Long Beach Students Advance to National Competition

A Long Beach elementary school-level Odyssey of the Mind team has advanced to the World Competition, held in Michigan in May.

The students placed second out of 19 teams at the State Competition, which qualified them for the much larger-scale challenge that will include contenders from more than 25 different countries. The last time this achievement was seen in Long Beach was in 2011, when two elementary school teams went to the elite global contest.

“This is the third team to make it to the World Competition in the past four years,” said teacher Dr. Caitlin Fuentes. “It is extremely difficult to make it to this level, and this is an amazing accomplishment for our students and the entire Long Beach Odyssey of the Mind Program.”

Dr. Fuentes and Beverlee Bertinetti coached the students. The seven students who comprise the team are Maryn Ascher, Samantha Breen, Sarah Gusler, Skyler Oblander, Matthew O’Connor, Gabrielle Pine and Ariana Thomas. They have put a great deal of time and effort into preparing for the upcoming event, and created scenery, props, costumes, membership signs and other items.

Another elementary group, consisting of Hailey Brandt, Jordan Collinson, Alexandria Kile, Ava Liguori, Ava Rand, Chloe Silverberg and Jillian Sondike, placed second in the Regional Competition. A team of Long Beach Middle School students, coached by Lorraine Pross, participated in the State Competition.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. It supports the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile traits that the district emphasizes throughout its curricula. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and other countries participate in the program.

Photo: First row (L-R): Maryn Ascher, Gabrielle Pine. Second row (L-R) Ariana Thomas, Sarah Gusler, Samantha Breen, Matthew O’Connor, Skyler Oberlander. Third row (L-R): Dr. Caitlin Fuentes, high school student volunteer Charlotte Kasper, Beverlee Bertinetti.

Submitted by Long Beach School District