Team Leaders, with registrations in full swing, the 2018 season is also ramping up.

As my yearly reminder, this email is only going to you, the “Main” and the “Alternate” contacts in TIMS.  You will need to disseminate the information to other mentors and students. If you want the emails to go directly to someone else you’ll need to change the “Main” or “Alternate” contacts in TIMS as I do not maintain the mailing list.

If you haven’t visited it yet, Jon Stratis, a mentor on 2177 and Lead Robot Inspector, has spent a lot of time redesigning our regional website (https://mnfirst.org ).   He put in new links, reorganized some of the menus, and automated some features (e.g., email blasts, Twitter feeds, and Facebook updates).  Remember to send me event info for activities that your team is hosting and I’ll get it out in email blasts and up on the website.  Of particular note in this email are the upcoming Training events (https://mnfirst.org/training/ ).  New information is available for Itasca Community College and JumpStart.  Don’t forget about GRIP (Nov 11th) and MN Splash.

Itasca Community College is hosting its annual  Pre-Season Training on Saturday, December 2nd.   I hope everyone is gearing up for the upcoming season.

Pre-season training is a splash of seminars and hands-on workshops to help your team and its members prepare for the season.  Experienced robotics teams, along with ICC students and instructors, offer two rounds of one-hour informational seminars in the morning and a selection of two-hour hands-on workshops in the afternoon.   There is no cost to attend this event and lunch will be provided for all participants.   This is a great opportunity to introduce new members to what the season will entail and an opportunity for current team members to expand their knowledge.

The preliminary schedule can be found at (https://mnfirst.org/training/icc-pre-season-training/ ). A more detailed schedule will be sent to registered teams once all sessions and presenters have been confirmed.  Also, there you’ll find the participant waiver.  Please have all team members that will be attending complete the waiver.

We look forward to your participation in the pre-season training event.  Please register your team by Monday, November 20th using the google link provided with the schedule.  Registering by this date will help us with planning for the day.

Thank You,

Kim Damiani
Director of Engineering Outreach
Itasca Community College
218-322-2370
Kimberly.damiani@itascacc.edu

JUMPSTART Training Sessions at St Cloud State University is scheduled for Saturday December 2, 2017.  The day is designed to aid every team, member, and mentor on all things FRC.  Registration is free and lunch is provided for all team members (yes, including mentors).

Registration can be found here:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQieDxb6Ujv8qSfDvUv2fySHCv5BgSCBhyrWCZ-D5dPhPDAw/viewform

More information can be found on MNfirst.org and here: https://advancedroboticstraining.wordpress.com/

If your team is interested in giving a session, please see this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4u38M27zhvECHi6ImecjCBAZuPNyXnlm7xSxKl4Hwda7xJw/viewform

Regards,

Mark Lawrence
Chairman, MN FIRST Regional Planning Committee