Published: April 24, 2008 09:33 am            

Corbin Odyssey of the Mind team advances to World Finals

Team must raise $6,000 for trip to Maryland

By Sean Bailey / Staff Writer

What started out as a “learning year” for the newly formed Odyssey of the Mind team at South Elementary school is quickly turning out to be an award winning year.

The team won second place in state competition, which makes them eligible for the World Finals at the University of Maryland on May 31-June 3. The team wasn’t expecting such huge success, which has left them a bit short on funds for the trip to Maryland.

“We really anticipated that this was going to be a learning year because it’s our first team. We thought we’d just go to the competition to see what it was like, and the kids just blew us away — we ended up making it to the finals,” coach and teacher Kim Stewart said.

The team has asked the board of education to help fund the trip, which will cost around $6,000. The board, according to Stewart, said it could match any contributions made by the community up to half the cost — $3,000.

Stewart said the team plans to do a number of fundraising programs, one of which will be T-shirt sales. The team will be the first organization to sell shirts bearing the schools new Corbin Intermediate name. Stewart is asking local businesses to donate $50 or more. For the donation the businesses will get their logo placed on each T-shirt.

Odyssey of the Mind (OM) is a competition where students find creative ways to solve problems. Stewart explained this year’s problem dealt with the extinction of the dinosaurs. Her students had to come up with a theory that explained the disappearance of the ancient creatures using props/devices, science and theater to present their theory to the judges.

“It’s a very detailed process and you’d be amazed at what these fourth-graders can put together,” Stewart said.

No one really knew what to expect on the South team, Stewart admitted, because no one at the school had ever competed in an OM match. Stewart said it was quickly apparent, though, that the competition had a very positive impact on South’s team members.

“It built so much confidence in the kids. Some of these kids don’t normally get a lot of attention, for their creative skills because those skills might not involve a ballteam ... but here they are showcased for their creativity,” Stewart said.

If the team is able to raise enough money to make it to the world finals they will compete against students from across the globe — including China, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Poland, to name a few.

“It takes a special kid to work with out any guarantee of success, or anything really. These kids showed up before school, and stayed long after school to work on these projects,” Stewart said.

The first OM team at South Elementary is made up of 7 students; Tyler Mills, Makayla Beechum, Connor Hicks, Alyssa Bishop, Matthew Helm, Hope Couch and Rachel Logan.

        

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