Out to New England FIRST Robotics Competition teams...
Week of December 28, 2015 |
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Happy New Year!
...and less than nine days until Kickoff! Enjoy the rest of the holiday season and be sure to reach out to your local Regional Director or FIRST Senior Mentor if you have any questions in the days leading up to Kickoff.
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Surrogate Kit Pick-Up Letter Reminder
If a team is unable to pick-up its Kit of Parts at the Local kickoff selected, an alternate team may be designated to do so. The team unable to attend must be registered to pick-up their KOP at the Local Kickoff AND provide FIRST with an authorized surrogate kit pick-up letter, signed by the Main or Alternate Contact, on School or Sponsor letterhead that includes: 1) Your team number 2) the KOP pick-up location 3) the name and team number of the surrogate team picking up the KOP. All surrogate kit pickup letters must be received at FIRST by this Monday, Jan. 4.
The surrogate letter should be sent or faxed to:
FIRST
Attn: FRC Team Support
200 Bedford Street
Manchester, NH 03101
Fax #: 603-666-3907
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Founder's Reception Webcast
The Founder's Reception is a night for FIRST to thank and celebrate our amazing mentors, and is hosted by FIRST Founder Dean Kamen in his amazing home. Since many mentors never get to experience this event first hand, we're once again bringing the event to you LIVE!
The stream starts on Friday, January 8, 2016 at 7 p.m. The FIRST community can tune into the broadcast from the Founder's Reception. Hear from veteran and rookie mentors about their expectations for the upcoming season, from FIRST sponsors about why it's important for them to be involved, and we'll also have special "last night before Kickoff" interviews with FIRST staff and supporters. Keep an eye out for when we announce a present that will be included in the Kit of Parts for all 2016 FRC Teams!
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NE FIRST Grant Writer Position Available
NE FIRST is looking to grow the New England team with the addition of a part-time grant writer. The position description can be downloaded here.
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Kickoff Consent & Release Form Reminder If you are planning on attending any local Kickoff event, your team needs to either have a roster of students and mentors from STIMS & TIMS respectively or have paper copies of the 2016 Consent & Release forms for all team members that will be present at the event. Information about registering students in STIMS can be found here. Hard copies of the Consent & Release forms can be found here.
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FIRST Regranting Policy and Procedure
FIRST receives grants from various Donors (Grantors) which are designated to FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) participating teams. These are restricted donations with designations as defined and imposed on FIRST by the Grantor(s). Should FIRST receive a grant designated to your FRC Team, FIRST will "re-grant" the funds to your FRC Teams as a "pass through" grant with no deductions for overhead or processing costs.
In order to have funds regranted to your team, FIRST Finance must have a W-9 on file that is dated within the last 5 years, contains the Federal Tax Identification number (FEIN) of the organization willing to accept any funds on behalf of the team, and issigned and dated by an authorized representative of the organization. If you need to send in a new or updated form, please do so ASAP.
FIRST Finance:
More information about the Regranting Policy can be found here.
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"Last Chance to Ask an Expert" Event
The Last Chance to Ask an Expert seminar is happening again this year on Friday, Jan. 8 from 1-4 p.m. at FIRST HQ (200 Bedford St., Manchester, NH 03101)! So far, our panelists include:
- Dana Henry, FIRST Senior Mentor
- Andy Baker, AndyMark President & Owner
- Jamee Luce, FRC Team Advocate
- Michelle Long, FIRST Alumni and Scholarships Programs Manager
- Lauren Jefferson, FIRST VISTA
Feel free to stop by at any point during the event to ask questions! If you have any questions beforehand, email Dana at dhenry@firstinspires.org.
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Apple Technology Camp Nominations
FIRST has been offered the opportunity to nominate current high school sophomores and juniors for the 2016 Apple Engineering Technology Camp! The camp will run from Monday, July 11 to Friday, Aug. 5 in California. Apple will admit 24 students to the program and all travel/accommodation expenses will be paid for all camp attendees.
Please note that your application to FIRST doesn't guarantee admittance, nor does FIRST's nomination of any student; ultimately Apple will make the final call on all camp attendees.
Nominations are open until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4. The application and full details for this opportunity are on the FIRST Alumni site.
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Upcoming Important Dates FIRST Choice Round 2 begins Saturday, Jan. 9, noon Additional credits will be issued and unused credits from Round 1 carry over. FIRST Choice login information can be found in TIMS for registered teams. Credit allotments are live at FIRSTChoiceByAndyMark.com. See the blog for more details on the FIRST Choice process. FIRST Choice Round 2 Team Priority Lists due Saturday, Jan. 16, noon Safety Award Animation Due Thursday, Jan. 21, 3 p.m.
Awards must be submitted through STIMS by a student award submitter. Official information about the animation can be found on the FIRST Robotics Competition Safety Page. The original blog post can be found here. Payment Due: Additional Regional, In-District & Inter-District Event(s) Friday, Jan. 29, 5 p.m. Please visit the 2016 FRC Payment Terms website for more information, including the full pricing structure and payment terms and instructions.
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Upcoming Events
Last Chance to Ask an Expert
Friday, Jan. 8
1-4 p.m.
FIRST Place
200 Bedford St., Manchester, NH 03101
2016 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff
Saturday, Jan. 9
Broadcast starts at 10 a.m.
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Contact Us NE FIRST Executive Director NE FIRST Advisor NE FIRST Regional Directors NE FIRST Senior Mentors |
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Archives of NE FIRST Things FIRST are available on the archive page and on the NE FIRST site under "News." Submissions can be sent to ljefferson@firstinspires.org.
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