The odyssey continues
CENTRAL VALLEY Six Monroe-Woodbury teams have advanced to the state competition level with their first place victories this past Saturday at the regional Odyssey of the Mind competition, the educational program providing creative problem-solving opportunities for students worldwide, at Orange-Ulster BOCES.
The team from Monroe-Woodbury High School, three teams from Monroe-Woodbury Middle School and one team each from Central Valley and North Main elementary schools scored a first-place finish in their respective divisions for their selected problem presentations.
More than 70 teams participated in the competition testing their ability to think divergently by addressing open-ended problems appealing to a wide range of interests in a creative problem-solving process which rewards outside of the box thinking.
These teams will join others from throughout New York on March 31 at SUNY Binghamton in a quest to earn a place at the world competition level at the end of May at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
Next for these team is reviewing judges scores and seeing how they can further refine their presentations that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics.
Monroe-Woodbury proudly represented itself with 10 teams competing in three different problem areas, said Debra Garling, the districts Gifted/Talented coordinator who oversees the Odyssey of the Mind program. These teams of five to seven students have been working tirelessly since early October to create a problem solution that is as entertaining as it is unusual.
- Nancy Kriz