Hi ,

Coming to you from FIRST^® LEGO^® League HQ in Manchester, NH, USA.

Catch up on previous emails here. 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Never give up on your dreams, in spite of the obstacles.” 

-Dr. Joan Murrell Owens, Marine Biologist/ Educator 

WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT

SUBMERGED^SM Challenge Updates and Clarifications: New challenge updates were posted on September 3. Be sure to check the Challenge Updates and Clarifications document throughout the season. 

New SUBMERGED season materials now available: The Field Set-Up printable reference guide and Robot Game Excel Scorer are now available on our season resources page. All season materials are available on the Game & Season page. 

Just diving in? Check out the SUBMERGED Welcome Video for details about what to expect this season. 

Chart your Course with Career Connections: The final five SUBMERGED Career Connections videos are now available! This season, we collaborated with OceanX to highlight careers related to ocean exploration and give you inspiration for your season.  

OceanX Education Live Q&A Sessions: OceanX Education will be hosting 3 live Zoom Q&A sessions from the OceanXplorer ship in September. These hour-long sessions will be hosted by Dr. AnnMarie Thomas, who has a background in ocean robotics and education, and a long history of involvement in FIRST^®. During the sessions, we will take questions from participants and give a tour of a few locations on the ship.  

Sign up for a session by clicking on one of the dates below. Please note that times below are in E.T. (New York City) time: 

🐙Tuesday, September 10, 8:00-9:00 p.m. 

🐙Saturday, September 14, 5:00-6:00 a.m. 

🐙Monday, September 16, 8:00-9:00 p.m. 

A recording will be available following the live Q&A sessions. 

New this Season! Text-Based Building Instructions: FIRST LEGO League is pleased to introduce Text-Based Building Instructions for SUBMERGED.  These instructions are intended to support individuals with visual impairments and FIRST community members who prefer textual instructions. Created by Bricks for the Blind, a non-profit organization that brings the joy of building LEGO^® sets to blind people, this initiative is another step to make FIRST programs as accessible as possible for our community.  Find the Text-Based Building Instructions on our season resources page.  

Reminder! DonorsChoose – New Funding Campaign, Now Available (U.S. only): Through the generous support from 3M, FIRST related DonorsChoose project funding is now available for educators and school employees who meet the requirements. Projects created on DonorsChoose and submitted for consideration will be reviewed to ensure they meet donor intent and partial funding will be allocated accordingly. Learn more about this opportunity!   

Reminder! FIRST Certified Professional Development: Sign up for one of our upcoming professional development sessions and grow your knowledge and skills by practicing student elements of the FIRST LEGO League program. Sessions are available for FIRST^® LEGO^® League Discover, Explore, and Challenge. Register for a session or view the full schedule for upcoming dates listed through October 2024. If you have questions, email firsteducation@firstinspires.org.  

Upcoming Professional Development Sessions:   

🤖September 16, 17 | FIRST Headquarters | Manchester, New Hampshire   

More dates can be found on our FIRST Professional Development page. 

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST

Discover the evolution of Alvin, the world's most successful submarine. 

CELEBRATION AND SHOUTOUTS

What’s your team most excited about for the SUBMERGED season? 

Let us know with a tweet @firstlegoleague or a Facebook post, and make sure to use #SUBMERGED!