Letter of Endorsement for FTC | Registration for 2012/2013 Season | Rockwell Collins Grants | FIRST World Championship | Students attending Univ. of Iowa

Hello, Coaches:

Hope things are going well for you! We have a few brief items

1. Seeking letters of endorsement for FTC
2. Registration for 2012/2013 FTC Season
3. Rockwell Collins grants
4. FIRST World Championship
5. Any of your students attending the Univ. of Iowa for Fall 2012?
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1. Seeking letters of endorsement for FTC
Recently the Governor's Office has put forth an initiative and allocate funding to support STEM education on a Statewide level. The Governor's STEM Advisory Council (http://iowastem.gov/) has been established and part of their responsibilities is to divide funding to several key "Scale-Up" projects. Definition of Scale-up can be found at: http://www.iowamathscience.org/scale

NEED YOUR HELP!
We are going to be submitting FTC as a potential Scale-Up program. However, we need letters of endorsement from you, as a coach, mentor, or volunteer.
Please have the letter of endorsement to cover any or all of the following:

• What FTC has done for the students on your team. (Confidence booster, challenge students to think "out-of the box", connectivity with local business/industries, etc.)
• How participating in FTC applies to the 21st Century Skills (http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2089&Itemid=2683)
  There are six topics for the 21st Century skills, so a paragraph on any or one of these topics would be great!
• Any other information about the impacts FTC in your community or school

Please address the letters to Rebecca Whitaker, FTC-Iowa Affiliate Partner, College of Engineering, 3124 Seamans Center, Iowa City, Iowa. Letters should be submitted electronically (send them to this email address) by Friday, May 4th.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. THANK YOU!
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2. Mark your Calendar! Registration for the 2012/2013 FTC Season and Kick-Off
Teams will be able to register for the 2012/2013 FTC Season starting Wednesday, May 9th. At that time, teams will be able to sign into TIMS and register for the 2012/2013 FTC Season. Kick-Off will be on Saturday, Sept. 8th -- and similar to this season, the game, the scoring element(s) and field will be revealed during Kick-Off. year.

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3. Rockwell Collins Grants
Beginning April 16th, Rockwell Collins grants applications will be available to FTC teams. This year, Rockwell will be supporting rookie teams for the 2012/2013 season as well as teams who were rookie teams during  2011/2012 season. A notice will go out to teams once those grant applications are open. If you know of any potential rookie teams, please let them know of this funding.
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4. FIRST World Championships
Wishing FTC-Iowa teams #458 Activate Go! Initiative; #3549 Classified; #3550 Beta; and #5466 Combustible Lemons huge success during the FIRST World Championships later this month. If you are not able to make it to St. Louis, please watch the action via the live broadcast. More information can be found at: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/first-championship
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5. Any of your students attending the Univ. of Iowa for Fall 2012?
The College of Engineering at The University of Iowa would like to know which of your FTC students will be enrolling at the Univ. of Iowa for the Fall 2012. There are part-time and work-study positions available to FTC Alumni. Also, maybe they can be the next referee / inspector / judge, etc.