Steubenville rejoins Odyssey of the Mind
In Tune team, from left, front, Miranda Sliva, Marlee Koley and Madison Rawlings; and back, Jake Wojcik, Kaemir Brown and Jase Scott. -- Contributed
The Diamond Girls team, consisting of Laci Robinson, Kaycee Robinson, Isabella Griffis and Daphne Andrews. -- Contributed
The East Star Drive-In team comprised of Derek Davis, Carmelo Prentice, Hakayla Brown and Madison McCoy. -- Contributed
In Tune team, from left, front, Miranda Sliva, Marlee Koley and Madison Rawlings; and back, Jake Wojcik, Kaemir Brown and Jase Scott. -- Contributed
The Diamond Girls team, consisting of Laci Robinson, Kaycee Robinson, Isabella Griffis and Daphne Andrews. -- Contributed
The East Star Drive-In team comprised of Derek Davis, Carmelo Prentice, Hakayla Brown and Madison McCoy. -- Contributed
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STEUBENVILLE -- Steubenville City Schools will continue to challenge its students' ideas and ingenuity by rejoining the Odyssey of the Mind program.
Heather Hoover, Success For All district facilitator, serves as the program's southeast regional coordinator. She said Odyssey of the Mind first began in 1978, serving as an international, creative, problem-solving program that teaches young people valuable skills that empower them to become successful leaders and innovators.
The curriculum helps build self-confidence, social skills, performing talent, divergent thinking, engineering ability and hones interest in design, architecture, art, technology, music and more at an early age.
Hoover explained Steubenville schools had been with Odyssey of the Mind in the past but transitioned to Destination Imagination. The district has rejoined the original program this year.
"Odyssey of the Mind is starting to rebuild in Ohio and we wanted to once again explore this program and its opportunities," Hoover stated. "It allows us to be a little more rigorous and our students to apply more critical-thinking skills and higher problem-solving skills. We have enlisted three elementary teams this year -- Diamond Girls, East Star Drive-In and In Tune, to participate in this transition. We are excited to see what they come up with and to hear from them at the end about their experience."
Members take part as teams and must solve problems spanning five categories: Vehicle, technical, classics, structure and performance.
Hoover said the program provides students with a creative competition where they are presented with the synopsis of a challenge and then, must incorporate a rubric into their solution.
"It allows students to develop their creativity, innovation, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and create a solution through teamwork," she said.
Officials noted problems ranged from "Drive-In Movie," in which engineering techniques are used to design a vehicle within the solution, to "Opening Night Antics," where children use a classical story and alter it to fit the challenge.
The teams compete in local, regional and state events, Hoover commented, adding at this time, Ohio does not have the number of teams required to hold its own state competition. Current members will have to travel to another state to compete in state events.
"Odyssey of the Mind is actively trying to recruit other schools," Hoover concluded. She said there has been an interest in rejoining.
"There are teams traveling into Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan," she stated. "Our teams will compete in Pennsylvania on April 6. We are excited for this opportunity to work with other states to bring this program to our students and look forward to Ohio holding its own state competition in the future."
The teams that excel at the state level will have the opportunity to advance to the World Finals at Iowa State University in May. More than 15,000 members from across the United States and 30 other nations will be on hand to take part in the competitions.
For information, contact Hoover at hhoover@rollred.org.