Time is running short to raise money so a team of students from Windham can compete in the Odyssey of the Mind Finals in Michigan in less than a month.
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| Windham's Odyssey of the Mind team is bust preparing for the World Finals at Michigan State University on May 24. From left are Fynnleigh Mayo, Colin Miller, Ava Rhoads, Cora Miller, Rebecca Miller, Marin Miele, Celia Johnson and Bryn Johnson. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
“We looked at all possibilities and it was most cost effective to fly,” said Windham Odyssey of the Mind Coach Rebecca Miller. “Currently we have $8,190 and we do have an additional $2,000 from previous fundraising for the program earlier this year.”
Besides basic airfare, the team is looking to raise enough for competition registration, meals, lodging, and ground transportation expenses while in Michigan. It is estimated the entire trip will cost about $14,000.
Miller said the public can help through donations. Checks can be mailed to Windham Primary School, Educational Way, Windham, ME 04062, or by sending an email to rmiller@rsu14.org
“We have already committed to going. At this point families would have to pay the remaining costs for their children to get this experience,” she said.
Competing in the Worlds Odyssey of the Mind Finals is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these children, Miller said.
“They will be able to meet other students from all over the world,” she said. “They are going to get to see how other teams work to solve the problems and get ideas and experience to use and learn from for the future. There are also other events that encourage the kids to get together and learn from each other.”
Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving program where team members present their solution at a competition to a predefined long-term problem that takes many months to complete and involves writing, design, construction, and theatrical performance. The Odyssey of the Mind competition was born out of the innovative teachings of its founder, Dr. C. Samuel Micklus at Rowan University in New Jersey. He challenged his industrial design students to use their creativity to solve unique problems like building a vehicle without wheels.
Micklus then created problems for middle and high schools in New Jersey and the first-ever Odyssey of the Mind competition was held in 1978. The World Finals now includes teams from as far away as China, Germany, Mexico, India, and Canada with 22,000 people including participants, parents, coaches, and volunteers attending, proving that creative thinking is universal, and that Odyssey of the Mind is a positive force that brings them together.
Along with fundraising, Windham team members are continuing to work and prepare for the World Finals. The competition itself involves an eight-minute skit, making props to use with the skit and then coming up with lines to perform during the skit.
The team is looking forward to the opportunity to showcase their skills in Michigan and has been working on improving for the World Finals.
“They will use the feedback we got from the judges and our scores from states,” Miller said. “They want to improve some of their props and give some more creative emphasis. They also are still practicing the spontaneous portion of the competition.”
Miller says the public should be proud of what this team has accomplished so far.
“This is entirely student-focused. My only job is to help them organize themselves,” Miller said. “It's truly real-time problem solving. When they can't agree on something they have to make a plan. When an idea falls flat, they have to change it up. When they create something that keeps falling apart, they need to adjust. It's truly real-world skills that are practiced repeatedly. These kids truly foster their teamwork, creativity, problem solving, public speaking, engineering, conflict resolution strategies and real-world skills that we ultimately want them to demonstrate before their graduate High School so they can be productive citizens. <
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