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Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology

Build a robot in six weeks;               
inspire a youth for a lifetime
Volunteer Newsletter
Issue: #15-001
January/2015
Quick Links

 

Boosting BEST Fundraiser

26 February

Thursday 
Builder's Appliance Center 
Englewood

2015 Rocky Mountain BEST Event Schedule

Teacher / Mentor Institute

 2 days in late July or  early August

Denver


 

TENTATIVE FALL EVENT DATES 

 

Kickoff

 12 September Saturday

Denver


 Practice  Day

17 October Saturday

Denver
 

Game Day

 24 October Saturday

Denver


 

We expect to finalize the dates in February
 

 

 
Steering Team

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
 

MSU Students-Protobot
 

Patty Gaspar-Events
 

Scott McEwen-Venues


 

Board of Directors

 

Kathy Geise - President
 

Linda Scott - Vice President
 

Jose Lopez - Executive Director
 

Carolyn Bauer - Secretary &  Hub Director
 

Lois Walton - Treasurer
 

Tim Bouvia - Director-at-Large
 


 

 

, 

 

Welcome to the January 2015 Rocky Mountain BEST Volunteer Newsletter.  We are excited about the 2015 PAY DIRT game and getting YOU involved in all the fun. 

Our tentative 2015 Saturday competition event dates in Denver are: Kickoff 12 September, Practice Day 17 October, and Game Day 24 October.  Please SAVE these dates on your calendar!  They are also listed in the left sidebar.

To help us provide the 2015 PAY DIRT Game free to area schools, please remember to signup for our Boosting BEST Fundraiser on Thursday 26 February. See more information and link to register below. Also provided are additional ways to contribute are provided.

See below for more information about volunteers needed in February for the Kit Team and supporting Boosting BEST. TBD And special thanks to the Rocky Mountain BEST Move Team!

We are thrilled to announce that in addition to a competition in Denver with Rocky Mountain BEST, two additional Colorado BEST Hubs will sponsor a competition in their communities in 2015. More details below about Front Range BEST in Douglas County and SoCo BEST at Trinidad State in southern Colorado.

Finally, provided below is the 2015 PAY DIRT Game Teaser video and information about the 14 weeks of bESTology educational activities posted each Sunday starting on 25 January.

 

Please forward this newsletter to others who might be interested in Rocky Mountain (RM) BEST.
2015 Boosting BEST Fundraiser robot mascot purple-150
Please REGISTER NOW! Join us on Thursday 26 February with Cooking Demo, Silent Auction, Wine Tasting, and more!

Please join us in giving Rocky Mountain BEST and the new Douglas County Hub, Front Range BEST, a financial BOOST to provide a  FREE robotics competition to local schools in 2015!  It will be a fun evening with hors d'oeuvres, a silent auction, wine tasting, a light dinner with cooking demonstration by Chef Greg Boynton. St. Mary's Academy and STEM Academy students will demonstrate their team robots! Casual Attire.  Bring your friends and family to let them get a taste of BEST!  Register at the following link:  2015 Boosting BEST Annual Fundraising Event 

 

Event Fee: $30 (with $15 Tax Deductible) in advance or at the door.   

     
Builder's Appliance Center (BAC) Showroom at the southwest corner of Santa Fe and Oxford Avenue (1880 West Oxford Ave Suite A) Englewood, CO is the venue for this fun event.         
 

We are looking for companies interested in underwriting our fundraising event for $500. We are thrilled to have Oster Jewelers as our first 2015 underwriter. 
 

If you have items you'd like to donate for auction or know of a business that might be willing to contribute, please contact Lois Walton at [email protected].
 

At Boosting BEST, you may also purchase a $10 King Soopers gift card for $10 and continue to add money to your gift card before you use it to buy groceries or gas. King Soopers will donate 5% of EVERY gift card purchase -- including refills -- to Rocky Mountain BEST... all at no cost to you -- FOREVER! Everyone needs groceries and gas. Why not let 5% of the money you are already spending benefit Rocky Mountain BEST? It's really easy.
Volunteers Needed Near Term
Kit Team + Boosting BEST Volunteers and Help Start a New Hub
  

Monday Kit Team: The Kit Team is working on returned 2014 kits to prepare for 2015 kit activities and labeling BEST BUY grant kits. They meet most Mondays at 999 Vallejo St #2 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.

  

Boosting BEST Fundraiser:  We need 2 general helpers between 6:00 and 9:00 PM  on Thursday, 26 February at Builders Appliance Center. 

Please contact Sabina at [email protected] for more information about Boosting BEST volunteering.

Pikes Peak Hub

 

Help Start a NEW BEST Robotics Hub in Colorado in 2016:  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 hubs in these locations. At the right is the Pikes Peak Hub logo.
 


New Home for Rocky Mountain BEST2013 Spotlight Graphic
RM BEST now on first floor at 999 Vallejo Street

 

Thanks to all the volunteers that helped us move from the second floor to our new first floor Rocky Mountain BEST Workshop at the former Club Workshop location. Carolyn Bauer, Scott & Trice McEwen, Carl & Patty Gaspar (& grandkids), Greg & Donna Gerlich, Lois Walton, Lori Lazuk, Angie Matthias, Gary Pratt, Dave Porter, Bob Chojnacki, Linda Scott, and Elwyn Allyn accomplished the difficult task of efficiently getting all our BEST stuff down all those stairs and into our new space. To quote Carolyn, "That was absolutely amazing!"

New Contribution Opportunity
Another way to make our 2015 Competition FREE to Schools

AmazonSmile - Click on the box on the right to logon to Amazon to access your Amazon account to get started.
  • Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Rocky Mountain BEST whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.
  • You can select a different charitable organization after signing in.
  • AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service.
  • Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com.

 

Benevity - Also, 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!


 

You can also donate to Rocky Mountain BEST at Rocky Mountain BEST at ColoradoGives.org. 


New Colorado Hubs Working to Host in 2015
Two New Organizations Bringing BEST Competition to Colorado
 
 
Front Range BEST will host a BEST competition from Douglas County. Their website is http://www.frbest.org. 
 
  
SoCo BEST at Trinidad State will host a competition at Trinidad State Junior College supporting southern Colorado. Their web page will be coming soon. 
For more information, contact Jenn Swanson at [email protected].

More to come in future newsletters.
2015 BEST Game Announced - PAY DIRT
Video Game Teaser Now Available, Lots More to Come
 
2015 BEST Game Teaser
2015 BEST Game Teaser

Our national organization, BEST Robotics Inc. (BRI), has released the 2015 BEST Game Teaser.  Check out the 48 second PAY DIRT video via the box to the left or this YouTube LINK .

 

The full details of the PAY DIRT game will be revealed to the student teams at the September Kickoff.


2015 PAY DIRT bESTology Announced 
14 Sets of Weekly Activities Posted Each Sunday Starting 25 January

 

What is bESTology? 

bESTology is the study of Engineering, Science and Technology. Students are encouraged to become bESTologists!  
 
A gold mine of weekly activities are unveiled each Sunday @ 5:00 p.m. MT. Each post contains HINTS for the upcoming BEST Robotics Game - PAY DIRT. In addition, bESTology teaches the science, engineering and technology that will enhance the learning experience for the 2015 BEST game. 
 
bESTology offers:
  • BEST students: FUN off-season challenges and career awareness connected with Pay Dirt
  • BEST teams: weekly clues for the 2015 game Pay Dirt
  • BEST teams: the skill sets to be competitive in the workplace
  • BEST teachers: an avenue for BEST to be incorporated into cross-curricular activities based on Bloom's Taxonomy
Teachers may use bESTology activities in their classroom. Use this bESTology link to access the web page for 2015 postings and also view the 2014 Blade Runner and 2013 Gatekeeper postings at this link. 
 
More information about student digital badges for bESTology available here.

Rocky Mountain BEST would not be successful without you!  We are looking forward to working with you in 2015 with the PAY DIRT game.
  
Sincerely,
  

Linda King

Volunteer Interface, Rocky Mountain BEST


 

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