Falls Church Elementary Team Problem Solves Way To World Final

FALLS CHURCH, VA — In November 2022, an Odyssey of the Mind team formed from three elementary school children living on the same street and two other friends. Now that team from Oak Street Elementary is headed to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.

The team is believed to be the first in 18 years from Oak Street Elementary to make the World Finals, parent Martha Mathers told Patch in an email. The team has five members: Nathan Donofrio, Julia Kieffer, James Labukas, Kaitlyn Mathers, and Annie Novotny. Two of the children's fathers — David Mathers and Mike Donofrio — coach the team as volunteers.

Odyssey of the Mind is a competition dating back to the 1970s that challenges participants to solve problems with creative solutions while having fun. According to the competition's website, it teaches skills such as teamwork, budgeting, time management and public speaking.

"It is a huge honor that our fantastic kids have advanced to the World Finals of Odyssey of the Mind, an academic problem-solving and creativity competition, and will represent Oak Street Elementary from Falls Church, Virginia. We are so proud of them!" wrote parent Jessica Labukas in a GoFundMe fundraiser for the team.

The 2023 World Finals will be held at Michigan State University from May 24 to 27, featuring hundreds of teams from around the world. To attend to the World Finals, the team must pay a $3,000 registration and other expenses to travel to Michigan State University. The Oak Street Elementary team is fundraising on GoFundMe to help students attend the World Finals.

To make it to the World Finals, the team completed in regionals at Wakefield High School and won first place. At the state level at Tuscarora High School, they placed second. The top two teams advanced to the World Finals.