Mark your calendars for the next team leader meetings in SecondLife! There will be three sessions so teams will have multiple opportunities to become familiar with using the program before the Jamboree in June. Be sure not to miss these meetings!

The first session will be on Thursday May 17th at 8:00PM Boston time in the Ars Simulacra region. The next two meetings will be on May 31 and June 14.

Prepare for the upcoming team leader meetings in SecondLife by checking out our guide!

We recommend the following:

• reviewing the recommended computer specs before installing the SecondLife viewer program
• wired internet connection
• headset, to reduce echo during chat sessions

iGEM high school teams, a 3A assembly kit is on its way to you! The kit contains materials you can use to complete 3A assembly and make a composite part device that will turn your cells red! Kit components include:

• miniprep supplies
• competent cells
• prepared DNA
• agar plates
• and more!

You can read more about 3A assembly here!

Curious about what the iGEM high school teams will be working on this year? Team project descriptions have been posted!

Be sure to check out the team wikis as well!

The next team leader meeting will be in Second Life! Please register for an account and make an avatar in Second Life. We will be discussing registration for the Jamboree, safety concerns, and the designs of circuits!

Stay tuned for more details and a time and date!

Country Inn & Suites in Greenfield, Indiana will offer a $69/night rate for all iGEM HS teams for the Jamboree in June! Call (317)467-0999 for reservations.

New England Biolabs is offering a free reagent pack to all iGEM HS teams! Contact Lori Tonello at Tonello (at) neb (dot) com. The reagent pack includes:

1. N0469S: Quick-Load(r) 2-Log DNA Ladder(0.1-10.0 kb)
2. E0546S: BioBrick(tm) Assembly Kit (includes 4 restriction enzymes plus T4 DNA Ligase)
3. M0289S: Antarctic Phosphatase
4. Choose one PCR Polymerase from below:

• M0254S: VentR(r) DNA Polymerase
• M0273S: Taq DNA Polymerase with Standard Taq Buffer
• M0270S: Taq 2X Master Mix
• E5000S: Taq PCR Kit
• M0482S: OneTaq(tm) 2X Master Mix with Standard Buffer
• M0480S: OneTaq(tm) DNA Polymerase
• M0486S: OneTaq(tm) Quick-Load(r) 2X Master Mix with Standard Buffer

Team project descriptions will be due March 21! Be sure to update your team wiki with a brief description of the project your team will be working on this year.

For the complete Calendar of Events, click here.

New England Biolabs is offering free reagents to all iGEM HS teams! Check the iGEM HS Sponsors page for more information on the offer!

Next Team Meeting is in Second Life. Please make an avatar in Second Life. I will post the address for the meeting. Use the address to teleport to the location for the meeting. At this meeting we will discuss how we are going to use Second Life for the jamboree. Get your students to develop an avatar. The meeting will be in April, and date and time will be announced on this wiki.

Looking for protocols or tutorials? New to wiki-editing? The Resource page has links to your favorite databases, tutorials, software tools, and protocols!

Click here, or see the "Online resources" link in the blue box to the right.

DNA distributions for the high school teams are now available! Distribution kit plates will be sent to teams on a rolling basis, as each team is approved.

Remember, high school teams will need by February 29:

• a team account on iGEM
• user accounts for every team member
• consent forms for every team member
• a principal consent form

Don't miss the Team Leader Meeting February 18th on Facebook! We will discuss the virtual jamboree, questions about registration and the competition, summer training sessions for synthetic biology, and feedback from this year.

Consent forms for participating in the iGEM 2012 High School competition are available online!

Consent forms are required for all high school participants, including high school students, teachers, advisors, and faculty members (if your team will be using a university laboratory). Each team must also submit a principal consent form.

When all the forms have been completed, send the original hard copy to iGEM Headquarters at:

Meagan Lizarazo / iGEM

One Kendall Square

Building 600 - Suite B6104

Cambridge, MA 02139

Print out all your consent forms here!

iGEM 2012 HS team registration is now open!

Instructors: register your team today.

Students: get your team leader to register your team.

Be sure to read the requirements for participating in iGEM HS and remember to fill out and send in the required consent forms!

The deadline to register is February 29, 2012.