2 F.C. Teams Advance to 'Odyssey Of the Mind' World Championships

By Nicholas F. Benton

Last year, Falls Church sent one team, and it was amazing news. This year, it’s done one better, sending two “Odyssey of the Mind” teams to no less than the World Championships in Ames, Iowa, May 24-27. Both are from the Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School in the City of Falls Church and the parents are now looking for ways to raise money to help pay for the trip.

“Odyssey of the Mind” is a unique competition for students from kindergarten through college, challenging teams to come up with unique solutions that focus on creativity and teamwork. After winning at the regional level, the two teams from Falls Church won at the state championships in Newport News on April 8.

One of the teams is a repeat from last year. In 2005, the team represented Thomas Jefferson Elementary, but they’ve grown into the middle school now. Lia Cattaneo, Claire Constance, Paul Henninger, Max Kaplow, Kate Sanders, Jack Trainor and Danny Seidita are all back as veterans of world championship competition, along with coaches Becky Trainor and Laura Brady. This team performed the Jungle Blake long program. (They’d be best to describe to our readers exactly what that involves—ed.).

The new Falls Church team to make it to the prestigious Worlds is composed of seventh graders doing the Ancient Egypt long term program, and includes Daniel Fletcher, Rachael Kassan, Mollie Breen, Victoria Pender, Katie Breen and Clark Williamson, along with coaches Lynn Fletcher and Sarah Hassan.

In qualifying for the worlds, the team won the “Omer Award” for sportsmanship because it twice caught mistakes in the scoring in its favor and reported them.

The way “Odyssey of the Mind” works, teams work over the course of an entire school year to develop solutions to one of five given problems, and then present their solutions in skit form at regional competitions beginning in the spring.

“Odyssey of the Mind” is described on its web site as “an international education program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students. They apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devises to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics.”

It is characterized as “a competitive program, but it’s nothing like your typical sporting event. The competitive element encourages kids to be the best that they can be, but it’s a friendly competition. Kids learn from and even cheer on their competitors. ‘Odyssey of the Mind’ is not a college bowl or a competition about knowledge. It’s all about creativity, and often overlooked element in the growth and development of many students. Kids are rewarded more for how they apply their knowledge, skills and talents and not for coming up with the right answer. In fact, in ‘Odyssey of the Mind’ problems, there isn’t one right answer.”

In addition to their prepared skits, each team is required to compete in a spontaneous competition that is factored into its overall score. In this case, the kids are judged on the spot in creatively coming up with a solution to a problem. They are led into a room with only the judges and are asked to solve a problem presented to them then with no coaches present. They are sworn to secrecy about what they did until after the entire competition is over.

Last year, the Falls Church team at the Worlds won the spontaneous part of the competition, boosting it to a sixth place finish, overall.

Key figures in promoting the competition in the elementary and middle school levels of the Falls Church City schools have been Heidi Lang at Thomas Jefferson and Pam Wilkie at Henderson Middle School.

Spearheading the fundraising efforts for sending the Falls Church teams to Ames, Iowa are Sarah Hassan, a former member of the school board, and Jennifer Boykin (Clark Williamson’s mom).

Among the fundraising efforts are the following:

This Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m., the Starbucks at Broaddale Plaza and Barnes and Noble in 7 Corners will be selling coupons for $5 for a drink of choice and cookie, and $3.50 from each will go to the cause. One of the teams will do its skit at the Broaddale Starbucks during that time.

On Saturday, May 6, there will be two family yard sales at 6960 Birch and 507 Hillwood in Falls Church, with proceeds going to the trip. Persons can donate stuff to sell as well as buy stuff.

On Sunday, May 7, Stacy’s Coffee Parlor, 709 W. Broad, will host a special “Out of This World” Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.

People can also contribute directly by mailing checks made out to Lynn Fletcher to 6960 Birch St., Falls Church 22046.

The cost of sending each student and coach is estimated at $1,000, including travel and room and board for the four-day competition. Ames, home of Iowa State University, is not an easy place to reach, with no non-stop flights from this area, and that adds to the cost of transporting the students as well as all their sets and props.