Students to Compete at Odyssey of the Mind State Competition

Six Pine-Richland Middle School students will compete at the Odyssey of the Mind State Finals in Altoona, PA on Saturday, April 14, 2007.

Eighth graders Matthew Ceurvorst, Michael Clouse, Isaac Egyed, Michael Matty, Marcella McGuire and Ian Strawser placed second overall at the SW Regional Odyssey of the Mind Competition at Moon Area High School and Middle School on March 3, 2007. They now will advance to the state finals. GATE Teacher Kathy Deal said this is the third year in the row that the team has advanced to the state finals. Carol Matty and Heidi Clouse served as parent coaches. This team completed a problem entitled "I'm Only Thinking of You".

Students have been working on their long-term problem solutions since October 2006. In all three team teams from Pine-Richland competed.

Eighth graders Andrew Dotterer, Benjamin Gentzel, Edward Misback, Austin Schlotterbeck, Tyler Schlotterbeck, Tim Skillen and seventh grader Peter Pearson and solved a problem entitled “Around the World” and placed fourth overall. Parent coaches included: Christine Misback and Brenda Schlotterbeck. Sixth graders Bill Lazar, Brian McWilliams, Ben Meissner, Allie Sanzi, Kripa Venkatakrishnan, Eric Zelina and Cameron Barnes placed third overall after completing a problem entitled “Tag ‘Em”. Parent Lisa Zelina and Karen McWilliams served as parent coaches.

The top two teams from the state finals would advance to the World Finals on May 23 – 26, 2007 at Michigan State University.

The "Odyssey of the Mind" is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college.

Students apply their creativity to solve long-term problems from their own interpretation of a literary classic to building their own mechanical device.  Students present their solution to the problem at a regional competition and have the chance to move on to the state level and possibly the World level.   

Thousands of teams compete throughout the U.S. and 25 other countries. They work in teams of five to seven students and learn cooperation and respect for others ideas as well as problem skills that will last a lifetime.  “Odyssey of the Mind” was created by Dr. Sam Micklus in 1978.

GATE Teacher Kathy Deal has been the facilitator of the “Odyssey of the Mind” for PRMS for five years. 

Teams are scored not only for their solutions to long-term problems, but how well they solve a spontaneous problem of the day, during the competition.