Osborne Students Compete in Odyssey of the Mind World Finals

A team of seven Quaker Valley third-graders recently placed 36th in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University, according to the school district.

Coached by Jeff Christensen, the team includes Osborne Elementary students Isabella Bock, Lilly Capezzuto, Stella Christensen, Ilijana Hasak, Jhon Freddy Krebs, Owen Petronick and Taylor Retzlaff. 

The group is the youngest Quaker Valley team to ever qualify for the OM World Finals, joining more than 825 teams from around the world that participated this year in the international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students.

“We have a team of third graders competing against third, fourth, and fifth graders from all over the country and all over the world,” Christensen said in a news release. “All of these competitors are the best of the best, and each have previously won championships.”

The Quaker Valley students earned the opportunity to compete at World Finals by placing first in the Western Pennsylvania Regional Odyssey of the Mind competition in March and second in the Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind competition in April.

The team completed the problem titled, “Pet Project,” which required the team to build three vehicles, each of which must use a different method of propulsion.

Christensen said in a news release that the team performed well beyond their years, and were a picture of grace under pressure.

The top five finishers were teams from Poland, Michigan, Singapore, China and Virginia.  The Quaker Valley team out-scored champion-caliber teams from Delaware, Mexico, Kansas, Maryland, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, Connecticut, Maine, Arizona, Massachusetts, Vermont, Missouri, and South Carolina.

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