EG Middle School Odyssey of the Mind Prepares For World Finals

On March 18, after five months of planning and working together as a team, the East Granby Middle School Odyssey of the Mind team competed as one of nineteen teams in their problem and division and won second place in the CT State Odyssey of the Mind Competition, held at Southern CT State University. As a result, they have now been invited to compete against teams from around the world at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Ames, Iowa in May 2018. The team consists of seven middle school students and is coached by parent volunteers Sally Mullen and Susan Tracey. This is the second time in the six years that East Granby Public Schools has been competing in Odyssey of the Mind that the East Granby team coached by Mrs. Mullen and Mrs. Tracey has has progressed to the World Finals.
Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem solving competition for students in Kindergarten through College. Teams work together to design creative solutions to long-term problems. There is a strict rule that the team accepts no outside assistance for this, which means that they cannot ask for or receive help, even from their coaches, teachers, or parents. Their solution is 100% created by the seven students on the team. As they work toward solving the problem, they develop creativity, critical thinking skills, teamwork, specific technical skills, self-confidence, and the strength of character necessary to continue forward even when things don't work out the way you thought they would.
In addition to these long-term problems, teams also compete in spontaneous problems. Spontaneous problems can be verbal, hands-on, or a combination of verbal and hands-on. Teams do not know which type of problem they will get, or anything about the problem until they arrive in the competition room, and then have 3-5 minutes to solve it. The East Granby Middle School team’s spontaneous and long-term scores, when combined, put them in second place in their group.
The Odyssey of the Mind World Finals will take place at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, May 23-26, 2018. From the Odyssey of the Mind website, odysseyofthemind.com, "Tens of thousands of students from around the world have worked hard using their creativity and teamwork skills to create original solutions to our divergent problems. Approximately 850 teams will represent their area in the largest creative problem solving program in the world." The schedule of events, in addition to the competition includes a parade, Creativity Festival, and activities sponsored by NASA.
The East Granby Middle School Odyssey of the Mind team will have to raise over $12,000 in two short months in order to pay for airfare, room and board, registration fees, and other expenses associated with the event. They are currently accepting donations online through GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/east-granby-ms-odyssey-of-the-mind. Checks can also be made out to East Granby Odyssey of the Mind (EG OM) and mailed to EGOM, c/o East Granby Middle School, 95 South Main Street, East Granby, CT 06026.