Graland Teams Excel at Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving competition for students of all ages. Teams of students select a problem, create a solution, then present their solution in a competition against other teams in the same problem and division. The program challenges students to think outside the box and work together on broadly defined problems. Graland students competed in the grades 3-5 division against teams from three other schools. From five options, each team chose three challenges for the competition.

 

Starting back in the fall, parent volunteers from Graland guided teams to solve one long-term problem as they also practiced for the spontaneous and style categories of the competition. Team members come up with all the ideas for their solutions and do all the work themselves while coaches teach skills and educate the team on ways of approaching the problem and of evaluating their solution.

Notably, third grader Anna Wang was singled out by judges for OMER’s Award, a special recognition named for the Odyssey of the Mind raccoon mascot. Recipients of OMER’s Award  receive a medal for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship, exemplary behavior or exceptional talent. 

 

“I was really proud of our teams,” Shannon says. “They worked hard but they also had so much fun.” 

 

If our teams advance to the World Finals, students and coaches will travel to Iowa State University in May. Good luck, teams!