News - Parent Student Update

[McKinney STEAM Academy and Mercenary Robotics ADMIN]

McKinney STEAM Academy & Mercenary Robotics

Updates Week of Jan 21, 2024

In this Email:

MSA Workshop Date Change

FRC Please be On Time, Hotels! Book Soon!

FTC  Important Dates

FLL Congrats!!

 

	McKinney STEAM Academy (MSA) We've already sold several seats to Mercenary Families and registration opens to the public tomorrow. If this interests your student, consider booking sooner rather than later. We’ve had a minor date adjustment to our Intro to FIRST Tech Challenge: 6-Part Workshop Series. See dates below. This whole series is a great introduction for the student rising from FLL to FTC. Sessions can also be taken individually to brush up on specific skills. Friday, February 16th - Part 1:  Game Strategy | Robot Driving Friday, March 1st - Part 2: CAD Modeling | Robot Driving Friday, March 15th, 2024 - Part 3: 3D Printing | Robot Driving Friday, March 22nd, 2024 - Part 4: Coding with Java for FTC | Robot Driving Friday, April 12th, 2024 - Part 5: Robot Building | Robot Driving Friday, April 26th, 2024 - Part 6: FTC Scrimmage Night!  Sign up for individual sessions or the whole series here. https://givebutter.com/gnI8FQ If you have any questions please contact dan.ga...@mckinneysteamacademy.org Registration link: https://givebutter.com/gnI8FQ As always, spread the word about STEAM nights!
	FIRST ROBOTICS COMPETITION (FRC) This is an incredibly important time of the season for our FRC team. Please have your students at meetings on time. Each team has a set of deliverables that others are depending on to move forward. Students are expected to check resources such as ChiefDelphi between meetings. The success of 6369 depends on each student doing their part! FRC 2024 EVENT DATES AND HOTEL DISCOUNTS – Our FRC District competition locations, dates and preferred hotels have been set. While it’s not a requirement to stay in our preferred hotel, we find it’s a great team experience if we’re in the same location. Our hotel choices take advantage of the FIRST in Texas discounted rate. Note the number of rooms at the special pricing is limited so if your student is planning to attend, we highly recommend booking your hotels ASAP. You can always cancel your reservations if you have a change in plans. March 7 – 9, 2024  Belton District Event Preferred Hotel - La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Belton – Temple South Venue: Bell County Expo Center Hotel $129 per night, walk to venue, indoor swimming pool, free breakfast La Quinta Special Rate Booking here Event Information here March 28 – 30, 2024  Amarillo District Event Preferred Hotel - Embassy Suites at Hilton Venue: Amarillo Civic Center Hotel $149 per night, walk to venue, indoor swimming pool, free breakfast Embassy Suites Special Rate Booking here Event Information here April 3 - 6, 2024  State Championship (book now, cancel if we don't qualify) Hotel:  Hilton Americas-Houston Venue: George R. Brown Convention Center Hotel $169 per night, connected to Convention Center Hotel Special Rate Booking here Event Information here FYI, FIRST Championship (Worlds) is April 17 - 20 in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Discounted hotel rates are not yet available. We’ll update everyone as details become available, we’ve got a great feeling about 2024!  Go MERCS!!!  This Week: Weekday hours are typically 6-9pm Saturday hours are 9-6pm Vision - Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday Climber - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday Speaker Amp & Trap - Tuesday 7-9pm with amount of work completed determining schedule for remainder of week & Wednesday, Saturday Intake - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday Drivebase - Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday & possibly Monday or Tuesday Important Dates: March 7-9 FRC - Belton District Event March 28-30 FRC - Amarillo District Event April 3-6 Texas State Championship Helpful Links: Build Season Photos: http://tinyurl.com/yc2s48mz
	FIRST TECH CHALLENGE (FTC) This Week: Meeting times are in flux. Consult with your coach. Important Dates: February 10 FTC Semi Regional - Teams 18121, 20166 February 24 FTC Regional - Team 17011
	FIRST LEGO LEAGUE (FLL) Six teams competed on Saturday with wonderful results! At least two of our teams have qualified to move on. Coach Kranthi’s team, Lego Masterminds won the Robot Performance with a score of 380 Lego Masterminds also won the Champions Awards  (FLL equivalent of the the Impact award) Lego Masterminds *also* won Rookie All Star Award 4 Mercenary teams were in the top 10 The top 3 scoring robots were Mercenary teams One team one Innovate An Explore team won Programming ALL of our teams represented Mercenary Robotics with gracious professionalism and enthusiasm!

 

Helpful links:
MSA Website: https://www.mckinneysteamacademy.org/
ALL Team Calendars: https://www.mckinneysteamacademy.org/calendar_members.php
FIRST in Texas: https://firstintexas.org/
FIRST Inspires (global): https://www.firstinspires.org/