1. Alan Seidman, Salisbury NY
2. Jim Crouse, Groton CT
3. Pat Terlisner, Middletown RI
4. Barbara Reilly,  Warren RI
5. Phylis Bruner, Ocala FL
6. Katie McCusker, W. Warwick, R
7. $100! Barbara Bender, Saunderstown RI
8. Brad Kulis, Middletown RI
9. Vernon Graham, North Kingstown RI
10. Justin Grande, Boston MA
11. Thomas Raffa, Middletown RI
12. David Whalley, Portsmouth RI
13. Bobby Quinn, East Greenwich RI
14. $100! John Bellagamba, Middletown RI
15. Rick Blight, Middletown RI
16. Steve Cannici, Newport RI
17. Maria Corey, Middletown, RI
18. Tom Schindler, Middletown, RI
19. Georgianna Murphy, Middletown, RI
20. Sue & Terry Raffa, Middletown, RI
21. $100! Bob Whitehead, Portsmouth, RI
22. Ann Leavitt, Middletown, RI
23. Denise Abraham, Middletown, RI
24. Betsy Glassick, Newport, RI
25. Paul Tavarus, Tiverton, RI
26. Mark Seidman, Newport, RI  
27. Tim Sieben, Portsmouth, RI
28. $100! Mike Kempenaar, Middletown, RI

All returning and new members are invited to come to FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Registration Day. We will collect paperwork and dues for all team members of FRC 78 – AIR Strike.

Every half hour, a presentation on AIR, FRC, and Team 78 will be conducted. This presentation will allow families to find out what FIRST robotics competitions are about, our schedule for the season, and expected travel costs.

We are currently recruiting new high school student members. Members can come from any school in Rhode Island (public, private, home). Please pass this information to any high school student or family that may be interested

Golfers will enjoy a shotgun start in the afternoon, with a dinner and raffle to follow. If you do not golf and would like to support the club, we invite you to come to the dinner and raffle portion of the event.

Golfing prizes, dinner choices, raffle details, and costs are still being determined and will be released as they become available.

Please visit http://golf.air4h.org to view the official tournament website.

Invite your friends and family!

FIRST Lego League

• January 9, 2010 – RI FLL State Championship
  8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
  Roger Williams University
  One Old Ferry Road
  Bristol, RI  02809

FIRST Tech Challenge

• January 2, 2010 – All Day Meeting
  9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
  Building 2
• Build Meetings
  Sundays: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
  Mondays: 6:00 PM – 8:45 PM
  Building 2
• January 15, 2010 – Delaware Travel Decision Deadline
  Contact Mike DeSousa or Rick Blight
• January 27, 2010 – Delaware Pack Up
  6:00 PM – 8:45 PM
  Building 2
• January 29 – 31, 2010 – Delaware State FTC Championship
  

FIRST Robotics Competition

• January 9th, 2010 – FRC Season Kickoff
  9:30 AM – 3:00 PM
  Building 80 UCTOC
  No food will be provided.  Please bring your own snacks/bag lunch (refrigerator and microwave available).
• Build Meetings
  Monday through Thursday: 6:00 PM – 8:45 PM
  Saturdays: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
  Sundays: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
• January 22, 2010 – BAE Regional Travel Decision Deadline
  Contact Sue Violet

Rhode Rage plans on attending three state championships this year: Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.  Since the Rhode Island championship of 2008, the team has won their last three state championships, each time being the first seed or the first pick.  The team is on track to continue its success with robot design innovations not yet seen on robots this year.

Directions:

From North: Take 195 East to (Fall River, MA) exit 8 to 24 South. Follow 24 South through Tiverton, RI over Sakonnet River Bridge into Portsmouth. Take “Turnpike Ave/Newport Beaches” exit (approx 5-7 miles from bridge), bear right at next light (now rte 138) follow 138 through next three lights. Take next left, Glen Road, after Sunoco gas station (on right). Follow signs to fairgrounds.

From South: Take Rte 138 over Jamestown and Newport Bridges follow signs for Middletown/Portsmouth Rte138. Take left at light at Hi-Li intersection. Follow to second light and take left (Rte 114). Bear right at next light, Rte 138 and follow approx 5-7 miles, through 9 lights. Take next right after last light and follow signs to fairgrounds.

After 7 long months of the FTC game Face Off, it all came to an end on April 16-17 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA.  FTC Team 121, Rhode Rage, competed as one of the 100 teams at the FTC World Championship.  The team went 5-1 in qualifying to seed 5th.  Through discussion and performance on the the field, we were picked by team 2945, Power Surge (the same team we won the New Jersey FTC Championship with).  Team 110, The Foxes, rounded out our alliance.  We cruised through the division semifinals, but technical problems on Power Surge and The Foxes caused us to lose two straight matches in the division finals. Our team finished third in the world and got medals and trophies for the first time in Atlanta.  Pictures will be posted soon!

National 4-H Council Announces Alliance with FIRST™

Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientific Thinkers Together

MANCHESTER, N.H. & CHEVY CHASE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–National 4-H Council today announced it is creating a new Alliance with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) to reach new youth across the nation and expand existing 4-H robotics programs. This exciting new alliance, which will be announced and celebrated at the FIRST Championship on April 16-18 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, is designed to foster more opportunities for youth to explore science, engineering and technology (SET) careers by providing them with hands-on, team-based experiences through the designing, building and programming of robots.

Brought together by the shared pursuit of inspiring an appreciation of science and technology in young people throughout the nation, 4-H and FIRST will work together to promote scientific learning and the building of confidence and life skills among all K-12 youth. 4-H, through their One Million New Scientists. One Million New Ideas.^TM campaign is working toward the goal to engage one million new young scientific thinkers by the year 2013.

“Research shows that children reach their full potential through a combination of involvement within families, schools and community,” said Donald T. Floyd, Jr., President and CEO, National 4-H Council. “Providing 4-H youth with opportunities like FIRST to participate in friendly and educational competitions allow us to foster team-building skills and heighten interest in exploring future careers in science, engineering and technology.”

There are nearly 400,000 4-H youth throughout the nation already participating in university research-based robotics and engineering programs with 4-H clubs in nearly every state currently participating in FIRST programs. In addition, five high-school level 4-H teams will be competing at the FIRST Championship this year.

“The global economy is constantly demanding a more technologically competent workforce, and the value of practical application experiences like those 4-H and FIRST provide is immeasurable,” said Paul R. Gudonis, FIRST President. “The FIRST, National 4-H Council Alliance will help both organizations to provide many more youth with the opportunity to experience FIRST and open up new horizons in science, technology, math and engineering.”

About National 4-H Council

4-H is a community of more than six million young people across America learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of National 4-H Headquarters (USDA). The 4-H programs are implemented by the 106 Land-Grant Universities and the Cooperative Extension System through their 3,100 local Extension offices across the country. Learn more about 4‑H at www.4-H.org.

About FIRST

Inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people, initiating robotics competitions in 1992. The Manchester, N.H. – based 501(c) (3) not-for-profit, designs accessible, innovative programs which build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). With assistance from 3,500 corporate sponsorships and 85,000 volunteers, FIRST organizes several competitions inspiring K-12 youth into STEM education and career exploration: FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for high-school students, FIRST LEGO® League (FLL) for children 9-14 years old, and Junior FIRST LEGO® League (JFLL) for 6 to 9 year-olds. To learn more about FIRST, visit www.usfirst.org.

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20090417005091/en

On March 7, Rhode Rage competed against 34 other Rhode Island FTC teams at the 3rd annual Rhode Island FTC Championship.  The team had visibly the most support of any team there.  We had 7 student members and about 20 additional mentors, family members, and sponsors.  Our cheering was loud, with good reason.

The team went undefeated in qualifying rounds to secure first seed.  In alliance selection, we picked team 154 from Burriville High School and team 657 from Hanley Vocational in Providence.  Our alliance swept both the semifinals and finals to go undefeated and become event champions!  This is the second year in a row that we have won with 154, and they have won the RI event every year.  Team 657 was a team that Mike DeSousa, our lead technical mentor, was helping thoughout the last few weeks.  All teams involved worked hard and deserved the win.

Rhode Rage was also awarded the Inspire Award.  From usfirst.org:

This formally judged award is given to the team that truly embodied the “challenge” of the FTC program. The team that receives this award is chosen by the judges as having best represented a “role model” FIRST Tech Challenge Team. They are a top contender for all other judging categories and are a strong competitor on the field. The Inspire Award Winner is an inspiration to other teams, acting with gracious professionalism both on and off the playing field. This team understands how to communicate their experiences and knowledge to other teams, sponsors, and the judges.

The judges cited our creation of Aquidneck Island Robotics, our commanding performance on and off the field, and our technical accomplishments.  This award would not have been possible without the support from our members, mentors, and sponsor, BBN Technologies.

Next up is the World Championship in Atlanta!

Read our article in the Providence Journal
Pictures by Joe Menassa