Odyssey of the Mind (OM) is an extracurricular opportunity typically designed for students ranging in elementary and middle school that allows them to use their creativity, ingenuity and energy to contribute to something bigger and outside of the classroom environment.
Odyssey of the Mind advisor Linda Berry oversees the Kindergarten through Grade 5 students participating in the RSU 14 district. This year, the program has 60 students, gaining seven more participants at Windham Middle School than last year.
Berry said that this program typically has between 50 and 80 student participants.
“Sometimes we have students who are reluctant at the beginning of the season to participate on a team with others they don't know yet,” Berry said. “That feeling typically fades quickly as students bond and develop relationships over a common goal. With OM, all students ‘shine’ and contribute towards something meaningful. As well, seeing the confidence that grows within a child throughout the season is rewarding.”
Odyssey of the Mind’s purpose is to educate all students how to use and develop their pure creativity to solve problems of any kind without fear or high confusion. When competing, the team’s goal is to fit all the required pieces into a performance skit. From making props to coming up with lines, teams do it all by themselves.
During practice, students learn and work on their teamwork and being quick thinkers. The strategy of being fast helps them in the long run with verbal and hands-on spontaneous problem solving.
RSU 14 students may sign up to participate in OM early in the school year.
OM tournaments challenge teams of students with a given problem and then they create a solution to present in a tournament open to all ages, Berry said. It is a family-driven program where adult family members typically serve as coaches.
“Once we know how many adults are interested in coaching, we begin to assign students to teams,” Berry said.
“Teams are composed of five to seven students and are grouped by grade divisions, K to 2, 3 to 5, and 6 to 8. Teams begin meeting weekly after school hours in December and January and continue until the tournament in early April,” said Berry.
At the tournament, the teams will choose from five different long term problems to solve out and include technical, classics, structure, and performance questions.
The teams then perform their solution in an eight-minute skit in front of a panel of judges. Students are also judged on a spontaneous problem, so practicing how to solve that type of issue is something that teams work on throughout the OM season.
“It is always a busy and exciting season. WPS and Manchester have been supporting OM teams for many years now and each year we try to make it the best experience for our students,” Berry said. “It's wonderful to see the relationships that flourish and grow through the program, children or adults. Some of our coaches are former OM student participants so it's nice to see them supporting the next generation in this program. The relational side of OM makes me appreciate being able to do my part with the organization of it all.”
RSU 14 teams have a proven track record of success in Odyssey of the Mind competition. In 2023, a team of seven members consisting of third graders from Windham Primary School and fourth and fifth graders from Manchester School ranging in age from 8 to 11 traveled to East Lansing, Michigan on the campus of Michigan State University for the world championship. Windham finished 23rd overall of the 67 teams vying for the title and posted the highest score in the spontaneous category among any of the 10 Maine schools represented in the championships.
This year the OM tournament will be held at Edward Little High School on Saturday, April 5. It is open to anyone if interested in seeing what it's about and watching students from across the state showcase their talent. <
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