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Community Corner

Madison's Odyssey of the Mind Teams Heading to World Finals

Two Madison Odyssey of the Mind teams qualified for the 2014 World Finals at the Connecticut state competition held in Bristol, Connecticut on March 29, 2014.  The Polson Middle School 7th grade team placed 2nd and the Jeffrey Elementary School 4th grade team placed 1st in each of their respective divisions.  Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college.

The teams are thrilled to compete at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa May 28-31.  This will be a wonderful opportunity for them to represent Madison and to meet and compete with students from hundreds of teams representing nearly every state and 25 countries. 

The fourteen students from both teams have planned a variety of fundraisers to help defer the cost of the trip, which is nearly $1,000 per student.  Two bake sales are scheduled for Walmart on April 25 and May 2 in the afternoon.  Upcoming fundraisers will be announced.  To sponsor the Madison teams, contact Ann Rumberger at ann.rumberger@gmail.com.  Contributions can be mailed to Madison Odyssey of the Mind World Finals Trip, Attn:  Balzano, P.O. Box 588, Madison, CT 06443.   

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The Polson Middle School 7th grade team includes Angelina Balzano, Jordan Kim, Meghan Marrinan, Alara Nahar, Julia Rumberger, Autumn Van Antwerp, Tillie Wang and Anna Yaggi.  The Jeffrey Elementary School 4th grade team members are Alanna Fay, Kelly Fay, Liam Lynch, Natalia Nolan, Erika Rupp-Coppi and Mahir Thadani.

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem solving competition where students of all ages prepare a long term problem solution as well as compete in an on-the-spot hands on or verbal “spontaneous” problem.  Students work together in teams, preparing their long term problem solutions over six months.  There are five problem categories across four age divisions, ranging from technical challenges to artistic and performance-based problems.  Since each of the long-term problem categories also reward “style” in their solution, teams write and perform creative presentations to accompany their long term solutions.  For more information, visit www.odysseyofthemind.com.

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