WCDS Odyssey of the Mind Teams Compete in States

April 4th 2021

Two Westchester Country Day School Odyssey of the Mind teams will compete virtually in the state competition April 9-11.

Members of the Division Two team are fifth graders James Collins and Josie Cranfill, and sixth graders Whit Hauser, Emma Leonard and Coleman Schwartz.

Members of the Division Three team are seniors Jamie Atkinson, Kate Leonard, Mikey Schwartz and Emma Whitlock, and juniors Kate Dyson, Sophia Singer and Katie Todd.

The two teams formed during the 2019-2020 school year and had the opportunity to advance but were unable to continue in competition due to COVID-19. In a typical year, competitions take place in person, but in light of precautions related to the pandemic, the teams are participating by submitting videos of their work.

In March, both Westchester teams competed virtually in the regional tournament and now will compete with teams from across the state. They have hopes of being one of the top two teams selected from among the entries in their division and problem to advance to the World Finals later this spring.

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving program that teaches students to think differently while creating solutions to long-term, open-ended problems. The worldwide program presents new problems each year for teams to work together on solving. These problems appeal to a range of interests and include building vehicles or structures, creating devices, or giving performances from classical literature or a specific theme that incorporates humorous elements. Solutions to these problems engage students in using ideas from science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). Competitions reward creativity and thinking outside the box.

Westchester’s teams are competing in one of the performance-based problems. They have worked for months to create their finished products. Their work includes developing the dialogue and writing scripts as well as making the set, props and costumes needed for their performance while staying on budget and sticking to the requirements presented in the problem. Along with filming their performance, they also recorded summary explanations for their work.

“Both groups have worked extremely hard on their solutions, which are presented as skits,” said Mrs. Deb Tuggle, who advises the Division Two team.

Watch the solutions these teams are presenting in the virtual competitions at the links below.