Four Brookfield Odyssey of the Mind Teams Advance to World Finals

From Brookfield Public Schools:

After their big wins at the Connecticut Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament, Brookfield’s four State champion teams are busily preparing for their upcoming trip to the 2016 Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Iowa State University, May 24-29. The teams and coaches will be staying on campus for five nights, interacting with over 800 teams from 26 countries worldwide as they compete at the World Finals.

Odyssey of the Mind (OM) is an international program of creative problem-solving competitions. In preparation for the State tournaments, held in March, teams begin meeting several times a week back in October, averaging 250 hours per team in preparation time. They solve challenging problems that require use of science, technology, literacy, engineering, math, industrial arts and theater arts skills.

Solutions are team-generated; no help from coaches or mentors is allowed. Teams construct vehicles, devices, costumes, sets and props from recycled items, with a strict rule of spending no more than $135 in materials. Solutions are presented in eight-minute skits at state tournament levels, and the state champions in three different age levels advance to the World Finals.

“We’re very proud of our four champion teams, but we’re equally as proud of all the students who participated in OM this year,” says Emily Menendez Aponte, coordinator for Brookfield’s OM program. “This year we had 92 kids in the program, with 28 coaches, including four Brookfield High School students who coached younger students. In fact, the middle school team that won and advanced to Worlds was coached by a high school OM veteran! So she’ll be among the 25 students and eight coaches that go to the World finals in Iowa this year.”

Brookfield OM is entirely self-funded and all this winning comes with a hefty price tag. At an average cost of $1,200 per student and coach (including airfare) for representing Connecticut at the World Finals, these hardworking and dedicated students need a hand with fundraising. This year, the teams have already hosted a successful “Bunny Breakfast” which included pictures with the Easter Bunny, a pancake breakfast, egg hunts, raffles and more. The teams also sold Butter Braids (frozen pastries and cookie dough).

“These OM kids are just the sort of students we want to be representing Brookfield and Connecticut,” says Brian Kelly who, along with Cindy Carroll, co-coaches a team that won last year at the middle school level and repeated their state championship this year at the high school level. “On our team, in addition to OM, the kids also represent Brookfield High in baseball, football, golf, volleyball, robotics and soccer, all while taking honors and AP classes. And our team is not unique in their level of involvement; other OM coaches tell me their kids are also pursuing similar activities.”

You can help defray their expenses for their trip to the World Finals here.All donations are tax deductible, and you will receive a receipt and Tax ID Number from the Brookfield Public Schools.