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Rocky Mountain BEST Event Schedule
Kickoff
12 September Saturday
South High School Denver
Noon - 4 PM
Practice Day
17 October Saturday
Thomas Jefferson High School Denver
9 AM - 3 PM
24 October Saturday
Metropolitan State University of Denver
7:30 AM - 5 PM
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Steering Team
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Carolyn Bauer-Hub Director, Game, Returnables
JoAnne Fry and Lori Lazuk- Consumable Kits
Jose Lopez-School Interface
Linda King-Volunteer Interface
Linda Scott-Secretary, Awards & Judging
Lois Walton-Budget
Patty Gaspar-Events
Board of Directors Kathy Geise - President
Tim Bouvia - Vice President
Jose Lopez - Executive Director
Carolyn Bauer - Secretary & Hub Director
Lois Walton - Treasurer
Steve Garran - Member At Large
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Welcome to the July 2015 Rocky Mountain BEST Volunteer Newsletter. Counting down to under 6 weeks until the Kickoff Event on 12 September when we will be revealing the 2015
PAY DIRT game to the schools. We hope you have saved the dates listed here so
YOU can be involved in all the fun.
The 2015 Colorado BEST
Saturday competition event dates are as follows for the 3 hubs: Rocky Mountain BEST and Front Range BEST and Southern Colorado BEST.
- Kickoff - Saturday, 12 September
- Practice Day - Saturday, 17 October
- Game Day - Saturday, 24 October
Rocky Mountain BEST venue locations are listed on the left sidebar.
In this newsletter, learn more about the schools signed up to participate in 2015 and check out a variety of volunteer options. We are making great progress on the 2015 Game Field and Kits thanks to our awesome volunteers. We just finished our 2015 Teacher/Mentor Institute with Front Range BEST and share some details and photos about this successful event. We also highlight two upcoming Ourtreach Activities. And finally, we are excited to announce the Verizon Foundation Grant to provide some help to schools with students with limited resources so they can more successfully compete.
I'd love to hear from you about volunteer positions
YOU might be interested in filling starting in just a few weeks.
Please forward this newsletter to others who might be interested in Rocky Mountain (RM) BEST.
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2015 BEST Game - PAY DIRT
Signed Up Schools and Video Game Teaser with all the details to be revealed in just over 6 weeks!
Just a few more weeks for schools to sign up to participate in the 2015 PAY DIRT game. We are thrilled to have 31 schools signed up for the Rocky Mountain BEST competition and 12 schools at the Front Range BEST competition. In addition, SoCo BEST @Trinidad State has 7 schools signed up from schools in southern Colorado.
 Of the 43 schools signed up to compete in the Denver Metro area, 18 are new to BEST. We will continue to sign up schools through August. We currently have an RM BEST waiting list as all the available slots have a school identified. Schools currently on the Waiting List are listed in red with the Standby team also underlined. Please ask any interested schools to contact Jose Lopez at [email protected].
| Rocky Mountain BEST School |
City |
Years Competing |
| High Tech Early College |
Denver |
1 |
| Russell Middle School |
Colorado Springs |
5 |
| DSST Stapleton |
Denver |
5 |
| Battle Mountain High School |
Edwards |
1 |
| Thomas Jefferson High School |
Denver |
3 |
| DSST: Cole High School |
Denver |
1 |
| Broomfield High School |
Broomfield |
6 |
| Woodland Park Middle School |
Woodland Park |
2 |
| Manning Middle School |
Golden |
3 |
| Ralston Valley |
Arvada |
1 |
| Innovation Center of the St. Vrain Valley School District |
Longmont |
1 |
| Standley Lake High School |
Westminster |
3 |
| St. Mary's Academy |
Englewood |
3 |
| DSST Green Valley Ranch High School |
Denver |
1 |
| Lake County High School |
Leadville |
1 |
| Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning |
Colorado Springs |
2 |
| Skyview Middle School |
Colorado Springs |
3 |
| Skyline High School |
Longmont |
2 |
| Woodland Park High School |
Woodland Park |
1 |
| Wheat Ridge High School |
Wheat Ridge |
3 |
| D'Evelyn Jr/Sr High School |
Denver |
2 |
| Manual High School |
Denver |
1 |
| Fountain Valley High School |
Colorado Springs |
1 |
| Golden High School |
Golden |
3 |
| North Middle School |
Aurora |
3 |
| Mrachek Middle School |
Aurora |
1 |
| DSST Byers Middle School |
Denver |
1 |
| Cripple Creek - Victor High School |
Cripple Creek |
1 |
| Skinner Middle School |
Denver |
1 |
| East High School |
Denver |
6 |
| Walt Clark Middle School |
Loveland |
1 |
| Front Range BEST School |
City |
Years Competing |
| WarrenTech |
Lakewood |
5 |
| Bear Creek High School |
Lakewood |
4 |
| STEM Academy |
Highlands Ranch |
6 |
| Mountain Vista High School |
Highlands Ranch |
2 |
| Highlands Ranch High School |
Highlands Ranch |
1 |
| Chaparral High School |
Parker |
4 |
| Dakota Ridge High School |
Littleton |
4 |
| Boulder Explore |
Boulder |
1 |
| Legend High School |
Parker |
3 |
| Valor Christian High School |
Highlands Ranch |
3 |
| Lakewood High School |
Lakewood |
2 |
| Englewood High School |
Englewood |
1 |
If you have not seen the 2015 BEST Game Teaser Video by our national organization, BEST Robotics Inc. (BRI), check out the 48 second PAY DIRT video via this YouTube LINK .
For additional PAY DIRT game hints, see the weekly bESTology educational activities web postings at this bEStology LINK.
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Volunteers Needed Near Term
RM BEST Kit Team and RM BEST Game Field Builder Volunteers, RM BEST Venue Lead Positions, and Volunteers to Help Start a New Hub
RM BEST Monday Kit Team: If you have a few hours of free time mid-day on a Monday this summer, this team is a perfect fit for you. The Kit Team is counting, testing, and cleaning returned 2014 kits to prepare for 2015 kit activities and labeling Best Buy Foundation grant kits in our  new workshop. They will soon start 2015 unique preparations. They meet most Mondays at 999 Vallejo St #2 (Unit 34) in Denver near I-25 and 8th Avenue from 10 AM - 3 PM with a lunch break at a local restaurant. They can always use an extra hand and no experience or specific skill is needed. If interested, please contact Carolyn at [email protected] for more information. RM BEST Venue Lead (Now - October): Work with other Rocky Mountain BEST leads and volunteers to establish the venues for the Rocky Mountain BEST late July Teacher / Mentor Institute, September Kickoff event, and October Practice and Game Day events. We estimate the effort to require approximately 4 hours per week. Please contact me at [email protected] if you are interested in learning more about this position.
NEW BEST Robotics Hub in 2016 (Now - December): We are working with individuals in the Pikes Peak and Central Colorado areas about starting additional Colorado BEST hubs in 2016. Please contact me at [email protected] if you, friends, or family are interested in working with these individuals to establish new BEST hubs in these locations.
 Front Range BEST Hub Volunteers (Now - October): The new Front Range BEST hub needs volunteers to help their Hub Development in Douglas County. Please contact Tami Kirkland at [email protected] if you, friends, or family are interested in working with this great group bringing another BEST competition to the Metro Denver area.
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Teacher / Mentor Institute
Rookie and Veteran Teachers / Mentors Learn While Having Fun at MSU Denver
Our annual Teacher / Mentor Institute was held at Metropolitan State University of Denver on 30-31 July. We jointly hosted both Rocky Mountain and Front Range BEST Hub schools with fantastic support from both organization volunteers.
Those attending included 30 experienced and rookie teachers and mentors from a wide variety of Colorado schools:
Golden High School, Woodland Park High School, Cripple Creek-Victor Secondary School, St. Mary's Academy, Manning Middle School, STEM Academy, High Tech Early College, DSST Green Valley Ranch, DSST Byers, Manual High School, Mrachek Middle School,
Englewood High School, Fountain Valley
School, Innovation Center of the St. Vrain School District, Lake County High School, Ralston Valley High School, The Vanguard School, and Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning. In small groups, they built and competed their own designed robots.The cheers during the exciting competition drew an audience from across the CAVEA building.This year's competition resulted in a tie between Undecided and Wiley Coyote Teams.
Congratulations to all the teams and a BIG THANKS to everyone who participated including Jeppesen employees who created dozens of TMI Teacher Notebooks and handouts and Mary Lou Lawrence and the CAVEA staff for supporting us with such excellent facilities.
  
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Upcoming
Outreach Activities
Hope you can join in the fun!
 Come fly with us! Rocky Mountain BEST will participate in the Adventure Zone at the Erie Air Fair on Saturday, August 8. Gates are open to the public from 10 AM to 4 PM. The event and parking are free to the public. The Erie Air Fair will take place at the Erie Municipal Airport, 395 Airport Road, Erie Colorado. Join us in the adventure filled with displays of unique aircraft, children's activities, and musical entertainment.
Attention all STEM supporters! Share Fair Nation at the University of
 Denver will hold the 2015 STEMosphere on Saturday, September 26, at the Ritchie Center on the DU Campus. RM BEST and Front Range BEST will join other exhibitors in the highly interactive, hands-on, FREE educational event that is open to the public. Look at
www.sharefairnation.com for more details and to register.
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PAY DIRT Game Field Almost Complete!
Wait until you see this creative game field!
Volunteers are making quick work of 2015 Game Field components. Our 5 volunteers (Dave Porter, Carolyn Bauer, Roger Erickson, John Pituch, Mike King) have been busy creating the 4 quadrant game field that the robots navigate during competition. We are on our way to have the game field completed early. Hurrah!!
We kicked off the game field build in late June with a whole day cutting large pieces of lumber and PVC to create the required smaller component size pieces for the build. We were delighted to have help from a CU Denver MBA  Program Class. WOW! With their assistance we completed all the cuts and even assembled extra game pieces for the student teams. THANKS TO YOU ALL!
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Verizon Foundation Grant
Helping 2015 BEST Competition Schools
We are excited to announce we received a generous 2015 grant from the Verizon Foundation. The Verizon Foundation funding will be used to increase the participation and proficiency of middle and high schools with more than 40% of their students enrolled in Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) programs in the Rocky Mountain BEST 2015 PAY DIRT Robotics Competition. This support will remove obstacles that keep these schools from participating in the competition and will also provide resources to these schools to increase their competition proficiency. In addition, we are working with Verizon personnel to involve their employees in the 2015 PAY DIRT competition. We are delighted to have this opportunity to partner with Verizon to bring the benefits of BEST participation to even more students. Look for more information in future newsletters.
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How YOU Can Help at Fall Events 
What is a good way for you to join in the fun?
RM BEST Kickoff (11 and 12 September)
- Move and setup volunteers Friday for 2-4 hours
- Setup volunteer Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Team Registration Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Volunteer Registration Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Cleanup and move Saturday for 2 hours
- Computer Set Up Saturday for 2 hours
- AV Set Up Friday for 2-4 hours
- Breakout presenters Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Referees Saturday for 4 hours
- Kit distribution Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Runners Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Hospitality Saturday for 6 hours
RM BEST Practice Day (16 and 17 October) 
- Move and setup volunteers Friday for 2-4 hours
- Setup volunteers Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Compliance Check Saturday for 2-4 hours*
- Team Registration Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Volunteer Registration Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Pit Support Saturday for 6 hours
- Staging Support Saturday for 4 hours
- AV Set Up Friday for 2-4 hours
- Referees Saturday for 6 hours*
- Scorekeepers Saturday for 6 hours*
- Cleanup and move Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Runners Saturday for 6 hours
- Hospitality Saturday for 6 hours
- Announcer Saturday for 6 hours*
RM BEST Game Day (23 and 24 October) 
- Move and setup volunteers Friday for 2-4 hours
- Setup volunteers Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Compliance Check Saturday for 3 hours*
- Team Registration Saturday for 2-4 hours
- Volunteer Registration Saturday for 2-5 hours
- Pit Support Saturday for 2-8 hours
- Staging Support Saturday for 8 hours
- AV Set Up Friday for 2-4 hours
- Referees Saturday for 8 hours*
- Scorekeepers Saturday for 8 hours*
- Cleanup and move Saturday for 2 hours
- Runners Saturday for 2-8 hours
- Hospitality Saturday for 6 hours
- Announcer Saturday for 8 hours*
- Judges Saturday for 7 hours*
Positions with * require a few hours of advance training or reading. All other positions received directions the day of the event. If you are interested in any of these RM BEST volunteer positions, please contact me at [email protected] for more information and to get on the 2015 volunteer list. |
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Rocky Mountain BEST Donation Opportunities
We need YOUR help to make the 2015 BEST Competition FREE to Schools
 AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know - same products, same prices, same service. Whenever you shop on AmazonSmile, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Rocky Mountain BEST, (Centennial CO).
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 To get started, click on the "Shop at AmazonSmile" box on the right to logon to Amazon Smile with your existing Amazon account.
- If you do not see Rocky Mountain BEST, you can select "Rocky Mountain BEST (Centennial, CO)" after signing in.
- You'll receive an email confirming you are signed up.
- Once signed up, you'll be reminded of the donation with a "Supporting: Rocky Mountain BEST" in the upper left-hand corner of the screen each time you logon at www.smile.amazon.com.
 Benevity - If your company has gift matching through Benevity, Rocky Mountain BEST is one of the eligible non-profit organizations. Please check with your company about gift matching!
 If you have a Rocky Mountain BEST King Soopers Gift Card, King Soopers will donate 5% of EVERY gift card purchase -- including card refills -- to Rocky Mountain BEST... all at no cost to you -- FOREVER! Remember to use your Gift card to benefit Rocky Mountain BEST. If you need a gift card, contact [email protected] .
You can also donate at any time to Rocky Mountain BEST at Rocky Mountain BEST at ColoradoGives.org. |
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Sincerely,
Linda King Volunteer Interface, Rocky Mountain BEST
 
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