New Canaan 'Odyssey of the Mind' Winners Headed to Nationals

Last weekend, 13 teams from New Canaan competed in the 32nd Annual Odyssey of the Mind (OM) State Tournament in Bristol, CT. Five of those teams, including four from Saxe Middle School, secured a place in the world-wide competition scheduled to take place at Michigan State University over Memorial Day weekend.

Patch caught up with Sonia Schott, New Canaan Odyssey of the Mind Coordinator, to hear more.

Patch: Congratulations on this win! How would you describe Odyssey of the Mind to someone who's never heard of it?

Schott: It's a program for students which encourages creative thinking, team work and collaboration through teams of 5-7 students who spend 5 months together developing their original solution to an open ended challenge. The team selects their problem from the category of theatrical, vehicle, technical, classic or structure focused problem. The students work together to develop all aspects of their solution, which culminates in an 8 minute presentation. All skill sets are needed from actors, artists, gizmo builders, writers.  Everyone learns how to think more abstractly and expand their perspective, as well as  collaborating with their team.

Patch: How many New Canaan students participate? What about the club do you think attracts kids to join and compete?

Schott: Saxe MS had 13 teams of 7 students, South School and NCHS each have one team. So each year over 100 students are working within this team program. The Saxe students are attracted by  the independent nature of this creative process—the solutions are the kids own work—their ideas for every aspect—from story, to costumes, props,  devices or vehicle innovations; all will be created only by the student. They feel so empowered as their work comes to fruition with no adult interference. Some students want to write stories and perform, some love the building gizmo opportunity, some enjoy simply being part of the team.  

Patch: What kind of commitment do students have to give—do they meet all year and practice?

Schott: The team members are counted on by the team, so they must commit to participate and contribute to the solution developed. As with any program, the more the student puts effort and thoughtfulness into the program, the more he will benefit, and feel the pride of his contribution.  The teams are formed late fall, and work together until the state competition, usually held in March. Teams will meet and plan at weekly meetings, and as the tournament date approaches, the team will add weekend work sessions in order to assemble props and scenery.

Patch: Can you give an example or two of the issues kids worked on and their winning solutions?

Schott: The vehicle problem required a team to design and build 3 vehicles each with a different propulsion method. The vehicles had to travel 8-10 feet from a starting line, and carry a part of an animal to a 4-foot area. Within this area the team assembled the parts to make an animal, and then include  the animal in their story.  The eighth-grade vehicle team used the theme of James Bond for their vehicle story.

Another project required the students to select an architectural structure built between 1000 and 1600, and to replicate an aspect of the structure. Additionally, the team created three works of art, which disappear, and the story included a quest for the art.  Further, the team had to write two original songs and include some sort of choreography in their solution. New Canaan High School used cereal mascot characters set at St. Basel's Cathedral. The replica  was assembled  from cardboard and cereal and Queen music with new lyrics for their clever state championship solution.

Patch: So now the teams travel to the world competition in Michigan. How do you think this experience will affect the students going?

Schott: The excitement of the international competition is the opportunity to meet students from all over the world, and to observe how others have solved the same challenge. The students will mix among teams from Poland, China, Singapore, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Germany and  many other countries. The level of competition is increased as the state champions and second-place teams from all over the United States  bring their original solutions.  The students see an increased level of creativity and originality at this competition, which expands their own thinking. Some vow to return next year and are committed to the hard work required to earn an opportunity the following year.

Another key aspect of the international competition is that the  Odyssey teams trade pins. The  students trade amongst those from all over the country, as well as the world.  Students speak to peers from California, Texas, Arkansas and countries from across the Pacific and Atlantic.  This interaction  enriches the students perspective of those from all over the world. The program is so successful in New Canaan through the strong support of Mr. Macedo at Saxe, and more importantly the volunteer efforts of the parents who care about providing these  learning  opportunities to the students.  

Here's some more information on the projects, provided by Schott.

Project descriptions

Pet Project (Vehicle)

• Division II 2nd place: SAXE MIDDLE SCHOOL 8^th grade team (Coach Morse with Brian Sandor, Aidan O'Halloran, DJ Morse, Brad Newton, Quinn Curren, Jason Campe)

The Email Must Go Through (Technical)

• Division I 1st place: SAXE MIDDLE SCHOOL 5^th grade team (Coach Hammer with Andrew Morse, Jack Ellis, Allie Orphanos, Julia Sulkowski, Brian Campe, Skye Curren, Tyson Hammer);
• Division II 2nd place: SAXE MIDDLE SCHOOL 7^th grade team (Coach LaMorte with Isaac Chou, Grant Hanauer, Nicholas LaMorte, Grant Morse, and Conal Mueller)
• Division III 2nd place: NCHS team (Coach Schott with NCHS students: Will Hennessy, Katrine Reddin, Taylor Ferguson, Riley Durkin, Amelia, Sean Davidson, Arianne Norman)

ARTchitecture: The Musical (Theatrics)

• Division III 1st place: NCHS team (Coach Schott with the same NCHS team – this team, with many participants doing Odyssey for their 5^th or 6^th time, they took on two Long Term problems)

It's How You Look at It (Classics)

• Division IIB 2nd place: SAXE MIDDLE SCHOOL 6^th grade team (Coach Brill with Gwenan Walker, Anna Meli, Catherine Marshall, Solomeya Marynovych, CJ D'Virgilio, Max Harrell.  Bartek Ruszczyk, a 5^th grader at St. A’s, is also a member of this team.)