Capital District Times

Congratulations to DCS’ four Odyssey of the Mind teams on their performances at their recent regional competition, held at the Shenendehowa School District. Two of our teams placed second, which qualifies them to compete in the NY state competition, which will be held on April 15 at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

The next step after the state competition is the World Finals, which will be held at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI May 24-27.

Good luck to our teams at the state competition!

Division 1/Problem 2 Group – 2nd place – GOING TO STATES!

Alina Cosh

Max Largeteau

Emmett O’Connor

Jimmy Yauchler

Noah Utstein

Madeline Krepcio

Natalie Maura

Coach:  Amalia Pineiro (2nd grade teacher @ DES)

Division 2/Problem 3 – 2nd place – GOING TO STATES!

Lucy Spor

Henry Spor

Christian DeLeon

Mikayla Rivenberg

Callie Baker

Addison Parslow

Coaches:  Samantha Spor, Francis Spor, Kate Pryor

Division 1/Problem 5 – 3rd place:

Ava O’Bryan

Max Hilgers

Jisele Menzies

Charli Pisani

Finley McGovern

Elaina Denny

Coach:  Anthony Denny

Primary group (does not compete):

Odin Putnam

Alyson Heins

Connor Lahey

Jason Nowak

Gabriella Macherone

Morgan Huth

Carson Huth

Coach:  Kelly Brinsko (4th grade teacher at DES) 

What exactly is Odyssey of the Mind?

OOTM is a creative problem solving program that encourages divergent thinking as teams use creativity and teamwork to solve unique problems. OOTM brings the classroom to life as students apply what they learn and combine it with their interests and passions. The program emphasizes teamwork, budgeting, time management, public speaking, and so much more! 

Each year, OOTM reveals “problems” in five different categories that teams will be tasked to create solutions for. Each problem is original, contains mandatory criteria and limitations to work within, and lists scoring categories. Students spend months working with their teammates, to figure out a creative solution to their chosen problem. Problem 1 always involves creating and engineering some sort of vehicle. Problem 2 focuses on a technical problem. Problem 3 focuses on “The Classics.” Problem 4 involves building a structure and Problem 5 is centered around a performance. All of the problems require teams to use creativity, science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.

Students up to fifth grade participate in Division 1; grades 6-8 compete in Division 2; and grades 9-12 compete in Division 3. Students in kindergarten through second grade are on Primary teams, and do not compete, but are still able to perform and receive feedback from judges.

Original source can be found here.