INFORMATION FOR Elementary, Middle and High Schools in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Skamania and Klickitat counties

If you have a question about the information on this page or require additional information,
please contact Cathy Swider at 503-725-2920 or email .

The Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program (ORTOP), a program of the Oregon University System is pleased to announce a grant given to ORTOP by the Google Data Centers Grants Fund of Tides Foundation for the purpose of giving scholarships to teams associated with public schools in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Klickitat and Skamania counties  to participate in Junior FIRST LEGO League (K – 3^rd grade), FIRST LEGO League (4^th – 8^th grade) and FIRST Tech Challenge ( high school). We hope that students attending your schools will participate this fall in one of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology programs.

______________________________________

FIRST LEGO League program for 4th - 8th graders

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Welcome to FIRST LEGO League! It introduces younger students to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. FLL teams, guided by their imaginations and adult coaches, discover exciting career possibilities and, through the process, learn to make positive contributions to society.

Elementary and middle-school students get to:

• Design, build, test and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology
• Apply real-world math and science concepts Research challenges facing today's scientists
• Learn critical thinking, team-building and presentation skills
• Participate in tournaments and celebrations
• What FLL teams accomplish is nothing short of amazing. It's fun. It's exciting. And the skills they learn will last a lifetime.
  

ORTOP FLL SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

Deadline to apply for a scholarship is September 17th. Because national registrations are selling quickly we suggest that you apply as soon as possible. As soon as natiuonal registrations sell out no scholarship application can be processed. This could occur as soon as the second week of September.

The intention of the grant is to have one FIRST LEGO League team in every elementary and middle school in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Klickitat and Skamania counties.  To be eligible for the team scholarship the following is required:

• A principal or teacher at the school must complete the scholarship application (Steps #1 - #3).  It is necessary to review the “What to Expect if You are an ORTOP Scholarship FLL Coach” document prior to completing the application.
• Identify an adult(s) responsible for coaching the team. This person could be a teacher, staff person, community volunteer or parent. No need to be a technical person just someone that likes to work with kids.
• The coach(es )must  register and  attend a full day training offered by ORTOP on September 24, 2011 in Hood River (Step #4) .  Training will cover learning to build and program a LEGO robot and manage a FLL team.
• You should feel confident that you will recruit at least 6 – 10 students to participate on a team before applying for the scholarship. You do not need to provide names of students, just be confident there will be interest.
• The team would meet at least once per week for 90 minutes from mid-September – December and attend the FLL Qualifying Tournament on December 10, 2011 in Hood River.

If the scholarship is awarded and the school participates for two seasons, the robot kit would owned by the school.
Team will be registered by ORTOP and materials purchased by ORTOP for the team.  Materials will be shipped directly to the school.

 

STEP #1 - WHAT TO EXPECT IF YOU ARE AN ORTOP FLL SCHOLARHIP COACH

STEP #2 - Paper Copy of ORTOP FIRST LEGO League SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION - use this to gather the information before going online.

STEP #3 - LINK to ONLINE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FOR FIRST LEGO League (4th - 8th graders)

STEP #4 - REGISTERING FOR ADULT TRAINING COACH/MENTOR WORKSHOP on September 24, 2011 in Hood River

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FIRST LEGO League so that you can be informed before applying for the scholarship.

Get in the Game VIDEO ABOUT FIRST LEGO League
National FIRST LEGO League Website

_______________________________________________

JUNIOR FIRST LEGO League program for Kindergarten - 3rd graders

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Welcome to Junior FIRST LEGO League! The newest program in FIRST introduces the youngest students to the exciting worlds of science and technology. Just like FLL, this program features a real-world challenge, to be solved by research, critical thinking and imagination. Guided by adult coaches, students work with LEGO elements and moving parts to create solutions and present them for review.

Younger elementary school students get to:

• Design and build challenge solutions using LEGO elements
• Apply real-world math and science concept
• Research challenges facing today's scientists
• Learn team-building and presentation skills
• Develop Show-Me posters
  

Junior FIRST LEGO Leauge is a program for Kindergarten - 3rd grade students. It is important that you have read the program materials before applying for the scholarship. Review information on the national Jr.FLL website-click here. Scholarship applicants must be principals or teachers at public schools in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Skamania and Klickatat counties.  Depending on availability of funds, ORTOP will grant one or two Jr.FLL teams per school on a first come, first serve basis.

 

ORTOP Jr.FLL SCHOLARSHIP INFORMTION

Junior FIRST LEGO Leauge is a program for Kindergarten - 3rd grade students. It is important that you have read the program materials before applying for the scholarship. Review information on the national Jr.FLL website-click here.

Scholarship applicants must be principals or teachers at public schools in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Skamania and Klickatat counties. 
Depending on availability of funds, ORTOP will grant one or two Jr.FLL teams per school on a first come, first serve basis.

Junior FIRST LEGO League scholarship applications will be processed after FIRST LEGO League application process closes on September 17th. We hope to have applications processed by September 30th.

We are asking schools to complete a brief application. Grant approval/ denial will be sent by email to the applicant.
Because the national registration process is different for Junior FIRST LEGO Leauge the administration of the Jr. FLLscholarships will differ from FLL.

If approved the applicant will register the Jr.FLL team and purchase the Jr.FLL Base Kit themselves using a credit card. The receipts will be faxed or mailed to ORTOP and ORTOP will reimburse the school for the cost of registration ($25)and a Jr. FLL Base Set - Product #991726 ($149.95) plus shipping and handling. The scholarship will not cover any other product option.

Before completing the application, the applicant needs to identify a coach for each team and include their contact information. This person could be a teacher, staff person, community volunteer or parent. No need to be a technical person just someone that likes to work with kids.

CLICK HERE FOR ORTOP Junior FIRST LEGO League Scholarship APPLICATION

______________________________________________________________

FIRST Tech Challenge for high school students

 

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Welcome to the FIRST Tech Challenge! FTC is designed for those who want to compete head-to-head, using a sports model.
Teams of about 10 students or slightly more are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and is programmed using a variety of languages. Teams, including coaches, mentors and volunteers, are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles. Awards are given for the competition as for well as for community outreach, design, and other real-world accomplishments.

Students get to:

• Design, build, and program robots Apply real-world math and science concepts
• Develop problem-solving, organizational, and team-building skills
• Compete and cooperate in alliances and tournaments Earn a place in the World Championship
• Qualify for nearly $9.7 million in college scholarships
  

ORTOP FTC SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

The objective of the ORTOP FTC scholarship as funded by the 2011 Google Data Centers Grants Fund of Tides Foundation is to establish at least one FIRST Tech Challenge team in every high school in each of the five counties. The guidelines established will provide each high school with funding to start a competitive team.

Applications must be submitted by a principal or teacher at a high school in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Klickitat and Skamania counties.
Principals and teachers in OREGON are encouraged to also apply for the Oregon Department of Education FIRST Robotics grant as a seperate grant. The ODE grant can pay for teacher stipends whereas the ORTOP FTC scholarship cannot. High Schools in Washington should consider applying for an iGrant.

COMPLETE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION INFORMATION: CLICK HERE