INTO THE DEEP September News
Welcome to INTO THE DEEP! If you haven’t had a chance to watch the kickoff video and field walkthrough, you can find those here.
Haven’t registered yet? There’s still plenty of time to take the plunge! Register your team today
If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to Trisha Thompson via email at tthompson@firstindianarobotics.org or you can schedule a call with using this link.
DonorsChoose
Through the generous support from 3M, FIRST related DonorsChoose project funding is now available to any US-based full-time educators and school district employees who work directly with students at least 75% of the time from Public Schools, Public Charter Schools, Head Start Centers, and Bureau of Indian Education Schools.
FIRST Educators will create a project on DonorsChoose and once the project is live, they must complete this form to be considered for this selective funding opportunity. Projects will be reviewed to ensure they meet donor intent and partial funding will be allocated accordingly. Equity Focus Projects will be prioritized as part of 3M’s commitment to reach 5 million underserved/underrepresented students by 2025. Visit this page to learn more about this opportunity!
Grant Reminder
Are you expecting grant funding in your FIRST Dashboard? You must wait for the approved grant to appear as a credit on your dashboard and then the credit may be applied during the checkout process. Do not pay for team registration or materials before receiving your grant funds, as you will not be reimbursed by FIRST.
Tech Updates Video
This video compiles the top tech updates in the Competition Manual for INTO THE DEEP in a concise and clear way. Please share this video with your students to promote a broader understanding of some of the changes for this season.
Coaches Call
If you were unable to attend our first Coaches Call of the season, you can view the recording here, and the slides including important links can be found here.
Event Preferencing
Event preferencing will take place in October and the format will be much like last season, with 3 rounds of selections. More information will be sent out very soon.
You can always find the most current event information on our website.
Changes
There are a lot of changes this season, including technical requirements, playoff structure, awards criteria, advancement order, etc. Many of these will be covered in our Coaches Call, but to be sure you have all of the information, have your teams thoroughly read the competition manual.