Odyssey of the Mind provides unique opportunity

Golden Hill’s Odyssey of the Mind club is going strong in its second year, giving kids a chance to put their creativity and innovative thinking to good use.

Advisers Amber Saunders and Bianca Mendola help students work together to solve problems in creative ways by using out of the box thinking to get results, a skill that has lifelong benefits.

“We’re really honing in on that skill with them at this age to help them build it as they get older,” Mendola explained. “When they get a job as an adult, they know how to work together with others.”

The Division 1 team, consisting of third through fifth graders, focuses on one problem to solve out of five potential ideas. Last year, the situation revolved around a rock band on tour which got delayed and they had to concoct a solution using their music to get back on tour.

The students also work on spontaneous verbal and hands-on problems, such as building a structure out of LEGO bricks where half the team had the structure, while the other half could not see it and had to be given instructions on how to build it from the students with the structure. Mendola finds students like working on these problems best.

“They had to really use their verbal skills and work together,” Mendola said of the LEGO problem. “They seem to really enjoy being part of it, working together and having that space to just let their creativity run wild.”

The students will participate in an Odyssey of the Mind competition March 1 at Orange-Ulster BOCES in Goshen, where the Division 1 team will compete against other schools, while the Primary Team, consisting of younger students, will showcase its problem solving skills as a way to encourage other students to join.

“The primary team is really great because it exposes younger students to Odyssey of the Mind and allows them to get constructive feedback,” Mendola said. “We have great teams here at Golden Hill.”

Fifth grader Patrick Verblaauw has been a part of the program for two years and enjoys all the work that goes into preparing for the March competition.

“Every week, I look forward to the days when I have Odyssey after school,” Verblaauw said. “Everything about Odyssey is awesome and I’ll continue to do it until I graduate high school.”

Golden Hill Principal Starla Ciarelli considers the program valuable for several reasons.

“It provides a unique platform for developing critical skills that align with both academic and social learning goals,” Ciarelli said. “This organization fosters creativity and problem-solving skills along with teamwork by the students learning how to work together.”