SRVCA Students Place 1st In California At 'Odyssey Of The Mind'

DANVILLE, CA — A group of Danville middle schoolers recently took first place for California competing in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Iowa. A team of six seventh graders from the San Ramon Valley Christian Academy joined more than 830 teams from 14 countries to participate in the competition. SRVCA placed fourth in the world for the spontaneous competition portion and finished sixteenth in the world overall in their division of 70 teams.

Logan O'Connell, Ella Shaw, Lucas Apger, Nolan Collins, Jordan Stein and Ainsley Jacobsen met students from other states and countries while they experienced college life in the dorms and dining halls, a school spokesperson said.

"We are grateful our students had the opportunity to participate in a competitive event where creative thinking, collaboration, and tenacity is valued," says Jamie Westgate, SRVCA Principal. "This particular group identified the unique giftedness in each team member and assigned roles accordingly when completing the project and presenting it to the judges. Each student felt valued for his/her contribution, and furthered an understanding of the benefits of teamwork, something they'll draw from the rest of their lives.”

A school spokesperson said there were two scored parts of the competition that contributed to the overall final score. The first portion was the long-term problem performance. The SRVCA team successfully conceptualized, designed and built a self-propelled vehicle which they called "Mario Kart."

The second event was the spontaneous competition, which required critical thinking and cohesive teamwork to complete an intense, timed challenge. The SRVCA team had five minutes to build a structure from toothpicks, pasta and other items. They are scored on creativity and teamwork.

A school spokesperson said Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members use their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics.

"I believe Odyssey of the Mind provides valuable real life experiences like working in teams, resolving differences with peers, managing pressure, overcoming failures, and relying on teammates to pull together a performance where the whole is bigger than the individual parts," said Kathleen O'Connell, the parent volunteer coach for SRVCA's team. "These six kids were unbelievably mature as they lived out these life lessons. I am really proud to have been associated with this team and look forward to see what we can put together in the other grade levels this coming fall."

The San Ramon Valley Christian Academy is a ministry of CPC Danville located at 222 West El Pintado Road in Danville.

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Photos courtesy SRVCA