UPDATE: The EJR team came in first place at the state competition on April 3 and is moving on to the world competition in May! Way to go EJR!
The EJR Odyssey of the Mind team is going to states! The regional competition was done all virtually, as will the states and worlds, and the results were announced Friday evening, March 26.
The New York State competition will use the same video. The results of states will be announced on Saturday, April 3.
According to their coach, Naomi Bush, the group has been working on Problem 4, which is called “It’s a Trap!!!!” For this problem, the team worked together on a mostly virtual platform. They worked hard to develop a funny story/skit of their choosing that incorporates trapping a moving object (the team designed, built and tested it!), building a balsa wood structure that weighs ONLY 15.0 grams, and an oblivious character who unwittingly avoids traps.
“To solve the problem, the team needed to use teamwork (social skills), math skills, music skills, creative writing, and so much more,” said Ms Bush. “This was a challenge and took a whole lot of creative motivation to keep the kids moving forward.”
But move forward they did! In doing so, Ms. Bush’s car turned into an Odyssey closet as the students would tell her what materials they needed and she would deliver them. These included a kiddy pool, paints, bubble wrap and some HUGE cardboard boxes (cardboard courtesy of Joann Fabrics in Middletown and Kohls Distribution Center in Wurtsboro). It sure sounds like an interesting project!
The team did come together on three occasions to film their presentation, which was then sent to the OOTM headquarters in New Jersey, along with their physical project, which Bush sent via UPS.
Although the team members didn’t get to spend as much in-person time together as they would had it been a normal year, they did still get to celebrate birthdays and holidays in fun ways as little gifts and balloons would appear on their doorsteps for these special days. We are guessing the Odyssey Elf does indeed exist!
In the end, they had a ton of fun solving a very complicated problem, said Ms. Bush. And now they get to show the world all of their creative problem solving skills.
“It was such a fun experience,” said Ms. Bush. “I was thrilled with what they did and what they produced. They are a special team.”
Special indeed! Congratulations to the EJR OOTM team. Good luck at states!
EJR Odyssey of the Mind Team
- Anthony Giannini – grade 5
- Norah Germano – grade 5
- Hailey Scofield – grade 5
- Jackson Cosh – grade 5
- Howard Eriksen – grade 4
- Madyson Atwell – grade 3