FLL-30463 lINDEN LEGO EAGLES
TEAM INFORMATION
Season Theme -
Each year FIRST announces the season's theme with a Teaser Video and the name of the Challenge. This gives teams around the world small hints as to what the challenge will include for the season. This usually happens in May/June with the season officially starting in August.
Team Registration -
The lead mentor is responsible for registering the team for the season. This is done through the FIRST Dashboard and is paid either out of the Robotics Account through the school or alternatively through the Linden Robotics 501(c)3 account depending on the current account balances. The season's expenses are paid for through the team registration fees, sponsor funds, and MDE grant money awarded to the team. There is a coach's stipend through the MDE grant and educators can get SCECHS hours by mentoring the team(s).
Team Cost -
There is a registration fee per team paid to FIRST (currently $300 per team), and each event the team attends has an event fee (currently $75 per event). The registration fee does include the team's season challenge LEGO kit with the models and table mat. Additionally there are team supply and LEGO costs that must be budgeted for during the season. Items such as team shirts, display supplies, project materials, and LEGO replacement parts are common expenses for the season. For budgeting purposes a season may cost $1,000 per team.
Team Events -
Michigan is unique in how it structures the FIRST progression of programs. FLL is for 4th and 5th grade upper elementary students, and Michigan has one of the largest number of teams in the country with 667 teams in 2019. Because of the large amount of teams and the limited amount of events, we are limited to one event each season to earn a chance to advance to the State Championships in December and possibly the World Championships in April. Events are kept as local as possible and the Lead Mentor is responsible for applying using the FIRST in Michigan application process (Google Doc through email).
Season Timeline -
The season really never ends. It officially starts at the beginning of August with qualifying events in November and State championships in December. If the team advances to the World Championships, that occurs in April. After the normal season concludes the off-season begins. This time should be used to build the team, transfer knowledge to new members, make the transfer from mentor-to-mentor, and work towards the desired goals for the next season (Awards).
Team Meetings -
The season officially starts at the beginning of August but the team needs to start meeting before that. The team should meet after the end of the previous season to continue to team build and plan community activities. Frequency can vary but one day every to every other week will work. Starting around mid-June the team should begin meeting weekly (including new members) and be working on team building activities, robot design, and programming techniques. By mid to late July the team should meet two to three days a week and focus on each of the aspects of the season; Awards and Goals, Core Values (Team Build), Robot Design and Programming, and the Innovate Project. Parent assistance is required to make the season a success, the Mentors can NOT do it all. We have found that if the parents can help the kids with things like the posters and displays and keeping them focused during the meeting it's more productive. The meetings should be no longer than 2 hours, with 1 1/2 hours being optimal.
Parent Involvement -
This is a Parent run activity. We are not directly a part of the school or the Community Education program. (The MDE State Grant does require the school to match grant monies through use of the facilities but that is totally at their discretion.) If we as parents want this opportunity for our kids we have to have volunteers. Ideally a 4th grade parent(s) would volunteer and shadow a 5th grade parent(s) who is the Lead Mentor. At the end of the season the 5th grader and their parent(s) would transfer to the FTC middle school program and the 4th grader's parent(s) would move into the role of the Lead Mentor. This is how we hope to have sustainability with our FLL program otherwise it will no longer be available to our kids and the community.
Mentor's Role -
The Lead Mentor is responsible for items such as registering the team, overseeing the team activities, planning the meetings, guiding the kids through the season, applying for events, and to be the point person for the Robotics Committee. The Co-Lead Mentor should assist as needed and help with things like tracking paperwork and payment, tracking attendance, assisting with team building activities, and learning the Lead Mentor responsibilities. The Lead Mentor should also be the interface with the School Board and Administration, and be the cheerleader to promote the program through the school and community.
Robotics Committee -
The Lead Mentor is the point person for the program and should attend the monthly Committee Meetings (currently the 2nd Sunday of each month). The focus is for things such as updating the committee on the progress of the program, identifying any program needs and expenses, budgeting for the season, and coordinating resources and activities with the other programs.
Season Theme -
Each year FIRST announces the season's theme with a Teaser Video and the name of the Challenge. This gives teams around the world small hints as to what the challenge will include for the season. This usually happens in May/June with the season officially starting in August.
Team Registration -
The lead mentor is responsible for registering the team for the season. This is done through the FIRST Dashboard and is paid either out of the Robotics Account through the school or alternatively through the Linden Robotics 501(c)3 account depending on the current account balances. The season's expenses are paid for through the team registration fees, sponsor funds, and MDE grant money awarded to the team. There is a coach's stipend through the MDE grant and educators can get SCECHS hours by mentoring the team(s).
Team Cost -
There is a registration fee per team paid to FIRST (currently $300 per team), and each event the team attends has an event fee (currently $75 per event). The registration fee does include the team's season challenge LEGO kit with the models and table mat. Additionally there are team supply and LEGO costs that must be budgeted for during the season. Items such as team shirts, display supplies, project materials, and LEGO replacement parts are common expenses for the season. For budgeting purposes a season may cost $1,000 per team.
Team Events -
Michigan is unique in how it structures the FIRST progression of programs. FLL is for 4th and 5th grade upper elementary students, and Michigan has one of the largest number of teams in the country with 667 teams in 2019. Because of the large amount of teams and the limited amount of events, we are limited to one event each season to earn a chance to advance to the State Championships in December and possibly the World Championships in April. Events are kept as local as possible and the Lead Mentor is responsible for applying using the FIRST in Michigan application process (Google Doc through email).
Season Timeline -
The season really never ends. It officially starts at the beginning of August with qualifying events in November and State championships in December. If the team advances to the World Championships, that occurs in April. After the normal season concludes the off-season begins. This time should be used to build the team, transfer knowledge to new members, make the transfer from mentor-to-mentor, and work towards the desired goals for the next season (Awards).
Team Meetings -
The season officially starts at the beginning of August but the team needs to start meeting before that. The team should meet after the end of the previous season to continue to team build and plan community activities. Frequency can vary but one day every to every other week will work. Starting around mid-June the team should begin meeting weekly (including new members) and be working on team building activities, robot design, and programming techniques. By mid to late July the team should meet two to three days a week and focus on each of the aspects of the season; Awards and Goals, Core Values (Team Build), Robot Design and Programming, and the Innovate Project. Parent assistance is required to make the season a success, the Mentors can NOT do it all. We have found that if the parents can help the kids with things like the posters and displays and keeping them focused during the meeting it's more productive. The meetings should be no longer than 2 hours, with 1 1/2 hours being optimal.
Parent Involvement -
This is a Parent run activity. We are not directly a part of the school or the Community Education program. (The MDE State Grant does require the school to match grant monies through use of the facilities but that is totally at their discretion.) If we as parents want this opportunity for our kids we have to have volunteers. Ideally a 4th grade parent(s) would volunteer and shadow a 5th grade parent(s) who is the Lead Mentor. At the end of the season the 5th grader and their parent(s) would transfer to the FTC middle school program and the 4th grader's parent(s) would move into the role of the Lead Mentor. This is how we hope to have sustainability with our FLL program otherwise it will no longer be available to our kids and the community.
Mentor's Role -
The Lead Mentor is responsible for items such as registering the team, overseeing the team activities, planning the meetings, guiding the kids through the season, applying for events, and to be the point person for the Robotics Committee. The Co-Lead Mentor should assist as needed and help with things like tracking paperwork and payment, tracking attendance, assisting with team building activities, and learning the Lead Mentor responsibilities. The Lead Mentor should also be the interface with the School Board and Administration, and be the cheerleader to promote the program through the school and community.
Robotics Committee -
The Lead Mentor is the point person for the program and should attend the monthly Committee Meetings (currently the 2nd Sunday of each month). The focus is for things such as updating the committee on the progress of the program, identifying any program needs and expenses, budgeting for the season, and coordinating resources and activities with the other programs.
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Information
It's confusing but there are two sources for FLL information. There is the national organization, FIRST, and then there's Michigan's organization FIRST in Michigan. Both have links to important information but the Michigan site will have the local events and team information. Our Linden Robotics FLL Team web page has links to information gathered over the course of the season. Other than team registration and the team roster, the FIRST Dashboard will not have any real information about this program.
What is FLL?
FLL is a global robotics competition that is built around theme-based Challenges to engage children in research, problem solving, coding, and engineering. The foundation of the program is the FIRST® Core Values, which emphasize teamwork, discovery, and innovation.
There's more information in the How FLL Works brochure.
During the season the team learns to work together using the FIRST Core Values, they select a real-world problem to solve that's related to the theme and challenge of the season, and they design, build, and program their robot to complete the game missions. At the event they attend three judged sessions to earn awards.
The first session is Core Values where they make a small presentation of how they applied the Core Values during the season (both during robotics as well as outside in everyday activities). The judges then assign them a teamwork challenge that they must solve together. The judges watch how they work as a team and interact with one another. They rate the team using a Judging Rubric.
The second session is for their Innovate Project. They present their problem and proposed solution to the judges using a Show-Me Poster and answer any questions they may have. They again rate the team using a Judging Rubric.
The third session is where they present their robot and programming to the judges and answer any questions they may have. This allows the judges to see what the kids have learned and why they chose to program the robot the way the did. The team presents their Robot Design Worksheet to the judges at the beginning of the session, and they again use a Judging Rubric to rate the team.
There's more information in the Team Event Guide.
FIRST CORE VALUES
In FLL we express the FIRST® philosophies of Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® through our Core Values:
Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
Impact: We apply what we learn to improve our world.
Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!