Holy Family Catholic School students play Odyssey of the Mind games

Seventh-graders from Holy Family Catholic School put their problem-solving skills to good use recently during the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Iowa.

By Amy Quesinberry
| 10:54 a.m. June 6, 2018

Kerri Farrell, left, and Holy Family Catholic seventh-graders Ava Durruthy, Emily Wood, Maggie Farrell, Teresa Tomasone, Carly Goode and Mairin Sakata celebrate a win.

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After besting 820 teams in Florida, a group of seventh-graders at Holy Family Catholic School headed west recently to participate in some serious mind games. The 39th Odyssey of the Mind 2018 World Finals competition was held at Iowa State University May 23 through 26, and about 850 teams showed off their creative problem-solving skills.

WHAT IS ODYSSEY OF THE MIND?

The Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program whose mission is to provide creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Through solving open-ended problems, students develop creative-thinking skills that can be applied to real-life situations. Teams from the U.S. and more than 20 other countries participate.

Schools form teams of up to seven students and chooses one of five competitive problems to solve. Under the guidance of an adult coach, teams work on their solutions during the school year and present them in organized competitions in the spring.

Regional winners are invited to compete at the state level. These championship teams are then invited to participate in the annual Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, where they compete with teams from other countries.

Teams are scored for their long-term problem solution, how well they solve a “spontaneous” problem on the spot and “style” — the elaboration of their long-term problem solution.

Not-for-profit organizations administer the Odyssey of the Mind program. Creative Competitions Inc. provides all of the problems and materials.

Odyssey of the Mind was created by Dr. C. Samuel Micklus, professor emeritus at Rowan University in New Jersey. In 1978, 28 New Jersey schools participated in the first creative problem-solving competition. "Dr. Sam" still develops all problems for the program, along with his son, Sammy, president of CCI.

HFCS participants were Ava Durruthy, Maggie Farrell, Carly Goode, Mairin Sakata, Teresa Tomasone and Emily Wood. They participated in opening ceremonies on Wednesday before tackling the competitions and attending creativity and international festivals, NASA-sponsored events and pin-trading sessions. They also were paired with a buddy team from Hong Kong.

As part of the competition, the HFCS team performed an eight-minute piece based on a famous work of classic literature selected by Odyssey of the Mind: “Peter Pan, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.” They created a mockumentary with an alternate ending called “Never Again Land,” where old trends — such as the disco ball, flip phone and Billy Ray Cyrus’ mullet — go to die.

In the spontaneous portion of the competition, the girls were given a problem minutes before they needed to solve it.

“OM teaches us how to think out of the box,” said team member Maggie Farrell. “We get to be creative, funny and have a blast.”

The local team did not place in the top three, but it was a great experience and will help the team build stronger problem-solving skills. Holy Family last participated in the world finals about a decade ago.

“They did an incredible job, had a once-in-a-lifetime experience and learned skills that will help them throughout school and into their careers,” said Tana Little, Holy Family’s marketing manager. “Along with all of that, they created friendships all over the world, including one with their Buddy Team from Hong Kong.”

RAISING FUNDS

Although the team is back from its trip, donations still can be made to offset the costs of the competition, including airfare and dorm fees. The cost to attend the competition was roughly $10,000.

The school held four Spirit Night events at area eateries, held dress-down days at the school and set up a fundraising page. To donate, go to gofundme.com/hfcs-odyssey-of-the-mind.

The Holy Family Odyssey of the Mind team, right, spent time with its buddy team from Hong Kong at the world championships in Iowa.

author

Amy Quesinberry

Community Editor Amy Quesinberry was born at the old West Orange Memorial Hospital and raised in Winter Garden. Aside from earning her journalism degree from the University of Georgia, she hasn’t strayed too far from her hometown and her three-mile bubble. She grew up reading The Winter Garden Times and knew in the eighth grade she wanted to write for her community newspaper. She has been part of the writing and editing team since 1990.