FLL Grants - Applications and Details (MI FLL Team Blast 2018.03)

This email contains information and application links on all grants available to FLL teams in Michigan this year.

See FLL Grants and Application Procedures for complete information on all available grants. If you have a question after reading through this email, it is likely answered in this document.

Participation in an official FIRST in Michigan FLL qualifier is a requirement of all grants.

MDE Grant

MDE FIRST Robotics State Grant is now open for application. The State set aside $3 million of a $3.5 million grant JUST for FIRST teams! Please review this linked letter about the MDE FIRST Robotics State Grant for news and info on the grant, including key dates. Be sure to share it with your school administrators! 

Your district (or school, if not part of a district) cannot apply until your team is registered for the season, so please get registered right away.

• Please remember that ALL of your FIRST teams, from FLL Jr through FRC, go on one single application
• Be sure to wait until ALL of your teams are registered and included on the application before submitting.

Highlights for FLL teams:

• Increased coach stipend to $1,000, cap of one per building.
• Increased rookie team grant to $450; veteran team grant remains at $200.

FIRST in Michigan Rookie Grant 

The intent of the FiM FLL Rookie Team grant is to provide one time funding to a school or youth enrichment 501c3 organization to establish a new upper elementary school team (which includes a team number and Kit of Parts) that is then "owned" by the team's affiliated entity (school/501c3) for reuse year to year. The grant will reimburse up to $810 for the registration fee and Mindstorms EV3 robot kit purchased through the FIRST team dashboard for additional teams at a school. (If you have veteran teams, you must register them before applying for a grant for a new rookie team.) You will need your team and school information and your purchase receipt when you apply. In order to streamline the grant paying process this year, the application works for either FLL or FTC teams; read carefully to fill in all the FLL portions.

Common errors which delay reimbursement:

• Uploaded file is not properly labeled with team number.
• Application does not list correct permanent team number (5 digits starting with 3 or 4)
• Team does not yet have two screened coaches
• Team profile does not list your school or organization affiliation
• 'Name on check' field is an individual's name.
• Veteran teams at school or organization are not yet registered

You can find the application form here: FIRST in Michigan Team Grant Application.  

Ford  Motor Co. Employee Mentored Team Grants

FIRST teams (Jr.FLL/FLL/FTC/FRC) that have a Ford Motor Co. employee as an active team mentor can apply for a Ford FIRST Robotics team grant. The grant amount for FLL teams that meet the criteria is $200. The grant is open and will close in a few weeks. The application will be available on the Ford Motor Co. STEAM website:

http://www.stem.ford.com/STEM/RoboticsOverview. Please review the FAQs on the grant.

Additional Teams

If you want to start an additional team at your school, or you want to start an FTC team for the students graduating from your FLL teams, this is the year to do it, as our rookie grants overlap with an increased amount of MDE funding!  If you know a local school interested in starting a team, please share this information with them and have them contact me. Schools can also directly contact the Michigan FTC director Tammy Damrath at michiganftc@gmail.com for help in starting FTC teams. (Unlike FLL, some FTC grants must be applied for before teams register, so it's important to contact Tammy before registering an FTC team.) 

Coach Trainings and Season Overview Events in September (MI FLL Team Blast 2018.02)

There are three opportunities for coaches and/or teams to learn more about FLL. These are especially helpful to rookie teams or new coaches, but they are also great for returning coaches who want to learn more.

Birmingham and Rochester Hills

In partnership with FIRST in Michigan, The Robot Garage will be offering the following support to FLL and FTC team for Fall 2018

• Sunday Night Studios starting 9/23
• 20% off robotics classes to First in Michigan families
• FLL Season Overviews 9/5 & 9/6

Visit the website below for details and registration information.

http://www.therobotgarage.com/first-robotics.html 

Grand Rapids:

Grand Dial in Grand Rapids will offer the following coach training dates.

• Basic Training on Sept. 15
• Advanced Training on Sept. 20 

You can find more information on their site at Grand Dial FLL Coach Trainings.

Monroe:

There will be a Coach Training night at the Monroe County ISD on Raisinville Road in Monroe, MI, in the Professional Development Building on Sept. 13 from 6-9 pm. There is no charge for this training. No registration is required. You can email me if you need further information or directions.

If you would like to host a training event or workshop for teams, please let me know.

Team Registration and Grants, Challenge Release, Coach Training, Events (MI FLL Team Blast 2018.01)

This is the first of the team update emails you will receive about FLL this year.  If you will not be involved with a team this year and do not wish to receive emails anymore, please log into your FIRST Dashboard and remove/change your contact information to the new coach or contact for your team.

Registration and Grants

Registration continues for the 2018 season of FLL! If you have registered, challenge sets are now shipping to teams in order of registration and yours will be on the way. If you need any help with the registration process, don't hesitate to ask! Veteran teams should register with their existing number, and teams should include their school name on their team if they are organized through a school. This season, registration includes the Challenge Set. Instead of a $225 registration fee and a $75 challenge set cost, the registration fee including the challenge set will be $299 this year.

Remember that FIRST in Michigan's progression of programs is different than the FIRST progression. FLL teams in Michigan consist of "upper elementary" students: 4th and 5th graders, as well as 6th graders if they attend a K-6 elementary building.

There are grants available to start additional teams at your school! If you have more students who want to participate, you can start an additional FLL team for free with our rookie reimbursement grants. You can reply to this email for more information. If you are a rookie team, the link to the grant reimbursement form will be available in a few weeks and emailed to all registered teams.

Challenge Release

The new challenge is out! You can find INTO ORBIT resources at the FIRST website, including the challenge guide, coaches' handbook, videos, etc.

Coach Training

There will be opportunities for coach training throughout the fall. I have details on one so far: Grand Dial in Grand Rapids will offer Basic Training on Aug. 18 and Sept. 15 and Advanced Training on Sept. 20 for FLL coaches for a fee. You can find more information on their site at Grand Dial FIRST Robotics Training.

If you are interested in hosting a training or build event to support teams in your area, please let me know. 

Events

We are still finalizing the tournament list for 2018. We do need a few additional events. The $75 registration fee from teams is the basis for the event budget, and there is support throughout the process of planning and hosting the event. Please let me know if you would like more information.

Spring Tournament Applications Open March 22 and Close March 29 for Michigan FIRST LEGO League Teams (MI FLL Team Blast 2017.17)

Hello Teams!

Event application for spring events will open on Thursday, March 22 at 5:00 p.m.

Event application for spring events will close on Thursday, March 29 at 5:00 p.m.

You can view the status of your event applications through your team’s Dashboard, where you initially created the team and paid the team registration fee.  You may access your Dashboard via the www.firstinspires.org website.  In the upper right of the page, choose “Log in”.  You should be able to see the Michigan FIRST LEGO League events when you access your Dashboard.  Please note that some of the events have limited availability, and one has no availability.

You will know you are registered for an event, when you receive a confirmation email from donotreply@usfirst.org that your team is Registered for an event.  The email will be titled: 

     Your FLL team number “team name” is now set to Registered status for event name.