NE FIRST Things FIRST - Week of January 26, 2015

Out to New England FRC teams...

NE FIRST Things FIRST

Week of January 26, 2015

NE FIRST Consent and Release Forms

All teams competing at an NE FIRST event must fill out an NE FIRSTconsent and release form in addition to the one that was filled out with FIRST when registering in TIMS for mentors or STIMS for students.These forms should be completed and signed by parents/authorized adults and brought with the team and turned at the beginning of the team's first event. The form will cover the team for additional plays in New England during the season. The form can be found on the Consent and Release Forms page under "New England."

Winter Weather Build Suggestions

As a reminder, FIRST does not extend build season due to blizzards, power outages, or any other New England winter-related phenomena. Here are some suggestions for your team during the upcoming blizzard and any other snow events between now and Stop Build Day:

For those teams that have access to online storage, like Google Docs, Windchill (from PTC) or the like, work can still continue on design with CAD. Submissions for Woodie Flowers, Chairman's, Kleiner Perkins Entrepreneurship, Dean's List, etc. can still move forward. If your team does not already have these systems set up, now is a good time to get it done!
If you have the facilities off school grounds, move out what you can. For example, take home the electronics and the programming/software team can continue on someone's kitchen table. Manufacturing may be done at your sponsor's facility if they remain open throughout the storm.
Sleep. You'll need it, because when school opens back up, you might be putting in some late nights playing catch up!
Above all, stay safe! Don't venture out unless you have a snowmobile or some well-trained sled dogs.

FIRST Graduation Cords

BrandIt now offers FIRST Graduation Cords to help FIRST Teams recognize their graduating seniors/rising FIRST Alumni and honor individual participation in our programs. These tri-color cords are red, blue, and silver and go for $14 each, with discounts for orders of 144 or more. Teams can purchase the cords on the US FIRST Marketplace. Eligibility criteria for use of the graduation cords should be determined by each team/school to be possibly used in team functions or high school graduation ceremonies.

Reminder: Apply for FIRST Scholarships

Have you checked out the FIRST Scholarship page lately? There is over $20 million in potential scholarship opportunities just for FIRST participants and alumni. Scholarships are updated frequently and there are 18 scholarships with deadlines right at or after the New Year. Additionally, there are scholarships for both juniors and seniors, and many scholarships do not require recipients to pursue a degree in STEM. The complete list of scholarship opportunities can be found on the Scholarship Search page.

Volunteer for the NE District Events!

Several NE District Events still need volunteers for key roles. Interested volunteers should sign up through VIMS. Descriptions of event volunteer positions can be found in the Volunteer section of the FIRST website.

Upcoming Important Dates

Award Deadlines

Woodie Flowers Award - Thursday, Feb. 12, noon
Entrepreneurship Award - Thursday, Feb. 12, noon
Dean's List Award - Thursday, Feb. 19, noon
Chairman's Award - Thursday, Feb. 19, noon
Media & Technology Innovation Award - Saturday, Feb. 28

Award requirements and instructions for submission can be found in the FRC Administrative Manual. All awards except for Dean's List should be submitted through the Youth Team Member Registration System. Dean's List applications should be submitted through TIMS.