Odyssey of the Mind Coach Emily Teti instructs students at the club’s meeting Monday afternoon at Aspen Elementary School. The club is preparing to go the state competition April 6 in Colorado. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
At the sound of the bell, school ended Monday afternoon, but Aspen Elementary School Gifted and Talented Teacher Vickie Daley’s classroom was buzzing with thoughtful, creative energy.
A group of teens huddled around a table with a pile of pennies, paperclips, and colored cotton balls, attempting to figure out how to best solve a challenge that had been posed to them. A timer was set and when the time expired, the students had created what appeared to be a series of miniature sculptures made of found objects. Paperclips were bent at 90 degrees with pennies lodged in them and 1 cent coins leaned against cotton balls. Daley assessed the scene on the table and deemed it a job well done.
This was just one activity during the meeting of Odyssey of the Mind. The club is divided into divisions: division one includes fourth and fifth graders, division two includes fifth and sixth graders and division three includes seventh through 12th grade.
All the divisions are coached by Daley, her husband and fourth grade teacher Matt Allen, second grade teacher Allison Washburn and volunteer and Odyssey of the Mind alumni Emily Teti.
There are 18 students involved in the club. While they were given different challenges during Monday’s meeting, there is a single project that everyone is focusing on: preparing for the state competition April 6 in Colorado. After that, it is on to the world competition that will be held May 21-25 in Iowa.
Allen explained Los Alamos divisions are traveling to Colorado’s state competition because their club is the only Odyssey of the Mind in New Mexico.
“They’ll be competing with teams from across the state of Colorado,” he said, adding that the competition is high, but the Los Alamos team has placed in the top three for the last five years.
They also competed at the world competition last year, which was held at Michigan State University.
Allen said it was a great opportunity for Los Alamos students to meet their peers from other countries. Daley added that approximately 750 teams will participate at the world competition.
“We want them to have that experience to be around their peers from other countries,” he said.
For the upcoming state competition, Daley said local club members are putting on their thespian hats and planning 8-minute skits. Division one and two are putting on skits inspired by “The Wind and the Willows” while division three’s skit is based on “Treasure Island.”
These are no ordinary dramatic interpretations of classic children’s stories; Daley said the kids plan for some unexpected obstacles such as a set malfunction, a sound defect, or the appearance of a theatre critic. She added the students do everything: write the script, build the sets, sew the costumes, etc. This is what Odyssey of the Mind is all about, Allen noted. A mixture of science, technology, engineering and mathematics along with the arts.
By tackling these different projects and challenges, the students learn a lot, Allen said, including teamwork and problem-solving skills.
Plus, Odyssey of the Mind is an opportunity for some young people to find their niche, he said.
“For some, it builds their confidence,” Allen said. “It gives them a place to be with kids like themselves. Maybe they are quiet and shy but by the end of the year that same kid is in front of people performing a skit.”
The club gives a sense of family, he added.
Teti said she is impressed with what the club members can do.
“They are a really fantastic group of kids” she said. “Their creativity blows my mind.”
Washburn added it is “fun to see kids in the classroom be completely different here.”
Allen echoed this sentiment, saying, “We’ve been lucky to have a great group of kids in the program.”
The club members also spoke highly of Odyssey of the Mind.
Fifth graders Amalia Valdez and Keiland Kolar said they enjoy “read-throughs”, in which they run through the scripts being prepared for state.
“I like building a lot of things,” Kolar added.
“I like the spontaneity,” Freshman Drew Bacrania said. “It is fun to think on the spot.”
Freshman Noah Bane added, “I like working on all the different materials … working with everyone in the club is fun, too.”
“It is a great team environment,” Alea Kretz said. “You get to do things you don’t get to normally do.”
Allen said he and Daley introduced New Mexico to Odyssey of the Mind when they moved from Virginia to New Mexico. He said while teaching in Virgina, Daley introduced her fellow colleagues, including Allen, to Odyssey of the Mind during a staff meeting. He decided to become a coach and quickly fell in love with the program.
To help with registration fees for the state competition, a GoFund Me has been established. Any contributions are welcomed.
From left, Odyssey of the Mind Coaches Matthew Allen, Vickie Daley, Allison Washburn all teach at Aspen Elementary and Odyssey of the Mind alumni Emily Teti. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
From left, Odyssey of the Mind members and Los Alamos High School students Alea Kretz, Drew Bacrania and Noah Bane work on a problem solving activity during a club meeting Monday afternoon. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com