BB6 - Health and Safety

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. Expo Cancelations 😢
2. Virtual Expo Opportunity
3. Share with ORTOP
4. Virtual Certificates and Medal graphic

Read this update as a blog

BB5 - Springing Into Action

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. New Expos!!!
2. Expo Host needed April 25-26
3. Not too late to start a team.
4. FIRST LEGO League Jumpstart
5. What Happens at an Expo

Read this update as a blog

BB2 - A Dynamite Season!

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. Information Sessions around Oregon
2. Expo Registration Arches Expo Open!
3. Team Financial Support Available
4. FIRST LEGO League Jr: Discovery Edition
5. How to get started

Read this update as a blog

MM8: OMSI Expos Close - New Expos Open!

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. OMSI Expo registration is closing!
2. New Expo Added June 1 - Evergreen Aviation Museum
3. Print your Team Roster BEFORE April!
4. WeDo in Space - Fun with Spinners

Read this update as a blog

MM7: Communication Errors and the Darkside of the Moon

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

Welcome to the New Mailing List!

Oregon Expo Registration

Earth Day Expo in Longview WA

Update on location requests for expos!

Read this update as blog

MM5: Entering Lunar Orbit

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. What expos will be happening in Oregon?
2. Are you Nationally Registered for MISSION MOON?
3. How to register to attend an Oregon FIRST LEGO League Jr Expo
4. More MISSON MOON videos from the ESA
5. International Expo Opportunity at LEGOLAND California

Read this update as blog

MM4: INTO ORBIT and On To The MOON

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. FIRST LEGO League Jr tour of the FIRST LEGO League Championship!
2. Volunteers NEEDED for FIRST LEGO League Championship - get the behind the scenes!
3. Expo Registration Will Open in 3 weeks!
4. New Teams Welcome!
5. International Expo Opportunity at LEGOland California

Read this update as blog

Final Expo, Save the Date, and Prepare for Launch!

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. Expo Registration for OREGON closes MONDAY!
2. All FIRST Robot Revolution Celebration at OMSI
3. All Systems Launch 2019!

Read this update as blog

Expo Extravaganza! Sign Up Before it Evaporates

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. OMSI Expo Registration Closes February 21
2. Two new expos added for Oregon - how to sign up!
3. Bend Expo Practice March 2nd
4. High School Volunteers Needed for Expos
5. Junior Model needed for Girl Scout demonstration

Read this update as blog

Expo Registration is now Open in Oregon

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. How to register for an Oregon Expo
2. Metro area team looking for other teams to meet with
3. What happens at an Oregon Expo

To read this update as a blog click here

Sliding into January Events

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. Tour FIRST LEGO League at the Championship Tournament
2. Oregon Expos - When and Where
3. Volunteering with other FIRST programs

Read this as a blog post

Last Call for teams to attend the Expos at Evergreen Aviation Museum

This week is your team's last chance to sign up to attend the FIRST LEGO League Jr Expos at Evergreen Aviation Museum on May 6. Currently 2 expos are being planned; however, if enough teams do not register we will consolidate them into one event.

Eagle Expo: 9:30am -12:30pm
Falcon Expo: 1:00pm - 5:00pm

If your team has not applied to attend this event, please register using this link.

These expos are free and open to the public. The expo will take place on the mezzanine in the Evergreen Aviation Museum. We will be overlooking the Spruce Goose. The stairway and elevator can be accessed by the children's area. Spectators who would also like to see the museum may purchase admission at the education discount of $15 for both museums, or $18 for both museums and a movie! Team members and 2 adult coaches will receive wristbands for museum admission.

Teams can not apply to attend this event AFTER Sunday, April 23rd. Event assignment will be sent out the week of April 24th.

Best Wishes,
Loridee

Creature Craze National Registration Closes, Evergreen Expo, World Festival

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon,

In this post you will find:

1. National Registration for Creature Craze Closes
2. Evergreen Aviation Expo Registration Open
3. Aqua Adventure Registration Information
4. Good Luck Oregon teams at the World Festival
5. DonorsChoose.org and Newscorp Partner for FIRST

1) National Registration for Creature Craze Closes

FIRST LEGO League Jr National Registration for the 2016 season, Creature Craze closes on April 4. If your team would like to participate in the challenge, now is the time to finish your national registration. 

• Go to www.firstinspires.org
• Login using the option in the upper right corner
• Select PAY THIS SEASON'S TEAM REGISTRATION from the Dashboard
• If there are any errors, please fix them before proceeding.

Your team must have two adult coaches who have completed the YPP background check with Verified Volunteers. Your team must also have a physical address listed for the Inspire kit to be shipped to. These are the two most common problems for teams this year.

Feel free to email with questions or concerns. If your question is about the background check, the web form may be faster than me. 

2) Evergreen Aviation Expo Registration Open

All Nationally registered teams are welcome to register to attend the Evergreen Aviation FIRST LEGO League Jr expos on May 6. 

Register Online for the Expo.

On May 6, 2017 at the Evergreen Aviation Museum

From 9am-1pm the Eagle Expo 

From 1:30pm-5:30pm the Falcon Expo

*Team animals do not need to correspond to the names Eagle and Falcon, these are just fun names used to tell the expos apart.

**While we will try to hold the expo in a free part of the museum, spectators will need admission to see the museum. Discounted rates are available for team family members and friends. Team members and their 2 adult coaches will receive free admission to the museum.

If your team already attended the OMSI expo, you may still attend the Evergreen expos if there is space. Your team needs to register again and will need to pay the expo registration fee if selected. Preference will be given to teams who have not attended an official expo.

3) Aqua Adventure Registration Information
Aqua Adventure registration will open in May with materials to ship on August 1. If you would like to stay ahead on your planning your team can prepare to register early! Registration costs are going up for the 2017 season, as each registration now comes with all the LEGO you need, except for the WeDo 2.0 kit. 

An Individual team National Registration will be $99 for Aqua Adventure

A small season pass for up to 144 kindergarten through 4th-grade students will be $895 

A large season pass for up to 288 kindergarten through 4th-grade students will be $1,750

Season passes may be shared by schools, libraries, museums, or across a school district. The season pass is designed to be used as a rotating program with 1/3 - 1/2 the teams operating in the fall and the other groups in the winter and/or spring, depending on if the program is run in trimesters or semesters. If you would like more information about using a season pass at your organization please feel free to contact Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org.

Is your team closer to Hood River and The Dalles? One more expo is in the works, please watch for more communication soon!

4) Good Luck Oregon teams at the World Festival

The FIRST World Championships and World Festival for Oregon teams will be in Houston, Texas on April 19-22nd. 

Representing Oregon will be:

FIRST LEGO League Jr team:

8286 Bumblebee Jr, Friends & Family, Portland - chosen by lottery in January

FIRST LEGO League our first place Champion's Award winners

11687, The Pandroids, Wy'east Middle School, Hood River

1833, The G.E.A.R.S. (Girls Engineering and Robotics Superstars), West Linn/Tualatin neighborhood team, Tualatin 

FIRST Tech Challenge teams:

750, Gears in Motion, Tigard High School, Tigard - Lottery Winner

3525, Dynamite Robotics, Banks High School, Banks - Lottery Winner

4855, Batteries in Black, Washington County 4H, Portland - 3rd Place Connect Award & Winning Alliance

7013, Hot Wired, Westview High School, Portland - 2nd Place Innovate Award

7750, Mechanical Maniacs, 4H, Sutherlin - Highest Ranked Team from Cascade Winning Division

8045, Gromit’s Grommets, Pleasant Hill High School, Pleasant Hill - Control Award Winner & Finalist Alliance

8176, Steelhead, Hood River Valley High School, Hood River - Think Award Winner; 3rd Place Motivate Award

9769, Total Chaos, Total Chaos 4H Club, Portland - Connect Award Winner

10060, Klamath Coyotes, Eagle Ridge High School, Klamath - 3rd Place Innovate Award

We hope to add several FIRST Robotics Competition teams to this list and wish all Oregon FIRST Robotics Competition teams the best of luck in their District Championship this week in Cheney, WA. 

5) DonorsChoose.org and Newscorp Partner for FIRST

Through a generous donation from NewsCorp in partnership with DonorsChoose.org, funding is available to help start or support a FIRST® team. Funding is available to any educator in a public or public charter school located in the United States, employed full time by the school or school district and works directly with students at least 75 percent of the time. Funding can be used for registration fees, materials, reasonable and customary FIRST team travel costs. Tell the educators in your area to visit www.donorschoose.org/first to get started

Last Chance to Register for the OMSI Expos

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon,

In this post you will find:

1. Final days to register for the OMSI Expos
2. Evergreen Expos
3. World Festival
4. Other FIRST Events in Oregon

1) Final days to register for the OMSI Expos

Registration for the OMSI Expos will close this weekend! If your team would like to share their season at the OMSI Expos, please register through this link and pay the Expo Registration Fee for your team by Sunday night. While registration is listed to close on Friday, I will be at the FIRST Tech Challenge Championship until Monday. You will only receive a verification of your payment through our online credit card system. The registration system DOES NOT send a verification of receipt.

If your team has submitted an application for this event, you will be notified of your event assignment on Monday. Teams who have asked to be with other teams will be accommodated as long as both teams as for the same event and space allows. 

Information about all Oregon Expos can be found at: http://www.ortop.org/jfll/overviewEXPO.htm

2) Evergreen Expos

Registration will remain open for the Evergreen Expos on Saturday, May 6 until two weeks prior to the event. Which will be April 22nd. Teams will be notified of their assignment the week after. If your team has attended the OMSI expo, they are allowed to register and pay again to attend the Evergreen Expo, however; teams who have not attended an Expo will be given priority. Please use the same link to apply for the Evergreen Expos.

3) World Festival

This year FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon will be represented at the World Festival in Houston by Team 8286 Bumblebees from Bethany Elementary School, Beaverton. Bumblebees was drawn by lottery and will present their Creature Craze model and Show-Me Poster in Houston, Texas April 20-22, 2017. Good luck Bumblebees! We hope you have a wonderful event!

4) Other FIRST Events in Oregon

FIRST LEGO League Jr leads to 3 more programs, all of which are competing in Oregon this month! We hope to see you at one of these events!

February 26 - FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship, Benson Polytechnic High School, Portland. Opening Ceremonies start at 9:15am and Competition will go until 4:00pm.

March 4 & 5 - Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League State Championships, Glencoe High School, Hillsboro. Opening Ceremonies will be at 9am each day, and robot competitions will run until 2:20 each day. FIRST LEGO League Jr teams are invited for a behind the scene tour on Saturday at 2:30pm on Saturday March 4. Teams need to sign up using this form at least 48 hours before the event.

March 9-11 - FIRST Robotics Competition Wilsonville District Tournament, Wilsonville High School, Wilsonville. Competitions take place during the day on March 10 and 11. Come see this year's game STEAMWORKS!

March 23-25 - FIRST Robotics Competition CAIS District Tournament, Jackson Campus, Oregon City. Competitions are during the day on March 24 & 25.

March 30-April 1 - FIRST Robotics Competition Lake Oswego District Tournament, Lake Oswego High School, Lake Oswego. Join the competition at this new event on March 31 and April 1. 

Best Wishes,

Loridee

Expo Registrations Open in Oregon

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon,

In this post you will find:

1. Lottery to Participate at World Festival
2. Oregon Expo Information
3. What You Need to Register for an Oregon Expo
4. How to Pay for an Oregon Expo

1) Lottery to Participate at World Festival

If your team would like to represent Oregon at the World Festival please complete this online form. The World Festival takes place on April 20-22 in Houston, Texas. Your team is responsible for their own travel and registration costs if selected. FIRST LEGO League Jr is a non-competitive program. Teams who would like to participate at the World Festival are therefore randomly selected.

2) Oregon Expo Information

This year Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program (ORTOP) is planning 7 FIRST LEGO League Jr Expos. Six of these expos now have dates and can be registered for. 

At OMSI we will have:

Saturday, March 18 - Antelope Expo from 9am-1pm & Beaver Expo from 1:30-5:30pm

Sunday, March 19 -  Cougar Expo from 9am-1pm & Duck Expo from 1:30-5:30pm

At Evergreen Aviation Museum we will have:

Saturday, May 6 - Eagle Expo from 9:30am-12:30pm & Falcon Expo from 1-5pm

An expo in the Columbia Gorge will be scheduled for later in May.

Your team's animals of interest DO NOT need to correspond to the expo names. The expo names are simply more fun than calling our expos A, B, C, D, E, & F. Each expo may have 12 - 25 teams and are assigned on a first registered basis ensuring that all events have enough teams to be held. Teams may attend more than one expo if there is space, priority will be given to teams that have not attended any expos. More information about Oregon Expos can be found on this page.

3) What You Need to Register for an Oregon Expo

Before you can start your registration for an Oregon FIRST LEGO League Jr Expo, your team must have the following:

• 2 adult coaches who have completed their background check
• 1 National registration with FIRST
• A 4-digit FIRST LEGO League Jr team number

If you have a bee model and engineering notebooks, then you have all of the above! 

You will also need to know:

• Your team's chosen team name - this will be used on all expo papers for the day.
• How many kids are on the team - NO MORE THAN 6
• How many are boys and how many are girls, and their grade level in school (or by age).
• Your tournament preference (you can choose three and will be put into the one with the best space).
• If you have other teams coming from your site you need to be at the same event as - mostly for schools and clubs.
• Whether your team will be using a laptop that needs power
• If your team needs special accommodations, like wheelchair access.
• A plan on how to pay for the expo application fee of $80 (with an optional up to $40 for teams who need it)

When you have all of this, you may go to the survey monkey application page and complete an expo application for your team.

Please only submit ONE application PER TEAM unless you intend to attend more than one expo - If this is your plan please make sure you put it in the additional comments.

4) How to Pay for an Oregon Expo

There are three options for paying for your FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon Expo Application. 

• Online by credit card, using our secure payment page
• Sending a check to ORTOP
• Sending a Purchase Order to ORTOP

The $80 Expo Application payment completes your Expo registration process and allows your team to be placed into an Oregon Expo. All payments must be received 2 weeks before the start of the expo you are requesting. When you make your payment there is an automatic method for requesting the discount of up to $40. At this time these requests are automatically approved, this may change next season.

Best Wishes,

Loridee

FIRST Fun to End the Year and Welcome 2017!

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon!

In this post you will find:

1. Request tickets to join FIRST Oregon teams at the Winterhawks (December 28th game)
2. Signup to Attend Juniors Day at the Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League Championship (January 14)
3. Expo Registration will open in January

1) Request tickets to join FIRST Oregon teams at the Winterhawks (December 28th game)
Join Oregon FIRST teams as the Winterhawks take on TriCity! Winterhawks have donated several ticket vouchers for our teams to enjoy. Please use the form below to request a voucher (which you will need to take to the ticket office to turn into tickets). Where your team shirts, if you have one, so teams can find each other!
Request your ticket vouchers here

We also are happy to be able to include our volunteers in this activity! If you volunteer with ORTOP, please join us at the game.

2) Signup to Attend Juniors Day at the Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League Championship (January 14)
If your team is starting to look towards FIRST LEGO League (the 4th-8th grade competitive LEGO robotics program) please sign up to attend the Juniors Day at the Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League Championship.  FIRST LEGO League Jr teams should who sign up will receive a tour at Liberty High School in Hillsboro on Saturday, January 14, 2017 at 2:30pm.

Sign up with this online form

Teams will get to ask questions about FIRST LEGO League and meet competing teams in the secure pit area after competitions have concluded for the day. Teams should come early to see the robot game competitions in the gymnasium arena.
The Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League Championship Tournaments are free and open to the public from 9am-5pm on Saturday, January 14 & Sunday, January 15, 2017.

3) Expo Registration will open in January

Registration for the March 18 & 19 FIRST LEGO League Expos as OMSI and the May 6 Expo at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum will open in the second half of January.  To register for an expo your team MUST have a national registration (4 digit team number) through FIRST.

To register your team for the CREATURE CRAZE season, please register your team online at www.firstinspires.org

If you need any assistance navigating the FIRST registration system I am happy to help!

Best Wishes & Happy New Year,
Loridee