High school students can apply for paid 8 week summer apprenticeships in science and engineering with Dept. of Navy labs. You must be a US citizen at least 16 yrs old. Stipend for the Science & Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)  is $3300 for 8 wks, or $3800 for returning students. 

​College students are eligible for a similar 10 week Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP):
http://nreip.asee.org/details

Online applications for SEAP and many more details for high school students are here:
http://seap.asee.org/program_details
​

From the FTC Team Blast email:

FIRST® Tech Challenge Registration Opening:
Registration for the 2017-2018 season for FIRST Tech Challenge opens today at noon ET.
 
Visit the streamlined registration website - simplified dashboard with reminders. Two Youth Protection Program (YPP) screened Lead Coach/Mentors are still required to manage the team roster and begin meeting with youth; however, now Lead Coach/Mentors and Team Administrators can create teams, pay and order products while either Lead Coach/Mentor is completing the screening process. Register today and join the excitement of the season ahead!
 

FIRST Tech Challenge grants:
Register your team and take advantage of a registration grant. [be aware that in the past, teams had to wait to register or buy kit materials until after they were notified of a grant award because the grants could not be used after purchase]
 
Now’s a great time to get started for the season. FIRST®  is offering a $275 grant for qualified veteran teams to cover the cost of a FIRST Tech Challenge registration. Know someone who might want to start a new team? We also have a rookie grant to cover the cost of team registration plus materials (total value $750). There’s a limited number of need-based grants available, so apply today.
 
You’ve already made an amazing impact on your students, why not build on it even more? FIRST team members who remained in FIRST for more than one year showed greater gains in STEM awareness, STEM interest, career interest and knowledge than those who only participated for a single year? Students will also gain access to over $50 million in scholarships! Keep the momentum going and continue to be part of the world’s largest not-for-profit education program.

​from Steven Chen, FTC 11128 Team Inspiration Captain
---------- Forwarded message ----------
We are happy to announce that with your help AB 624 passed the Revenue & Taxation Committee last week.  It is currently in the Appropriations Committee.  Teacher support letters will help move this bill to the next stage.  Please ask your teachers for support of this bill.  You are welcome to forward the email below with attachments when asking for support.
 
Thank you!
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Teacher,
 
AB 624 is a robotics tax credit bill that Assemblyman Brian Maienschein is carrying. This bill would create a 50% tax credit for donations (up to $10,000) made to “STEM clubs that participate in robotics competitions” aka Robotics Clubs. The intent of this bill is to help support STEM education and get our students as involved in these fields as early as possible so that they feel encouraged to pursue careers in the growing STEM fields. (Refer to attached fact sheet)
 
The California Teacher Association (CTA) has taken an “Oppose” position on this bill although they believe in its intent, simply because tax credits take money out of the general fund, which they are big defenders of. Their position is very standard even though the bill is limited to a $1 million cap. I know that sounds like A LOT of money, however it is in fact a very small piece of the general fund, and seeing as the tax credit is 50% of donations, this would mean up to $2 million could be donated to our clubs.
 
Attached is also a support letter for this bill. If you could fill out the support letter and scan and email it to [email protected] , your support will show the Appropriations Committee (the committee where all bills dealing with any type of fiscal amount are heard and often killed) that this bill would in fact support robotics clubs and students STEM education.
 
This is time sensitive so we need these letters emailed to Nadra ASAP or by Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
 
Thank you for supporting this important bill that will give proper funding to robotics clubs.
 
Warm regards,
 
Steven Chen
FTC Team Inspiration Captain
 
Madalyn Nguyen
FTC Team Inspiration Outreach Ambassador
 
Tracy Nguyen, O.D.
FTC Team Inspiration Outreach Liaison

"The Mars Society is sponsoring a Student Mars Art (SMArt) Contest, inviting youth from around the world to depict the human future on the planet Mars. Young artists from grades 4 through 12 (ages 8 to 18) are invited to submit up to three works of art each, illustrating any part of the human future on the Red Planet, including the first landing, human field exploration, operations at an early Mars base, the building of the first Martian cities, terraforming the Red Planet and other related human settlement concepts.

The SMArt Contest will be divided into three categories: Upper Elementary (grades 4-6), Junior High (grades 7-9), and High School (Grades 10-12). Cash prizes of $1,000, $500 and $250, as well as trophies, will be given out to the first, second and third place winners of each section. There will also be certificates of honorable mention for those artists who don’t finish in the top three, but whose work is nevertheless judged to be particularly meritorious.
The winning works of art will be posted on the Mars Society web site and may also be published as part of a special book about Mars art. In addition, winners will be invited to come to the 20th Annual International Mars Society Convention at the University of California, Irvine September 7-10, 2017 to display and talk about their art.
Mars art will consist of still images, which may be composed by traditional methods, such as pencil, charcoal, watercolors or paint, or by computerized means. ..."

The deadline for submissions is May 31, 2017, 5:00 pm MST.
​For entry details, see http://www.marssociety.org/mars-society-to-hold-intl-student-mars-art-contest/

FTC 11128 Team Inspiration recently notified us of a California Assembly Bill being co-sponsored by Assembly Member Brian Maienschein. His office would like to have support letters emailed by April 10 (tomorrow!), and we have a sample letter your team or coaches and mentors can use to show your support.

​From FTC 11128 Team Inspiration
Hello Robotics fans, families, supporters:

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get more donations & sponsorships for our robotics club? 

AB 624 Robotics Club Tax Credit will give companies incentives to support robotics clubs. This bill will help to encourage more donors to contribute funding to students' interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).  Link for bill:  https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB624  (it will be amended to reflect community clubs)

Assembly Member Brian Maienschein has solicited Team Inspiration's  help in coordinating support for AB 624.  So far, the bill sponsors have only received about fifty (50) letters of support.  They need our help.  Please join us in writing support letters for this bill.  You are welcome to use or revise the attached sample letter to reflect your support.  It is important to have these support letters emailed by April 10, 2017 before the committee reconvenes for a hearing on this bill.

Email the signed support letter to
Nadra.Mamou@asm.ca.gov
Please forward this email to your friends and colleagues.  We need as much support as possible from parents, neighbors, community members, and companies.

Let's help to pass this bill so our robotics teams can get proper funding!  Thank you for supporting this proposed bill.
Warm regards,
Steven Chen - FTC 11128 Team Inspiration Captain
Madalyn Nguyen - FTC 11128 Team Inspiration Outreach Ambassador
Tracy Nguyen, O.D. - FTC 11128 Team Inspiration Outreach Liaison 

Below is a sample letter you can download and customize, as well as one from the Million Women Mentors group.​

​and more background from FRC 1622 Team Spyder
Thank you everyone for helping,
 
If you did not know this bill was the brain child of FRC team 1622 Team Spyder from Poway, CA with the support of Poway Unified and Ramona Unified School District. In the effort to propose this bill, Team Spyder students met with the author Assemblymember Brian Maienschein for support, received support from Poway Unified acting Superintendent Mel Robertson and Ramona Unified School Board President Rodger Dohm whom meet with Senator Joel Anderson's staff gathering Joel's support to coauthor the bill. Through these efforts, Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, a Poway High School graduate himself authored AB624 Robotics Tax Credit Bill to Robotics Teams with up to $10,000 tax credits available to individuals and corporations.
 
FRC Team 624 gathered many signatures with the attached form from the San Diego and Ventura Regionals. The bill is going through committee's. Representatives from FRC team Spyder 1622 went to the Sacramento State Capitol to testify in committee, but unfortunately the committee was canceled that day to review the bill. We also went to Chairman Assemblymember Ridley-Thomas office to show support.
 
If you can gather more signatures and follow the instructions in the email below (Nadra.Mamou@asm.ca.gov) and attached, we would greatly appreciate any efforts that Robotics Teams can do. This is a direct support to every FLL, FTC and FRC team in California. It is not limited to FIRST Robotics in that it can help all Robotics Clubs. Please spread the word and gather as many signatures that you can! Helping to gather signatures in behalf of FTC 11128not only supports FRC 1622 Team Spyder, but also all California Robotics Teams!
 
Thank you,
 
Rodger Dohm
Poway High School - Instructor
CTE STEM Teacher on Special Assignment
Engineering Academy / Pathway Coordinator
Team 1622 FIRST Robotics Coach / Advisor
[email protected]
(858) 748-0245 x.5307

LeBron James, Adriana Lima, and other celebrities are now appearing in ads that try to tell students the same message that FIRST tells us - in STEM fields, everyone can go pro!

​​"In a spot launching during March Madness, we see NBA star LeBron James explaining that there are only around 2,880 professional football players, a mere 850 pro soccer players and 624 pro basketball players. And, amazingly, there are only 5,800 fashion models.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, supermodel Adriana Lima and aging soccer star David Villa underline that there isn't a need for more of them. Instead, there are 9 million jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics."
... as explained in this CNET article:
https://www.cnet.com/news/lebron-james-tells-kids-become-scientist-not-nba-player-verizon-ad/

​In this "making of" video, we can see how often students want to be a pro celebrity but don't realize that STEM careers can be interesting and financially rewarding: 
​

​The advertisements are to help promote the
Innovative Learning Initiative
​and a
​grant program from the Verizon Foundation.

​The actual video ad sponsored by Verizon is here: