By Kristi Longmore
mail@floridanewsline.com
The Julington Creek Elementary team for Odyssey of the Mind has made it to Worlds — the highest level of competition and the first team from the school to do so. The team will be advancing to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Ames, Iowa at the end of May, following its first place win at the Manatee Regional Competition and placing second at the Florida Odyssey of the Mind State Competition in Orlando.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international competition that teaches students how to use their natural creativity to solve a unique open-ended problem. Odyssey of the Mind emphasizes teamwork, creativity, budgeting, time management, public speaking, and more.
Odyssey of the Mind at Julington Creek Elementary is open to fourth and fifth grade participants, and is a creative, academic, and team-building competition that solves both long term and spontaneous problems. For its long term problem, the JCE Team built two vehicles utilizing different propulsion systems that completed a series of four tasks to reveal clues to figure out the mystery behind the “room” they had to “escape.” The script, vehicles, set, props, and all materials and ideas for the program were generated by the team members, who cleverly wove together the idea to be in a dream learning how to save the turtles. Their set utilized materials that are harmful to turtles and items that can be recycled and even earned a regional prize, “Style for Miles,” which is awarded to only one team from all divisions in the Manatee Regional Competition.
The team is seeking corporate sponsors and personal donors to offset the cost of travel and competition costs. Contact Kristi Longmire at JCEOMteam@gmail.com or visit the team’s fundraising site at http://spot.fund/J5KDlO for more information.
Visit www.odysseyofthemind.com for more information about Odyssey of the Mind.
Photo courtesy Kristi Longmore
JCE Odyssey of the Mind members Logan Regar, Landon Ho, Carter Longmire, Cameron Regar, Tanner Workman, and Jack Andreoli.
