Kia ora koutou - we hope you've all enjoyed the school holidays and are fresh and ready to tackle the upcoming school term. This month's newsletter contains important info about Term 3 scrimmages, Event Participant forms, new stock in the webstore, and what we've been doing this last month.
Term 3 Scrimmages
The season is now in full swing, thanks to the hard work of all New Zealanders meaning that we can run events and operate as "normal" in our COVID-19 world.
VEX Events run by Kiwibots will be more consistent across the country as our team of Regional Coordinators work to put on these amazing events.
Below is a quick list of the events coming up in the next couple of weeks - make sure you RSVP to avoid missing out!
For a full list of our upcoming events, head to our website. Note events after 1st August will open for RSVP closer to the time.
Team Registration vs. Event RSVP
As you will have heard by now, we now have mandatory team registrations and RSVPs of attendees to all our events so that we can continue to improve our events and ensure the safety and fun for all participants.
Our incredible team are working to make these systems as easy to use as possible for everyone, and thank everybody's patience and feedback as we continue developing our platforms.
Please note that this is an ongoing development, and we hope to have the final versions in place soon.
Some of the community have asked for some clarity around registration, and so we have outlined below what you need to do.
What does this mean for me?
Students, Parents and Spectators
You need to make sure that for every event you would like to attend, you go to www.kiwibots.co.nz and RSVP to the events. Think of it like a birthday RSVP or booking a ticket for a show!
Every single person attending the event must RSVP, as this allows us to ensure we are within safe attendance limits and enough equipment is available for everyone.
By RSVPing, your name will then appear on the door list at the event so that you can be checked in.
This should be completed by the students attending, or the attending guardian who will be responsible for the group at the event.
Teachers and Coaches To attend and compete in the VEX scrimmages for the season, teams must do both of the following: 1) Teams must be registered on RobotEvents and pay the $200AUD / $150 AUD fee to RECF. 2) Registered and paid teams need to reserve their team spot at each scrimmage via RobotEvents. This enters them in the team draw used to create the match schedule. We suggest the Team Coach, Teacher, lead parent or similar role takes responsibility for ensuring this is done prior to scrimmages.
Event Participation Agreement
As the programme grows, we are making sure that our organisation evolves to support it. We now have in place an Event Participation Agreement that we will require students and their guardians to complete. This is similar to agreements that most students will complete to take part in any sports or other extra-curricular activities at school.
We've tried to keep the language in it as simple as possible so it is clear what the expectations are of anyone taking part in the Kiwibots programme.
This form must be completed and returned to contact@kiwibots.co.nz by Sunday 30th August 2020. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us, and check out our Privacy Policy.
Download the Participation Form here -->
New webstore stock!
As well as all the goodies on sale, we've put up a New Arrivals section on our store where you can find items like the V5 Inertial Sensor, the IQ Pin Tool, and the new Anti-Static VRC Tiles (which come in full field sizes and also sets of 4 tiles for smaller at home/in class use).
We've also brought in more V5 Competition Super and Starter
Kits after the huge demand for them throughout last term.
If there's anything you see on vexrobotics.com that you want in NZ - let us know and we'll try bring it in.
Nationwide Season Launches
We managed to run season launches across all four of our regions in the final weeks of Term 2, and were blown away by the enthusiasm and number of new and old faces at the events. We want to send out a huge thanks to our Regional Coordinators as well as all the parents, teachers, coaches and students who came along to join in the festivities, ask questions and have a play with the new games. National Manager, Janet Van, was able to attend all the launches and loved the opportunity to meet those who attended and see the passion shared for robotics across the country.
Accelerating Aotearoa
Kiwibots partners with a number of incredible organisations, including the amazing folks at Accelerating Aotearoa who provide opportunities to disadvantaged youth aged 5-18yrs in Otāra.
One of the highlights of the Geek Camp for our National Manager, Janet, was meeting a 6 year old who realised her Engineering potential, and said "I want to be a fixer like you".
A huge thanks to the team at Accelerating Aotearoa for having Kiwibots involved with the camp.
University of Auckland - Enginuity Day
We were absolutely delighted to be involved with The University of Auckland's Enginuity Day where over 400 young women attended to look at a future in Engineering. Kiwibots were invited to showcase the opportunities available to engineers and share what we do, as well as the amazing number of Kiwibots alumni that find themselves in STEM careers.
Thank you to The University of Auckland Faculty of Engineering for having us and inviting us to present alongside Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, WPS, Xero and McKinsey & Company.
Regional Coordinators Summit
This year has seen a huge shift in our team, and so at the beginning of July we brought our Regional Coordinators up to Auckland for a weekend of workshops and celebrations. The team all got to know each other more and learn about how we can work together more across our regions to continue growing Kiwibots into an amazing organisation for New Zealand. A huge thanks to the Kiwibots Board of Trustees and RECF Australia who helped make this event possible, as well as our amazing Regional Coordinators who volunteered their time and energy to attend this Summit and plan for an amazing 2020-21 season!
As you can see, it's been a busy couple of months and with Term 3 kicking off, we are excited to build up momentum as we work towards the National Championships! Planning has started for the VIQC Nationals (12-13th December 2020) and the VRC Nationals 2021, as well as a number of new exciting projects, partnerships and initiatives. Make sure you're following us on social media and part of the Kiwibots Forum, to be up to date with all our latest news and announcements. Until next time - keep up the amazing robotics work and feel free to share with us your designs by tagging @kiwibotsnz and #kiwibots! Kiwibots The NZ Robotics Charitable Trust