Copiague High School Robotics Team Receives Kit of Parts

Copiague High School students attended this year’s kickoff event for the 2020 FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, sponsored by School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) also known as FIRST Long Island, and hosted by LIU Post. They gathered with more than 40 participating high schools on January 4 at the LIU Post Tilles Center for presentations and a simulcast broadcast from New Hampshire unveiling this year’s game. After the presentations and broadcast, each team received a kit of parts, which they will use along with other materials to build a 120-pound robot. The teams will have six weeks to construct the robot and prepare for the upcoming competition to be held on March 22-28 at Hofstra University.

Members of the Copiague High School robotics team are pictured displaying the contents of the kit of parts.

For more information about SBPLI and the annual FIRST Robotics Competition, visit http://www.sbpli-lifirst.org.

Carle Place High School Robotics Team Receives Kit of Parts

Carle Place High School students attended this year’s kickoff event for the 2020 FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, sponsored by School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) also known as FIRST Long Island, and hosted by LIU Post. They gathered with more than 40 participating high schools on January 4 at the LIU Post Tilles Center for presentations and a simulcast broadcast from New Hampshire unveiling this year’s game. After the presentations and broadcast, each team received a kit of parts, which they will use along with other materials to build a 120-pound robot. The teams will have six weeks to construct the robot and prepare for the upcoming competition to be held on March 22-28 at Hofstra University.

Members of the Carle Place High School robotics team are pictured displaying the contents of the kit of parts.

For more information about SBPLI and the annual FIRST Robotics Competition, visit http://www.sbpli-lifirst.org.

Bay Shore High School Robotics Team Receives Kit of Parts

Bay Shore High School students attended this year’s kickoff event for the 2020 FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, sponsored by School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) also known as FIRST Long Island, and hosted by LIU Post. They gathered with more than 40 participating high schools on January 4 at the LIU Post Tilles Center for presentations and a simulcast broadcast from New Hampshire unveiling this year’s game. After the presentations and broadcast, each team received a kit of parts, which they will use along with other materials to build a 120-pound robot. The teams will have six weeks to construct the robot and prepare for the upcoming competition to be held on March 22-28 at Hofstra University.

Members of the Bay Shore High School robotics team are pictured displaying the contents of the kit of parts.

For more information about SBPLI and the annual FIRST Robotics Competition, visit http://www.sbpli-lifirst.org.

LIU Post Tilles Center Hosted 47 Local FIRST Robotics Teams,
Mentors and Advisors, and their Families, at the Annual Event

[Brookville, New York] — The Tilles Center at LIU Post was abuzz with anticipation on January 4 as students, educators and families from across Long Island joined together for the unveiling of the 2020 FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition challenge, “INFINITE RECHARGE^SM”.

INFINITE RECHARGE is part of the 2020 FIRST season, FIRST RISE, powered by Star Wars: Force for Change. FIRST has teamed up with Lucasfilm and parent company Disney as part of the Star Wars: Force for Change philanthropic initiative to inspire the next generation of heroes and innovators, creating a place where collaboration and collective wisdom can elevate new ideas and foster growth. FIRST RISE empowers FIRST participants to explore the future of cities and architecture, building communities filled with inspiration, creativity, and — most importantly — hope.

In INFINITE RECHARGE, two alliances work to protect FIRST City from approaching asteroids caused by a distant space skirmish. Each Alliance, along with their trusty droids, race to collect and score Power Cells in order to energize their Shield Generator for maximum protection. To activate stages of the Shield Generator, droids manipulate their Control Panels after scoring a specific number of Power Cells. Near the end of the match, droids race to their Rendezvous Point to get their Shield Generator operational in order to protect the city.

Presented by School-Business Partnerships of Long Island (SBPLI), also known as FIRST Long Island , this annual event served as the official Kick-Off of the 2020 FIRST Long Island season and included a live broadcast of the game reveal direct to the Tilles Center. Hundreds of eager FIRST Long Island students and their parents and coaches listened with rapt attention as FIRST Founder Dean Kamen, and FIRST President Larry Cohen discussed the program as well as the 2020 theme and objective.

“I hope you tackle this season by working together to explore new ideas, to be innovative and inclusive, to strive to make an impact, and — of course — to have fun,” Mr. Cohen said. “I know you’ll rise to the challenge. What you learn in FIRST will make you better prepared for the future and enable you to solve our toughest challenges.”

Before the broadcast, members of SBPLI-FIRST Long Island, sponsors and alumni addressed the crowd, including FIRST Robotics Competition Co-Director Larry Toonkel, Executive Director Bertram Dittmar and Board Member Jeffrey Stern. The presentation also featured New York State Senator James Gaughran, LIU Post Director of Employer Relations Christopher A. Bates, FIRST Alumna Taylor Pedley (formerly with Smithtown High School Team #810) and Matt Boehm, an Engineer with Zebra Technologies, a co-sponsor of the SBPLI Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

Immediately following the game reveal broadcast, the visiting teams received pertinent competition details, a first-hand look at the game field, and were handed their build kits, which contain motors, batteries, control system components, construction materials and a mix of additional automation components, along with limited instructions.

“Leading up to the main competition, FIRST Long Island students will work with coaches and mentors to apply concepts of math, science and engineering to build their robots to meet the game’s objectives,” Mr. Toonkel said. “The FIRST Robotics Competition is not just about the design and build of sophisticated robots, our students will also learn important concepts such as teamwork, problem solving and healthy competition. Over the years, FIRST students from Long Island received more than $8 million in scholarships for higher education, in areas of science, technology, engineering, business or math in college. These students also develop maturity, professionalism and teamwork skills that enrich their lives. Our graduates often pursue careers with sponsoring companies, meeting the businesses’ needs for well-rounded, technically skilled employees.”

“This Kick-Off event was a success from all perspectives,” said David Seinfeld, LIU Post Director of School Planning and Partnerships. “The students were inspirational. Their energy for the program, their honor for each other and their respect for the university’s facilities was truly outstanding.” LIU Post offers full scholarships to high school seniors with a 1300+ SAT (28 ACT equivalent) and a 90+ GPA and is encouraging students from Long Island teams participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition to apply.

FIRST isn’t limited to Long Island; nearly 3,900 teams from all over the world came together as a community to share in the excitement of seeing the new game unveiled and will draw on this enthusiasm during the build period. During this time, all FIRST students will be asked to design, build, test and update their robots before the start of the 2020 competition, which includes more than 170 Regional and District events beginning late February. These events measure the effectiveness of each robot’s design and control, the power of teamwork and the determination of participating students not only to win, but to learn and have fun.

To learn more about INFINITE RECHARGE, visit https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/game-and-season. For more information on SBPLI, visit www.sbpli-lifirst.org.

-New Season Brings FIRST LEGO League Qualifier Tournament

MASTIC BEACH, NEW YORK – Area children ages 9 to 14 are among the over 320,000 children around the world who have risen to the 2019/2020 FIRST® LEGO® League CITY SHAPERSM Challenge. To successfully complete the Challenge, teams of young people must conduct research and build and program a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robot to explore one of the most relevant topics facing the world today: sustainability. Teams in more than 100 countries will design and construct practical, sustainable and beautiful buildings and spaces, catering to the diverse needs of their users as part of the season Challenge. Through hands-on experience and working in teams, children have a chance to explore a real-world issue to gain an appreciation for and interest in science and technology, and are empowered to make their innovative solutions a reality.

WHAT: Over 2,000 local children on 200 teams go head to head, putting eight weeks of research, design, and programming to the test in a regional Qualifying Tournament to win honors, recognition and advancement to the Long Island Championship.

WHEN: Saturday, January 11, 2020
8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: William Floyd High School
240 Mastic Beach Road
Mastic Beach, NY

VISUALS: -Amazing, custom-built LEGO® Mindstorms® robots come to life in fast-paced, timed competitions
-Hundreds of students and their coaches putting designs and skills to the test
-Children interacting with local volunteers and meeting with judges to present their research projects related to the CITY SHAPERSM Challenge
-On-site teamwork, troubleshooting, problem solving
-Learning research projects on display
-Spirit and excitement as students, families, friends cheer for their local teams

*Access to and interviews with students, teachers, coaches, mentors and local sponsors available upon request.

Nearly 50 Local Teams Will Gather for Unveiling of INFINITE RECHARGE^SM Challenge

Who: School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) representatives/volunteers
Sponsors including FESTO Corporation, altice USA, Zebra Technologies and BAE Systems
Students and their coaches/mentors from 47 local FIRST^® Robotics Competition teams
Parents of participating FIRST Long Island students
LIU Post representatives

What: The FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics season will kick off this weekend, with support from LIU Post and School-Business Partnerships of Long Island (SBPLI). During the event, 47 FIRST Long Island teams will gather in anticipation of learning about the forthcoming season’s robotics competition. Knowing only that this year’s theme is INFINITE RECHARGE^SM, the local FIRST teams, and the 4,000 teams from 35 countries, will receive this year’s game rules via a video feed that will broadcast at the same time across the globe.

Afterwards, each team will collect its kit of parts comprised of motors, batteries, construction materials and control and automation components. The students will use these kits to construct a 120-pound robot over the six-week design and build period leading up to the FIRST Robotics Competition tournaments.

When: Saturday, January 4
8:45 a.m. to noon

Where: LIU Post Tilles Center
720 Northern Blvd., Greenvale, NY 11548

Directions: LIE to Exit 41N (NY-106 N/NY-107 N/Oyster Bay). Use the right two lanes to turn right onto NY-106 N/NY-107 N/N Broadway. After 0.6 mile, keep left to continue to Cedar Swamp Rd. After 3.5 miles, turn left onto NY-25A W/Northern Blvd. Once on Northern Blvd., at the second traffic light (approximately 1 mile), make a left on Post Ln. at the LIU Post Tilles Center marquee road sign (entrance to LIU Post campus). Go past the two stop signs. Tilles Center is located on the left, after the second stop sign and behind the parking lot.

Photo Ops: SBPLI representatives watching the live transmission along with FIRST robotics team participants and their mentors. FIRST teams picking up their kits of parts. Students inspecting the challenge in order to develop strategies for robot construction, and to determine if they will play offense, defense, or both. Students’ parents learning about SBPLI’s mission and the importance of sustaining the FIRST robotics programs on Long Island. Representatives from sponsors including FESTO Corporation, altice USA, Zebra Technologies and BAE Systems.