a>. Here you will find funds broken down by coaching stipend and support award for each district\/team.<\/span><\/p>\n

All amended funds must be allocated\/disbursed before the end of the current fiscal year (FY) on September 30, 2023. Support awards can be allocated towards costs already incurred throughout the 2022-23 season. Coaching stipends must be directly awarded to the team\u2019s coach.<\/span><\/p>\n

REMINDER: Any support awards not spent throughout the 2022-23 FY may be rolled over to the next season (2023-24) but\u00a0MUST<\/u> be reported to the department no later than October 31, 2023. Funds rolled over will be deducted from next season\u2019s final award. If you choose not to roll over leftover funding, or the team will not be competing next season, please notify the department and funds will be pulled back via the State Aid Management System.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any questions regarding funding can be directed to Ashley Arras at MDE-edtech@michigan.gov<\/a>.<\/span>
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2023-24 99h State Grant Approved!<\/strong>
\nThe 99h state grant has been approved for 2023-24! Additionally, the 99h grant bucket has been increased to $5,973,200 for public school-based robotics teams and has maintained $600,000 for non-public schools. The 99h grant is expected to open for application through the MDE’s NexSys system on October 1.<\/p>\n

Teams included on a district’s\/school’s application must be registered and paid for the 2023-24 season before the grant closes for application in order to be eligible for grant consideration. There will no longer be any grace period for this aspect. The new grant language also includes that program providers (like FIRST in Michigan) must collect and aggregate student participation data from awarded teams, as determined by the MDE, Basically, teams will be expected to complete a survey that FiM will share with Lead Coach\/Mentor 1 and 2 for each team asking about team demographics and student program participation. Stay tuned for more info!<\/p>\n

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2023-24 Season Updates<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n

FTC Kickoff<\/strong>
\nThe 2023-2024 FTC season will officially kick off on Sept. 9, 12:00PM (noon) with the reveal of the season\u2019s new game, CENTERSTAGE<\/a>!<\/p>\n

There will be 15 kickoff events in various locations around the state. While attending a kickoff event is optional it is highly encouraged. These events offer workshops, info sessions, and ALL will feature a \u201creveal\u201d of the CENTERSTAGE official playing field! Plus, kickoff events provide the priceless opportunity to connect with your local FIRST community for ongoing support.<\/p>\n

If you don’t quite have a team formed yet, coaches and\/or prospective coaches are welcome to sign-up to attend an area kickoff event. Great networking opportunity!<\/p>\n

Visit the EVENTS<\/a> FiM FTC site page for a list of area FTC kickoff events including sign-up information. Sign-up is done directly with the event host and not with FIRST in Michigan FTC. Check back to the site page for updates.<\/p>\n

CENTERSTAGE Game Elements
\n<\/strong>Teams can pre-order a partial or full set of CENTERSTAGE game elements directly from AndyMark<\/a>, an official FIRST vendor. Great use for any remaining 2022-23 season funding!<\/p>\n

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If you are a rookie in 2023-24 and are the first FTC team ever at your school the FiM FTC Rookie Team Grant will provide a partial set of CENTERSTAGE game elements to you as part of the FiM FTC Rookie Team Grant. The order will take place after the Sept. 9 game reveal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

New this season, teams can order game elements, perimeter, SoftTile mats through the FTC Storefront. These purchases are optional for teams. The FIRST HQ FTC site has DIY perimeter plans as a more cost-effective option.<\/p>\n

Game Manual 1 – MUST read!<\/strong>
\nCENTERSTAGE Game Manual 1<\/a> has been posted! This is a “must read” guide for all teams. Game Manual 2 will be released on Sept. 9 along with updates to Game Manual 1.<\/p>\n

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Visit the July 11 FTC Blog<\/a> for a summary of changes for the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n

2023-24 Season Events
\n<\/strong>The FiM FTC EVENTS<\/a> page has a preliminary list of fall season events (scroll past kickoff). Some shifting and adjustments are anticipated. Check back for updates.<\/p>\n

Event registration is anticipated to open on October 3, 2023. For FTC, event registration is done at the local level with FIRST in Michigan via a Google form shared with the Lead Coach\/Mentor 1 and 2. Visit FTC EVENT PROCESS<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n

FiM FTC Season Timeline<\/strong>
\nThe anticipated FiM FTC season timeline is as follows:<\/p>\n