The Brentwood Union School District announced Tuesday that two schools advanced to the World Odyssey of the Mind finals in May.
Over 4,000 students competed at UC Riverside after winning regional competitions throughout the state. First and second place teams travel to the World Finals.
Brentwood School District was one of the top Odyssey of the Mind participants in the state with ten teams that ascended to the state finals after winning at the regional competition explained Superintendent Dana Eaton.
“I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the state finals this weekend and was so proud of the 65 Brentwood students that competed. These are amazing students who worked so hard. We are so fortunate to have outstanding volunteer coaches who guide these students through amazing performances and problem solving,” said Eaton. “We owe a special debt of gratitude to retired teacher Lisa McLaughlin who was instrumental in getting Odyssey of the Mind started in Brentwood. Through her hard work and the work of others, Brentwood is now one of the top competitors across the state.”
Over 800 international teams will compete at the 37th Anniversary of the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
The Brentwood Elementary No Cycle/Recycle Team, led by coach Susan Wallace, placed 2nd in the state in the mechanical/vehicle problem. Teams design, build and operate vehicles of various size and with various power sources. Sometimes they drive the vehicles, and sometimes the vehicles perform tasks, such as overcoming obstacles or visiting other “countries” to retrieve artifacts. Members of that team include Katharina Wallace, Kevin Straight, Kaelyn Finnigan, Tony Trapanese, Trenton Taylor, Hayden Cooper and Zack Johnson.
The Pioneer Elementary Something Fishy Team, led by coach PJ Dodgson, placed 2nd in the performance problem. In this problem, teams present performances that revolve around a specific theme and incorporate required elements. Members of the team include Peyton Armatis, Jordyn Davies, Andrew Dodgson, James Eaton, Kaida Hou, and Elly Longoria.
The Garin Elementary No Cycle/Recycle Team, led by coaches Chika Brown and Karen McComb, placed 5th in the state finals and 1st overall in the spontaneous competition. Team members include Lily Costanza, Sofia Costanza, Sandra Brown, Andrew Warner, Hailey Kemper, Gigi Bautista and Taya McComb.
From the Odyssey of the Mind Website http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/
“Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program.
- Division I — Grades K-5 (U.S.): Less than 12 years of age on May 1, 2014 (Other International).
- Division II — Grades 6-8 (U.S.): Less than 15 years of age on May 1, 2014 (Other International).
- Division III — Grades 9-12 (U.S.): Oldest team member does not qualify for Divisions I or II and is attending regular school–not a college or university or anything similar (Other International).
- Division IV — Collegiate for ALL TEAMS. All team members must have a high school diploma or its equivalent and be enrolled in at least one course at a two- or four-year college or university.
