Central Texas FIRST® LEGO® League Qualifier Host Orientation December 1, 2012 December 8, 2012

Introductions Jessica Galfas Central Texas FLL Operational Partner STEM Programs Coordinator x115 Lonny Stern Director, STEM Council x103 Esther Johnson Volunteer Coordinator

Without your hosting support, CTFLL wouldn’t be able to serve over 1,600 from more than 15 school districts students each season. THANK YOU!!!

Agenda What is Skillpoint Alliance and the STEM Council? What is US FIRST® & FIRST® LEGO® League? Program Elements Region Served – Central Texas How to Host an FLL Qualifier 2012 Space Culture Schedules Volunteers Questions

What is Skillpoint Alliance? Workforce development non-profit founded in 1994 Build partnerships with industry, education, and the community We focus on college and career success, delivering programs in: – Construction – Green Tech – Computer Training – Digital Media – Science, Technology, Engineering & Math – Allied Health Mission: Build partnerships that lead to college and career success for Central Texans while meeting employers' workforce needs

What is the STEM Council? We focus on: Project-based STEM Education in Central Texas (K-16) Connecting classroom learning to industry applications Sharing best practices from industry & education A consortium of high tech industry executives and education leaders engaged in addressing workforce and education issues.

Career Exposure Engineering VisitsRobotics Applied Internships Solar Design Game Design Programs

FIRST® and FLL

What is FIRST®? Vision: “to create a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.” -- Dean Kamen Mission: To inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills that inspire innovation and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self- confidence, communication, and leadership For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology

FIRST® Programs Grade Level FIRST ® Robotics Competition K FIRST ® LEGO ® LeagueFIRST ® Tech ChallengeJunior FIRST ® LEGO ® League

FIRST® LEGO® League Global program empowering 9 – 14 year olds to design, build, and program robots using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® 1,600 students in Central Texas research real- world problems, work with industry mentors, and present their findings and designs

FLL Program Elements Annual Challenge- SENIOR SOLUTIONS™ 1.Robot 2.Research Project & Presentation 3.Core Values™ Each of these three elements is 33% of a team’s “score” at a tournament. Judges subjectively evaluate three coinciding categories- technical, research, and Core Values™. Referees objectively gather teams’ robot game scores.

The Tournaments Overview: Each team is invited to ONE (1) qualifier The top 60 most well-rounded teams will advance to the Invitational Tournament These events are a celebration of what the teams have accomplished! Tournament Activities include: 1.Three Head-to-Head Robot Matches 2.Judging Sessions – Research Project – Robot Design and Programming – Core Values

What to Expect A lot of people – teams  up to 300 kids, coached by 60 adults – spectators  Where will they sit? Robotic matches (You WANT a crowd!) Judged rounds (closed to the public & parents) Goal of Site Host: – Keep the day running smoothly and on time – Have fun!

Region Served by Central Texas Metro Areas Served Austin Bryan-College Station Fredericksburg Killeen San Angelo Waco

How to Host a Qualifier Space Culture Schedules Volunteers Don’t Forget

SPACE

Space Requirements Make sure you have reserved – Tournament Floor – Pit – Hospitality Room – 9 Judging Rooms It’s best if you have access to all of these areas on Friday night

Tournament Floor Keep spectators on the floor to cheer for teams Emcee should be announcing game play The emcee needs to be familiar with the SENIOR SOLUTIONS robot game to be successful in this roleSENIOR SOLUTIONS robot game Music should be playing (not quietly!)

The Pit The Pit should hold community FLL tables on saw horses for teams to practice on Teams will be told to bring their own challenge kits to setup on the tables Parents ARE NOT ALLOWED in The Pit, unless you choose to have your Pit area in the same place as the Tournament Floor – This encourages parents to stay on the tournament floor where the excitement is and gives all teams more of a cheering audience

Lunch Where will teams eat lunch? Where will your concessions be? Do you have a lunch pre-order form? If your Pit area is separate from your tournament floor and therefore doesn’t allow parents, consider allowing parents to enter during lunch, and recruiting adult volunteers to usher them back onto the tournament floor after the break

Hospitality Room Have coffee ready BY 7:00 AM Caffeinated volunteers are happy volunteers! Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are recommended

Judging Rooms Can be scary for students Minimize distractions May be their first ever presentation!

CULTURE

FLL Tournament Culture MUSIC! Have your emcee encourage cheering from the audience Crazy hats, silly swag, spirit wear, cheers and fun traditions are essential. Every event participant should exhibit FLL Core Values™, including team members, coaches, audience members, event hosts, and volunteers. FLL Core Values™ – What we discover is more important than what we win.

FLL Philosophy Everyone is a winner FLL designed to be a celebration of achievement Judges learn from participants Students leave wanting more It's not about building robots; it's about robots building people What you discover is more important than what you win

Ceremonies CTFLL will provide Opening and Closing Ceremony scripts. Judges will use these scripts to fill in winners for each award. Opening Ceremony – Should feel like a pep rally with cheering and excitement! Closing/Award Ceremony – Celebratory and congratulatory for every team – Plaques and Advancement Invitations will be provided

Awards Each Qualifier will be given 12 plaques and a varying number of advancement invitations. 1.Champion’s Awards (2 teams) 2.Robot Performance (1 team) 3.Research Project (1 team for each category award) 1.Research 2.Innovative Solution 3.Presentation 4.Robot Design and Programming 1.Mechanical Design 2.Programming 3.Strategy & Innovation 5.Core Values 1.Teamwork 2.Gracious Professionalism™ 3.Inspiration

SCHEDULES

Two Schedules General Schedule for spectators and volunteers. Robot Match/Judging Schedule for teams at check-in – CTFLL will provide your robot match schedule one week in advance. YOU PRINT BOTH for tournament day – Give teams the Robot Match Schedule at check-in – Have the General Schedule at your info booth

General Schedule Individual Tournament Experience may vary 7:00 a.m. Volunteer Check-In 7:30 a.m. Team Check-In 7:45 a.m.Judges Meeting 8:15 a.m.Coaches’ Meeting 9:15 a.m. Opening Ceremonies on Tournament Floor 10:00 a.m. Matches and Judging begin 12:00 p.m. Lunch 1:00 p.m. Matches Resume on Tournament Floor 3:00 p.m. Matches End 3:30 p.m. Closing Ceremony on Tournament Floor

VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer Recruitment CTFLL will provide your Head Judge and Head Ref CTFLL will support volunteer recruitment for every role at your event IF: – You maintain an updated collaborative volunteer schedule – You provide addresses for your volunteers, especially judges and referees

Volunteer Training is REQUIRED – (11/17) Referees must attend in-person training – (11/28) ALL volunteers must attend online webinar – Volunteer role descriptions and training information can be found online Volunteer Training

Volunteer Spreadsheet

DON’T FORGET

Directional Signage Print and hang way finding signs on Friday during setup (perfect student role!) Judging Rooms Concessions Tournament Floor The Pit Bathrooms First Aid Volunteer Hospitality Team Check-In Volunteer Check-In Charging Station Arrows Team Queuing

Check -In Volunteer Check-In – Volunteers need to submit a Consent & Release Form for US FIRST® – Use your shared Volunteer Schedule for check in – Direct volunteers to Hospitality so your Head Volunteers can meet their helpers Team Check-in – Each student and coach must submit a Consent & Release Form for US FIRST® – Direct teams to The Pit, where they should stay for Queuers to find them

Things to remember Volunteer Map – Due Friday – Where do volunteers park and enter the school? Lunch options – Due Friday – Concessions, nearby restaurants, or pre-order? Have fun! – Crazy hats encouraged

THANK YOU for supporting Central Texas FLL! Questions?