2020 Expo planning list

Advance Planning

• Book space for the Expo and a snow date
• Contact GEHMS to see if they are attending
• Create a schedule of events within the FIRST guidelines for Expos
• Secure entertainment
• Order and check medals
• Sign up 24 reviewers (or two per team, per reviewing session)
• Sign up 10 additional volunteers (greeters, ushers, DJ, etc.)
• Ask teams to make colorful handwritten thank you notes for reviewers and volunteers
• Create reviewer training Powerpoint, reviewer questions notes, reviewer response sheets, etc.
• Ask Mike Gentry if he can come with LEGO for kids to play
• Meet with custodian to plan set up (bring drawings of cafeteria and gymnasium)

Shortly Before Expo

___ Order and/or purchase food: sandwiches, salad?, chips, cookies, popsicles for allergic child volunteers, bag of ice for water dispenser, plates, napkins, cups, (forks if salad)
___ Prepare clipboards for reviewers (pen, 2+ blank fill-in "reviewer sheets," sample questions, annual challenge doc, awards list  optional - child drawn thank you note)
___ Print 200 copies of the program
___ Confirm entertainment
___ Get check for entertainment from Clare
___ Print 4 pages with the team name and number and coach names to label tables and auditorium
___ Purchase 1-2 rolls of packing tape
___ Gather crayons and coloring pages
___ Submit Layout information to custodial staff
___ Prepare training for volunteers: 2-3 Greeters, 4-6 Ushers, 24 Reviewers and a DJ (equipment collection crew?)
___ Create reviewer sign in sheet
___ Get thumb drive with fun songs for awards ceremony
___ Order and check medals (approx 160 medals)
___ Print certificates for teams (edit to include signature on the right, coach just writes child names)
___ Print and sign volunteer hour forms for mentors
___ Order mentor and volunteer gifts
​___ Replace lost badges. Need 24 Reviewer badges, "VIP cookie" badges for the mentors
___ Bring extra pens, black sharpies and a couple highlighters, hand sanitizer for the auditorium
___ Create and bring a smoother/faster system for assigning awards to teams
___ Prepare opening and ending remarks
___ List for thank you's - GPS for free facility use including custodian, AV people; entertainment; coaches; families; FLL mentors; all volunteers with a special shout out to reviewers (who need to come on stage for high fiving!) and G-REC program admin; and sponsors GEHMS, GPS and any donations

• In the email for the families regarding the Expo, ask them not to hand out candy. They can have snacks for their children, but overall it is a non-food event. Maybe let them know that no food will be sold. They should bring water bottles or use the water fountain.
  
• Each team is required to find one reviewer.

FIRST LEGO League Junior EXPO Master Task List

Arrive 9:30 a.m.

• Tape signs on the traffic circle entrance, directing people to enter in the entrance by the auditorium and gymnasium
• Map out the directions to get reviewers from the back entrance to the staff lounge using those portable signs, bright paper, black sharpie and tape
• Find and greet custodian
  
  

Reviewers Room:

• 24 clip boards with pen, paper materials and a badge
• Set up water dispenser (ice) and cups
• Set out lunch
• Plates, napkins, etc.
• Set up computer with Power Point presentation for reviewers
• ​Make sure there are enough chairs, wipe down tables
• Set out an empty box top to collect reviewing pages after reviewing
• Set out an empty box to collect clipboards, lanyards/badges, pens, etc.

Cafeteria:

• Check table set up
• ​Label tables with a taped on sign, one per team
• Set out 6 annual challenge certificates per team on the tables
• Set up FLL table by the window
• Set out 1 regular table by the window for FLL project display​
• Put out crayons and coloring pages on the back tables for families with younger siblings

Auditorium:

• Make sure table is on stage (stage right, aka house left) for medals, mentor gifts and mentor certificates (and hand sanitizer)
• Plug in and check power point slides of program for opening and ending slide for closing
• Check music and set up for DJ
• Count out 8 seats for each team and reserve them by taping a sign at either end for each team
• Explain the seating plan to the ushers

11:30 a.m.

• 2 volunteers guiding reviewers to the faculty lounge
• 1 volunteer receiving food delivery or setting up food and water
• DJ needs to run a test with the AV folks for music and Power Point

12:00 p.m. Reviewer Room (need one G-REC leader at all times)

• Greet reviewers
• Assign partners
• Assign two teams per pair of reviews, one "odd" and one "even"
• Hand out badges and clipboards
• Have reviewers enjoy food, give presentation, answer questions

12:45 p.m. Volunteers

• 4 volunteers ushering teams to their assigned seats in the auditorium
• 2-3 volunteers handing out programs at the door, and directing coaches to set up models and displays in the cafeteria
• 1 volunteer in the cafeteria helping coaches find their table to set up their project and direct them back to the auditorium
• Expo chair in the auditorium, overseeing ushers and getting ready to open

1:00 p.m. Expo Opens

• Welcome
• Overview of the event and present schedule
• Point out location of coloring tables and LEGO play area for younger siblings
• Mention everyone is welcome to check other projects and models during the entertainment portion
• Essential Announcements:

1. PLEASE BE BACK IN YOUR SEATS at 3:30 p.m. so we can get started on time
2. DO NOT LEAVE THE AWARDS CEREMONY EARLY, if you can't stay until the end, leave before it starts and get your medal from your coach later.
3. ​Please don't eat or drink in the auditorium or gym. If you need a snack, find a spot in the cafeteria.
4. 4. Please do not hand out candy or food to anyone but your own child. Overall this is a non-food event, purposely scheduled after lunch and before dinner.
5. 5. Ask coaches to keep their teams in the gym or the cafeteria, depending on where they go first, until 2:00 p.m. or an announcement, even if they are "finished"
6. Reference the slide displayed on screen, informing teams whether or not they should go to the gymnasium or the cafeteria
7. Invite entertainer up to give relevant instructions
8. Dismiss teams going to the cafeteria first

1:30 p.m. Reviewing for first set of teams

• "Odd" teams assemble by their projects in the cafeteria for reviewing
• "Even" teams join the entertainer in the gym

1:58-2:02 p.m. Announce switching places over broadcast system

2:00 p.m. Reviewing for second set of teams

• "Even" teams assemble by their projects in the cafeteria for reviewing
• "Odd" teams join the entertainer in the gym

2:30 p.m. - 3:25 p.m. Entertainment

• During this time, the organizer needs to assign awards and compile personalized comments for each team. Participants and their families are invited to:

1. Enjoy the entertainment in the gymnasium
2. Play with Mike's LEGO
3. Check out the FLL table in the cafeteria
4. Look at other team's models and "show-Me posters"

3:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony

• Team participants and coaches should be seated in their assigned seats up front
• Parents and siblings are asked to sit towards the back
• Mentors and reviewers should just stand against the walls, ready to be called up
• DJ needs to be positioned at the computer with the music at the front, to play a different song for each team (not mentors, reviewers, etc. just the FLL Jr. participants) as they are running onto the stage to collect their medal and applause
• Thank coaches, families, sponsors, entertainment, G-REC, volunteers, the Glastonbury BOE, etc.
• Call the student mentors on stage first (say each name but don't wait long, just one after another as they all run up) to start the high five line and help hand out medals. Hand out their gifts and documentation of volunteer hours 
• Thank and call up reviewers next (as a group), also to join the high five line.
• Read the team names and call them up for their medals

Clean-up Crew

• We will need to collect all trash and papers from the tables and auditorium seats and throw it out, especially any tape we used to put up signs for seating and model placement.
• Equipment Collection! (FRC? Key Club?)

Photos of auditorium layout 2019 and the "labeling" of the seating in the auditorium.
Need only 8 seats per team, as mentors end up on stage for the awards portion.

​Need table on stage for medals, certificates and gifts. (below left)

​Reviewer room (below right)

Need risers removed and a clear walkway for the high-five line:

Example of mentor certificates for volunteer hours (scouts, church, etc.)

10 March 2018
"Aqua Adventure" FLL Jr. Expo
Gideon Welles School

Schedule of Events

1:00 p.m.   Welcome, auditorium
Coaches should set up models and poster boards in the cafeteria before we begin.

1:30 p.m.   Project Presentations, cafeteria

Group A  1:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
Group B  2:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.

During Project Presentations, students not being reviewed
should go to the gymnasium to burn off some energy with Elite Karate.

2:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.   Magic Show, auditorium
https://www.justinmazz.com/schools - science magic show

3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.   Awards Ceremony, auditorium

Group Assignments

       Teams are assigned to reviewing groups, either "A" or "B." Hopefully we will have eleven pairs of reviewers. All but one pair will review two teams.

 Group A - "Evens" (1:30 p.m. in caf.)
G-2, Water Works
G-4, Water Wishers
G-6, The Otters
G-8, Hydro Vortex
G-10, Aquabots
G-12, Hydro
GEHMS-2, Water Workers
GEHMS-4, The Water Wonder Sharks
GEGMS-6, Water Tech
​HAS-PTO, Water Warriors
​Water Winners***

Group B - "Odds" (2:00 p.m. in caf.)
G-1, The Flood
G-3, Water Builders
G-5, Wizards of Water
G-7, LEGO Army Masters
G-9, Master Builders
G-11, Junior Engineering Club
G-13, Aqua Girls
GEHMS-1, The H2O Energizers
GEHMS-3, Amazing LEGO Warriors
​GEHMS-5, The Water Snakes

MAP of Reviewing Area, Gideon Welles cafeteria

       Below, the green rectangles represent the tables in the Gideon Welles cafeteria. (They have attached benches, which is inconvenient but unavoidable.) This is the plan for the table arrangement on Saturday for the Expo. A piece of paper with each team name and number will be taped to the corresponding table so coaches know where to set up their team's "Show Me" poster and LEGO model. Coaches should set up these before we begin at 1:00 p.m.

***Water Winners - I'm not sure where we will fit the 21st table; it will depend on the opinion of the head custodian. Please look for a table with your name on it the day of the Expo. It will probably be on one end or the other (i.e. not in the middle). Thank you.

Review Process

        For those of you who have never attended a FLL Jr. expo, there are a couple things you should know. Number one, the folks interviewing the teams are called reviewers, not judges. The children will not be judged or compared to each other or to a rubric. The purpose of the review is for the team to have the opportunity to share what they learned with two adults that are not known to them. It is an opportunity to practice presenting ideas and learning to others. Families are encouraged to visit other teams and also ask questions. The children love to talk about their poster, their model, their ideas, what they had for breakfast... ;)
It's a wonderful experience to hear it all.

       Reviewers will work in pairs. Each pair can interview one team in Group A and one team in Group B. (We have a 21st team attending, so an 11th pair will interview that team.) Each pair of reviewers will be assigned specific teams, not one with which they have a personal affiliation. The reviewers will be lent clipboards and will have a sheet to fill out for each team (see right). The pair will talk with the team for about 10-15 minutes. For many of the FLL Jr. teams, this is their first experience with intellectual teamwork and giving a presentation to adults. Be sure to be patient with them and only positive. Criticism is not useful in this situation, although thought-provoking questions are encouraged. You are not judging them; instead, you are showing interest in their ideas and experiences, encouraging them to continue learning. In FLL Jr. everyone is a winner and all the kids should feel proud of their accomplishments. Below is a list of sample questions that reviewers might choose – be sure to ask age appropriate questions. Some students are quieter than others, so please ask questions to individual team members so they are all included.

       Reviewers are asked to arrive at noon. We will meet in the faculty lunchroom. G-REC will provide pizza for the reviewers. Wendy will give a brief presentation to the group to review their role, and experienced Head Reviewer Trina Williams will be on hand to answer questions and support the reviewers. When the reviewing is finished, reviewers can leave if necessary, or else hopefully stay to take part in a hi-five line on the stage as we call up the teams for the closing ceremony.

General and Teamwork Questions
• What are your names?
• What is your team name?
• How did you choose your team name?
• What was the most fun part of FLL Jr. (team meetings, learning, building, etc.)?
• What did you like best about working on a team?
• How did your coach help you?

Model Questions
• How did you decide what your model would be?
• Why did you build this model?
• How does your model reflect what you learned about?
• How does your model work?
• Are there any motorized parts?
• Did you learn about or build any simple machines? Can you tell me about them?
• How did you use the WeDo?
• Can you tell me about the WeDo programming?

Research and Poster Questions
• What did your team learn about water use?
• What water use did your team choose to learn more about?
• Why did you choose this water use?
• Can you please explain your poster to me?
• Did your learn about any challenges with this water use? If so, what are they?
• Did you go and visit any person or place about the topic you chose?
• ​What kind of people study or work on this subject as part of their job?
• What was the most interesting, strange, special or different thing that you learned about your topic?

       After reviewing a team, each reviewer will hand in their sheet with notes. These notes will be used to get unique information about each team. The announcers will need a couple sentences to say when calling each team onto the stage for their medals. We will be (probably frantically) compiling this information and assigning awards during the 45-minute magic show. During the awards ceremony, teams will be called up on to the stage one by one. The will each be recognized for what they learned, build and presented. Each child will receive a medal to take home. Coaches also will have the option to fill out certificates that have been printed and will be placed on the tables where you are setting up your displays. Coaches, PLEASE tell the parents of your teams that if they are going to stay to receive their child's medal, they need to stay until the end to clap for the last child. If they can't stay for the whole long, tedious process of calling 21 teams up onto the stage, then they should leave before the awards ceremony begins so as not to disrupt the ceremony and make the kids who randomly end up getting called last feel less celebrated and valued.

THANK YOU to our Expo sponsors:
the Glastonbury East Hartford Magnet School
​and Glastonbury Public Schools.

EXPO VOLUNTEER

BACK TO COACH WEBPAGE

BACK TO PARENTS WEBPAGE

Volunteer Jobs - 2017 notes

Set-Up Crew Volunteers
11:30 a.m. arrival time

• We need to set up the computer and make sure I can play a few powerpoint slides on a screen in front of the stage for the welcome. Then we need to know how to get the screen up and out of the way after the welcome.
• Need to set up music and test!
  
• The front rows in the auditorium need to be labeled for the 21 teams - 6 kids and 2 coaches, so that the participants can get up and down quickly and not be stuck in the middle or too far back.
• ​Medals and hand sanitizer in place in the auditorium.
• The tables in the cafeteria need to be labeled for each team, according to the map. We need to get a table set up for team #21.
• Pizza delivery person needs to be paid upon arrival and pizza brought to the reviews in the faculty cafeteria.
• Drinks, cups, napkins, plates, fruit and cookies need to be set up in the faculty cafeteria for reviewers.
• Each clipboard needs a pen, instructions, and reviewing sheets for the specific teams.
• Box set out to collect reviewer clipboards, pens and badges at the end of the reviewing session.
• Programs in place.
• Set up FLL table, mat and mission models, get FLL students settled.
• Coordinate with karate school on gymnasium activities and any set up needed.
• Set up info boards on water in the gymnasium (facts scavenger hunt?)

Reviewers
12:00 p.m. arrival time
I need 20 reviewers. The reviewers are invited to a pizza lunch in the faculty cafeteria. I will give them an overview of what the reviewing process entails and will hand out the materials they will need (clipboard, sheet for notes on each team, etc.) Trina Williams will be on hand with the reviewers to help with any questions. The reviewers will work in pairs. At 1:30 p.m., they will approach their first assigned team. The tables are spaced to try to give the most room. They should complete the interview by 1:20 p.m., allowing themselves time to agree on a few summary sentences describing the team and their work. They can hand in those sheets and go back out at 2:00 p.m. to their second assigned team, finishing up by 2:20 p.m. All reviewers are invited (but not required) to stay for the awards ceremony to take part in a hi-five line on stage.

Greeters
12:30 arrival time
I'd like to have two people waiting by the doors to hand out programs and answer any questions on where folks should go. Coaches should start arriving at 12:45 p.m. to set up their posters and models in the cafeteria, and everyone else should all head to the auditorium for the 1:00 p.m. start.

DJ
12:30 p.m. arrival time
I have one minute clips of different cheerful songs that need to be played after each team is announced while the kids run up on the stage, hi-five adults and collect their medals. I need a DJ to start a song after each team is announced as the kids are running up, stop the song as soon as the kids make it off stage, and be ready to play the next song once the next team is announced. There will be 21 teams coming up to accept medals.

Ushers
12:45 p.m. arrival time
We need folks to be in the auditorium guiding teams to their assigned rows at the front and families in the back twice, for the 1:00 p.m. welcome and for the 2:30 p.m. magic show.

Runners
1:00 p.m. arrival time
It would be great to have some folks on hand to help herd the crowds. We will need to send the "even's" to the cafeteria first and the "odd's" to the gymnasium. Then at 1:55ish, the teams need to switch places. Everyone needs to get to the auditorium for the magic show at 2:30 p.m. Also, I'm hoping that two runners could serve as reviewers for the one extra team attending. 

Clean-Up Helpers
Start at end of Expo, between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m.
We will need to collect all trash and papers from the tables and auditorium seats and throw it out. Especially any tape we used to put up signs for seating and model placement. I will need folks to collect and sign in the materials borrowed by all coaches that are finished at the end of the Expo. I will have a checklist (with pictures) for each team. We'll have to clear out any leftover food from the faculty cafeteria, and also break down and load up the FLL table.

​

INITIAL FUNDING FOR G-REC WAS PROVIDED BY A GRANT FROM THE GLASTONBURY EDUCATION FOUNDATION.
GLASTONBURY PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROVIDES PARTIAL FUNDING TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS.