Two Warwick Odyssey of the Mind teams move on to world competition
WARWICK Although funding for the Odyssey of the Mind program was eliminated this year, four teams from Warwick organized themselves, found volunteer coaches and worked for many months - advancing from regional wins to the state level competition held every year at Binghamton University.
The results have been inspiring. And theres still more to come.
At last weekends Odyssey of the Mind creative problem-solving competitions in Binghamton, all four teams placed in their division, with two Warwick teams walking away with first place wins.
One of the advancing teams, known as the former Sandfordville Elementary school team, was coached this year by Warwick Valley High School student Taylyn Carter, as part of her senior project. The elementary school team built an Ooh –Motional Vehicle which wowed the judges.
The other first place win came for the remarkable Warwick High School team who has advanced to the World Finals three years in a row. This year, the veteran Warwick Valley High School team delivered such an extraordinary Odyssey Angles performance (using mathematical puns) that the judges also awarded them the coveted Ranatra Fusca Creativity Award.
The team has now won every award there is to win at the Odyssey of the Mind States - third, second, first, an OMer and now the Ranatra itself.
They have come very close to winning at the World Finals for the last few years and are excited for one last opportunity in May since most of the team members are graduating in June.
A third team, known as the former Park Ave. team, narrowly missed a trip to World Finals. However, the team is also being considered to be sent to the World Finals as part of the Odyssey Angels program. The program, which was started to encourage community service all over the world, inspired not only the topic of their skit but also their efforts to give back to a local farm which suffered greatly due to Hurricane Irene flooding.
The team members will perform their Greenhouse skit at the Earth Day festival on April 22 at Doc Fry community center, which provided a place for them to practice and build.
The other Warwick High School team sang their way to fourth place with the To Be or Not To Be problem amongst heavy competition. They, too, are veteran Odyssey of the Mind participants who demonstrated amazing talent, creativity and teamwork.