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 Are you interested in getting your child involved with an extracurricular club where they can build friendships, be creative, develop problem-solving skills, and have fun at the same time? Then it is time to register your child in Odyssey of the Mind!
What is Odyssey of the Mind?
There is no simple answer to this question. Odyssey is complex. Odyssey is challenging, long, exciting, academic, artistic, creative, sometimes frustrating, character building, confidence building, team oriented, and lots of fun! But, what is Odyssey? It is an international problem solving competition that rewards students for creative thinking and teamwork. Thousands of teams in grades Kindergarten through college are involved. Each team consists of between five and seven members.
 Each year the Odyssey of the Mind Association produces six long-term problems. The problems are complex; often they are four or five pages long. Children are given the opportunity to preview the problems to decide which interests them the most. Children in the primary division (K-2) are given a special problem to work on. They solve their problem and present their solution to an audience at the regional competition just like the other teams. However, unlike the other divisions, they are not competitive and therefore, are not judged.
Each team has at least one coach, but usually there are two coaches. The role of the coach is to conduct meetings that will lead to the solution of the problem. The coach may in no way offer suggestions that will lead to the solution of the problem (nor may parents, friends, neighbors, or anyone else.) The solution of the problem is left entirely up to the members of the team.
 Odyssey of the Mind is open to every child in the district from grades K-12 who wishes to participate. The Odyssey of the Mind program requires a great deal of dedication. Once teams are put together they should decide their meeting schedule and let me know. All the coaches are volunteers. Most are parents and sometimes faculty members. There would be no Odyssey of the Mind without these coaches. They do a great job!
For those who are interested and are new members, there is an interest meeting on October 3, 2006 in the LGI room in the High School at 6:30 p.m. You and your child will learn more about Odyssey and get to try some sample spontaneous problems. If you are a returning team, please attend the October 11, 2006 meeting in the LGI room in the High School at 6:30 p.m. You will need to hand in all registration forms for each member and then you will receive the problems for this year.
 Once a team is formed it is very important that everyone participates and give 100% effort to their team. You have from October through March 10, 2007 to complete your team responsibilities. Mohonasen hosts the Regional Competition on that Saturday, March 10, 2007 at our High School and Middle School.
There are usually a large amount of students who are interested, so to accommodate as many students as I can, it is crucial for coaches to volunteer as well. Coaches can be anyone over 18 years of age who would like to help guide students to competition. Please fill out the attached registration form and return it to your school office by September 28, 2006. They will forward it to me, Miss Ranze, the Odyssey of the Mind Coordinator, to my mailbox in Pinewood School. You will receive a letter in mid-October letting you know if you were placed on a team.
I hope to see you at one of the meetings. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me at 356-8430 ext. 6042 or email
lranze@mohonasen.org.
Thank you again for your participation.
Link
to the Capital
Region BOCES Web site for more information.
Interested
in registering? Download
the registration form here.
Odyssey of the
Mind Spontaneous Practices
Odyssey students are responsible for solving a
long-term problem along with answering a spontaneous
problem on the day of the competition. Coach Miss Ranze
sets up spontaneous practice sessions to prepare the
eight teams for competition. Teams rotate through six
different stations and practice verbal or hands-on
problems that are judged by adult volunteers within the
district. Thank you to faculty volunteers Dr. Johnson,
Ms. Tiano, Ms. Coyne, Ms. Seguin; volunteer coaches
Elisa Wickman, Lrie Rith, Kelly Blanchard, Deb Dynysiuk
and Stefan Dynysiuk.
Photos
of spontaneous practices.
Photos
of spontaneous practices.
Below
are photos from the Odyssey of the Mind Regional
Competition at Mohonasen on March 10, 2007.
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