This Saturday, April 15, three Glendaal Odyssey of the Mind (OOTM) teams will be competing in the state tournament in Syracuse. They earned first place in the regionals with their combined scores from their long-term solutions, spontaneous solutions, and style.
Glendaal OOTM Division I Coach Julie Friot said her team has continued to meet weekly. “At our first meeting post-competition we looked over our scores thoroughly and the kids decided that they wanted to try to earn more points on some of the required elements. They have incorporated a few changes that we hope will earn us some additional points on technical and design aspects while enhancing the overall performance. They practice the entire skit each week to keep the lines fresh and importantly, within the strict 8-minute time limit,” said Ms. Friot.
Julie Friot’s team consists of fifth graders and one fourth grader: Maizie Friot, Reegan Keating, Dylan Knaggs, Adeline DiCesare, Brady LeClair, Gavin Troski (4th grade), and Lydia Zurakowski.
Adrienne Leon and Ariana Nilsson are coaching an all fifth-grade team: Evan Leon, Jameson Woodfield, Ellie Tricozzi, Niko Lien, Evangeline Nilsson, and Charlie Zurakowski
Matt Spencer and Audrey Daniels are coaching a mix of third and fourth graders: Alice Letterman (3rd), Finnegan Daniels (3rd), Sullivan Daniels (4th), Matthew Spencer (4th), and Jack Woodfield (3rd)
OOTM challenges students to work cooperatively to discover out of the box thinking. The regional competition in March involved a long-term problem with a specific theme that the teams had been working on for months and a spontaneous problem component. OOTM Coordinator Amanda Shults said, “Everything that is created has to be by the students. Parents and community members can teach the students new skills, but the students have to put them to use when coming up with their solutions.”
This year, S-G had 12 Odyssey of the Mind teams consisting of nearly 80 students from our elementary schools and middle school.
Since 2010, S-G has hosted a Spontaneous Overload event to prepare for the spontaneous part of the regional competition. In January, coaches provided 
a verbal and hands-on problem to solve. “Each coach brought enough supplies for six teams to rotate through their rooms. A strict time limit of seven minutes for the hands-on problem and three minutes for the verbal problem was set. Points were awarded for solutions, but extra points were given for originality and teamwork,” said OOTM Coach Friot.
Ms. Friot explained that during this event in January, coaches provided a verbal and hands-on problem to solve. “Each coach brought enough supplies for six teams to rotate through their rooms. A strict time limit of seven minutes for the hands-on problem and three minutes for the verbal problem was set. Points were awarded for solutions, but extra points were given for originality and teamwork,”Ms. Friot said. The students ended the Spontaneous Overload evening by celebrating their success while enjoying pizza with their teammates.
For more photos from the competition and Spontaneous Overload click here.
