WILMINGTON — St. Mark Catholic School is sending two teams to the Odyssey of the Mind (OM) World Finals. The teams competed April 1st at North Carolina’s OM State Tournament.
Competing against eight teams in the Vehicle Problem, the 8th grade team came in first. This is the team’s second trip to World Finals. Several of the members have competed as part of the same team since 3rd grade.
The team’s coach, Catherine Sawyer, was recognized as Coach of the Year at the regional tournament which was held in Jacksonville, N.C., March 4, 2017.
Sky Simmons, Kate Schild, Avery McElhinney, David Delaney, Jonathan Sawyer, Anthony Mathews. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy Karen Simmons)
St. Mark’s youngest team, composed entirely of 3rd graders built a “robot.” They competed against nine other teams in the technical problem and came in second. These eight and nine year old’s are the youngest team from St. Mark Catholic School to advance to World Finals.
The St. Mark Catholic School teams are among the 32 teams from North Carolina going to the OM World Finals at Michigan State University in May.
Over 800 teams from across the United States and around the world will compete in the World Finals at Michigan State University Wednesday-Saturday, May 24-27.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program for students from kindergarten through college that reinforces science, technology, engineering, art and math learning through creative problem-solving, teamwork, healthy competition and, most importantly, fun.
Team members apply their creativity and intelligence to solve problems ranging from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the regional, state and world levels.
One of the most unique aspects of Odyssey of the Mind is that the kids do all the work themselves. Parents and coaches are forbidden from providing “outside assistance,” which can be anything from hammering a nail to offering an idea. This results in very creative solutions and an emphasis on self-reliance.
Representing Saint Mark Catholic School on the Vehicle Team are eighth graders: Anthony Mathews, Avery McElhinney, David Delaney, Jonathan Sawyer, Kate Schild, and Sky Simmons. Their coach is Catherine Sawyer. The Technical Team includes third graders: Isabel Layton, Madeline Sawyer, Burgin Neal, Caroline Ramage, Addie Sterner and Taylor Floyd. Their coach is Cody Neal.
It costs approximately $1300 to send each child to World Finals. This includes registration, housing and airfare. The group is planning a garage sale and raffle at St. Mark Catholic School on Saturday May 6th from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. For more information contact [email protected]. They also have a set up a fundraising site: https://www.gofundme.com/SMCSOM
-Content provided by Karen Simmons
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