It's a brand new quarter and a brand new
newsletter!
And it's more exciting than
a colander full of jello
.
Hard at Work
The season is rolling on and teams are busy! There is a lot of news
to share- Team Social, FRC Kickoff, a story about Mentoring, updated Events Calendar, Sponsor News,
and more- whew
!!
So hold on to your oxygen tank-
a
nd keep reading for these topics
and more.
And please pass this newsletter on to teams, parents and students.
(a web link is at the top of this email- the "click here")
To subscribe to the newsletter, just fill out this form.
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Reminder- FIRST Chesapeake Has a New Address
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Tell your bookkeeper FIRST Chesapeake/ VirginiaFIRST has a new address!
To be sure that we receive your registration fees, donations, and correspondence in a timely fashion, please update your address book to:
VirginiaFIRST / FIRST Chesapeake
8161 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Suite I
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
Please note, the suite designation is the letter I as in "ice," not a number
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ECPI University Title Sponsor for FIRST Tech Challenge Virginia State Championship - and more!
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Chesapeake and its programs for the next two years. Donating not only sponsorship dollars, but also faculty and on-site resources, ECPI's commitment has resulted in several "firsts" for the 2017-2018 season.
And for those of you who have attended the
FIRST
Chesapeake District Hampton Roads Event Sponsored by Newport News Shipbuilding in the past, don't worry, the ECPI Team Hospitality donuts will make their return appearance on Saturday and Sunday!
We are very grateful for the support of all of our
sponsors. It is the contributions of corporations, educational institutions, organizations and individuals that help us do what we do best - build tomorrow's technology leaders! If you are interested in learning more about ECPI University, their Innsbrook Campus is having a Career Development Day on Saturday, January 13th. Click on the image below to RSVP or call the number on the flyer for more information.
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FIRST Robotics Challenge Kickoff and Game Reveal
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Attentive students at FRC Kickoff Sponsored by InSource Solutions
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The 2018 FIRST Robotics Competition Game POWER UP looks to be an exciting challenge!
On Saturday, January 6th, three sites held kickoff events for
128 teams across the
FIRST Chesapeake District, and an additional site was changed to pick-up only due to wintry weather. A big thanks goes out to host sites Virginia Commonwealth University, Woodrow Wilson High School, USRA, and the ECPI Virginia Beach Campus, as well as
FIRST Chesapeake Kick Off Sponsors InSource Solutions and ECPI University. Students, coaches and mentors gathered in rapt attention to hear speakers who offered sage advice about striving for goals, improving themselves, and leaving their teams even better than when they first joined.
The Reveal featured old-school video game-inspired graphics and fun appearances by Woodie Flowers and Dean Kamen.
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Kit pickup
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Click here to see the FIRST POWER Up Game Animation, showing the field of play and scoring.
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FIRST Chesapeake Team and Baltimore Police Department "Bigs in Blue" Partnership - Robotics programs reaching out to students in the city of Baltimore
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The Big Brothers Big Sisters of America's "Bigs in Blue" program is a one-to-one mentoring program that connects youth with police in under-resourced communities.
FIRST Chesapeake FRC team 5945, Absolute Control, reached out to Baltimore Police Department's "Bigs in Blue" program to offer the opportunity for students from the Baltimore City to join the
FIRST Chesapeake
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) family.
The program has been offered as a pilot to three students with great success. One of the Big Brothers,
Detective Evan Zimrin, not only brings his little brother to team meetings but decided he wanted to mentor the team, as well. Detective Zimrin participated in a robotics club in high school and was excited to offer his little brother the same chance to participate in robotics.
Detective Zimrin has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering making him a great fit as a team mentor.
The above picture from left to right shows Dective Zimrin's little brother,
Detective Zimrin and another team member at recent team meeting. His little brother, the son of immigrant parents, is learning how to program the robot in Java. His parents are excited for him to participate and feel it greatly improves his chances of attending college.
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Krispy Kreme Fundraising Opportunity for Teams
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Krispy Kreme is
FIRST Chesapeake's official breakfast hospitality sponsor for several events in Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland. In addition to providing complimentary doughnuts and coffee to our event volunteers and mentors, many Krispy Kreme stores in Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland will offer an exclusive $1 off coupon per fundraising dozen for participating FIRST teams. This means more money for teams using an easy and proven fundraising model. (For example, a FIRST Team can sell a dozen glazed doughnuts for $8, but it will only cost a team $3.00 up front. In other words, for every box sold, your team can make $5 in pure profit!)
Helping to raise over $39 million for charity in 2016, the
Krispy Kreme FUNdraising program is one of the easiest and most delicious programs around.
To find out more about participating stores in Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland, and to receive your team coupons, please contact Marie at
mtakam@monumentrestaurants.com.
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Here are some upcoming FIRST and STEM-related events. Click through the links
for more information or visit the
FIRST Chesapeake calendar
.
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Learn more about volunteering with FIRST Chesapeake here.
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Attention Alumni - Exciting Internship Opportunity at Newport News Shipbuilding
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corporate office for
college students enrolled in bachelor's or master's degree programs in business, computer science, engineering or information technology.
To qualify, students must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA. Students will work full-time, 40 hours per week, for a minimum of 10 weeks during the summer months.
For more information, search the "Students & New Graduates" portal of the
HII Careers website
for Job 20313BR. Applications will be accepted until
Feb. 12, but we encourage you to apply early, as some positions are already being assigned.
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Have YOU Been Thinking About Volunteering for One of Our Upcoming Competitions?
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WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
Grab your calendar! There's a
FIRST Tech Challenge or
FIRST Robotics Competition event coming your way, and there is no time like the present to get signed up. Volunteers are needed across the gamut of technical and non-technical positions. Try something new! Bring a friend.
To apply to volunteer:
- Go to the Volunteer Information Management System on the FIRST website: https://my.usfirst.org/FIRSTPortal/Login/VIMS_Login.aspx
- New volunteers must create an account and be screened, under the FIRST Youth Protection Program.
- Once your profile is created or updated, you will be able to search for the FTC or FRC event that you are interested in, and sign up. (NOTE: you have to sign up for at least one event for your application to go on to screening)
See the
calendar above for the remaining competitions for the FTC in Virginia, and the FRC in the
FIRST Chesapeake District! We'd love to see you!
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Looking for current FIRST Chesapeake news, information and announcements?
Some recent topics:
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We have streamlined our social media accounts- they are now only "FIRST Chesapeake" in name, but will cover both FIRST Chesapeake District FRC and Virginia FTC events.
Keep up with all things FTC and FRC by liking and or following FIRST Chesapeake on all our social media accounts!
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Support
FIRST Chesapeake!
Fundraising that's easy and free to you!
When prompted to select a charitable organization,
please select
Funds raised through this program will be earmarked for emergency team support. The more who sign up, the more teams we can help.
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Hear
