It’s a Big Day! And Some Numbers

Sep 28, 2017 Written by Frank Merrick

Event Preference Submission Deadline Thursday!

Sep 27, 2017 Written by Frank Merrick

Just in case you missed the 23 tweets, 12 emails, 7 blog posts and 2 carrier pigeons we sent directly to the home of every FIRST Robotics Competition mentor on this planet, the deadline to submit your event preferences is tomorrow, Thursday, September 28th, Noon, Eastern Time!

How One Teacher Founded a Whole New High School Inspired by FIRST

Sep 27, 2017 Interview by Robyn D. Shulman, founder and senior editor, EdNews Daily


Scott Heister, an engineering and physics teacher, has taught in the Ypsilanti, Michigan, community for the past 25 years and has mentored FIRST teams for 19 years. When his school district restructured a few years ago, Heister pushed for a new school built around principles of FIRST, inspired by the engagement he saw in his students during the robotics season.

Event Preferences Update

Sep 25, 2017 Written by Frank Merrick

As of last night at 10 PM, 2,226 teams had submitted event preferences. This is 80% of all teams that are 'Event Ready' meaning they have completed all requirements necessary to let them submit their preferences.

INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Grizzly Robotics - FIRST Robotics Competition team

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A New Type of School Teaches Skills for the Future

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Ypsilanti STEMM Middle College & Grizzly Robotics

FIRST School District | FIRST Robotics Competition Team

Ypsilanti STEMM Middle College, an innovative, dual-enrollment high school created in 2014 based on FIRST ethos, together with Grizzly Robotics, its robust after-school FIRST program, is enabling students to succeed and seeing dramatic improvements to attendance, graduation, and suspension rates, as well as state test scores.

Background

In Ypsilanti, Michigan, when school officials were searching for innovative ways to engage high school students in math and sciences, they based an entire high school on the FIRST philosophy.

Bringing STEM to Ypsilanti

The Ypsilanti STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Manufacturing) Middle College incorporates the FIRST emphasis on hands-on, problem-solving engineering and manufacturing skills into an innovative curriculum that provides students with exposure to college academic courses while still in high school. Grizzly Robotics, the school’s robust extracurricular FIRST Robotics Competition program, reinforces these skills in a fun, engaging way.

Enabling vulnerable youth to succeed

Together, the programs are enabling students to succeed. Daily attendance is up from 84 percent to 92 percent, graduation rates have soared from 69 percent to 97 percent, and suspensions have plummeted from 35 percent to the low single digits. The school has also significantly improved the percentage of students meeting proficiency level in science on the Michigan Merit Exam.

A combination of high expectations, discipline, mentoring, and kindness have worked powerfully on young people in Grizzly Robotics, some of whom have faced unstable home lives and other challenges to success.

“If I were to have one wish, it would be that schools would get FIRST as more than just an athletic team or after-school activity – that it really becomes infused in how they do business.” -- Scott Heister, FIRST Mentor, Ypsilanti STEMM Middle College Academic Director


View Case Study


Event Preference System and DLC Pack #1

Sep 21, 2017 Written by Frank Merrick

The Event Preference System we’ve been talking about for weeks is now open! We hit a bit of a rough patch when we first opened at Noon, but the system seems to be performing well now. For those of you who experienced issues, sorry about that. If something in the systems still does not seem right to you, please contact us.

Preference System User Guide and Events Posted

Sep 19, 2017 Written by Frank Merrick


The system will open at Noon Eastern Time this Thursday, September 21, and close at Noon Eastern Time next Thursday, September 28th.

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FIRST Robotics Competition Event Preferencing

FIRST Robotics Competition uses a preferencing system for teams selecting the events they want to attend. The preference-based system is intended to make event slot distribution fairer and more convenient for teams. 

Under this system, all FIRST Robotics Competition teams have one week to enter their ranked event preferences in the system. They will be able to enter and rank as many or as few eligible events as they like. There will be no advantage or disadvantage to entering preferences early or late, as long as preferences are in by the deadline. Also, teams will be able to change their preferences as often as they like before the deadline. After the deadline, a lottery is run and teams who entered preferences are either placed in an event or waitlisted. This process is used for both first and second round event selection. Some Districts use a process called the "home event system," the User Guide below lists how that process works. 

Review the User Guide below for more details plus a step-by-step walkthrough and the FAQ to help answer any questions you may have. 

Event Preferencing User Guide

Event Preferencing FAQ

List of Events

 

Event Preferencing Timeline

All deadlines are noon, Eastern, unless otherwise noted. 

FIRST Robotics Competition Team Registration Opens: The Team Registration System allows Teams to create a new or update an existing Team Profile. May 15, 2024
First Event Registration - Round 1 Preference: All rookie and veteran teams are able to select events to preference for their 1st Regional Event or 1st District Event for the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition Season. Sep. 26 - Oct. 3, 2024
First Late Registration Opens: First Late Registration opens for any team who did not participate in the first round preference. This allows teams to select available events for their first event only.  Oct. 4, 2024
Second Event Registration - Round 2 Preference: All rookie and veteran teams are able to select events to preference for their 2nd Regional Event or 2nd District Event for the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition Season. Oct. 17-24, 2024
Second Late Registration Opens: Second Late Registration opens for any team who did not participate in the second round preference. This allows teams to select available events for their second event. Oct. 25, 2024
Additional In-District Event Registration Opens: District teams may register for an additional In-District event. Oct. 31, 2024
Unrestricted Regional Event Registration Opens: All teams are able to select and register for any Regional Event. Oct. 31, 2024
Additional Inter-District Registration Opens: District teams are eligible to register for any open spots in other Districts. Nov. 7, 2024
Event Registration Closes Nov. 12, 2024
Payment Due for Initial Event Registration Nov. 12, 2024

 

 

INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Adam Cyran and FIRST Alumni

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FIRST offers a boost for college

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Adam Cyran

FIRST Alum & Volunteer

FIRST Alum Adam Cyran is from FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2180 Zero Gravity in Hamilton, New Jersey. Adam received a FIRST Scholarship to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He wanted to stay involved with FIRST in college, so he volunteered as a game announcer at events. “Each event revitalizes my energy and passion for this program and makes me want to come back each time,” he says.

What did you do after becoming a FIRST Alum?
I attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute on a FIRST Scholarship and study Mechanical Engineering.  I’m also an Engineering Intern at Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ.

What are your future plans?
After I graduate from WPI in the Spring of 2018, I will return to NAVAIR as a full-time employee and start my career as an engineer in the Aircraft Launching and Recovery (ALRE) department.

How has your FIRST experience impact your post-graduation life?
Because of FIRST, I was able to go to WPI set off on the right foot with a scholarship. This started my collegiate academic career and inspired me to apply for and receive a scholarship through the Department of Defense to help support my tuition costs and post-graduation employment.

You’ve continued to be involved with FIRST as an Alum; what have you been up to?
As I graduated, it was disappointing to be taken out of the role as a student, working tirelessly on my team's robot. However, as I became a college freshman, I knew I needed to stay involved. I mentored Team 190 for my first year at WPI and then decided to shift my focus to primarily volunteering at many New England District Events since 2015 as a game announcer. Each event revitalizes my energy and passion for this program and makes me want to come back each time.

You shared that you’ve made and kept great FIRST friends – any advice to current Participants on how to do that?
Absolutely. My biggest piece of advice is stay active with the program and volunteer. I stay in contact with friends from my high school team, but additionally I find that every event I attend, I always meet new and exciting people who naturally become my friends after about five minutes of robot talk. It's really amazing to connect with such amazing people at every event. Even if it's been a year since the last event and the last time you saw them, you pick up right where you leave off each time.

Visit firstinspires.org/alumni for more FIRST Alumni spotlights. Share your story for a chance to be featured.


The Teaser and Event Preferences

Sep 18, 2017 Written by Frank Merrick