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| Winners will compete at state level next month |
Staff Photo by Stacey Hairston:
The Piedmont Regional OM Competitions were held Saturday at Franklin County High School. Above, the Callaway Elementary team is shown with their creative costumes, which coincided with a presentation on “Email Must Go Through.” The team placed second for Division I for their presentation. |
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
By STACEY HAIRSTON - Staff Writer
Two local Odyssey of the Mind (OM) teams took top honors Saturday during the Piedmont Regional Odyssey of the Mind tournament at Franklin County High School.
Teams from Callaway Elementary and Franklin County High School won their respective divisions in different categories.
Callaway Elementary tied for first place in the "Tumble-wood" category for Division I, along with Highland Park Learning Center from Roanoke.
Franklin County High School's team was the winner of the "Tumble-wood" category for Division III.
Teams from Callaway Elementary and Benjamin Franklin Middle School both placed second for their respective divisions in the category of "The Email Must Go Through."
In this category, or problem, students were required to create email devices that mechanically send and receive tangible representations of emails and go through a SPAM filter. The students were also required to deliver a team-created work of art.
Two other Benjamin Franklin Middle School and Franklin County High School teams placed second in their respective divisions for the "It's How You Look At It" category, which required teams to create their own realities where they decide what behavior is "normal" or "odd."
Snow Creek Elementary, also competing in Division I, took third place in "Tumble-wood" category, which required teams to design a balsa wood structure that weighed no more than 15 paper clips and supported as much weight as possible.
The regional competition allowed OM teams from area elementary, middle and high schools to showcase their creativity and problem-solving skills by coming up with solutions to mind-bending problems posed by OM.
Over 300 students from Southwest Virginia participated in Saturday's tournament.
Students not only learned to solve problems creatively, they also learned teamwork skills, independent study, confidence and made new friends, according to OM Director Brenda Hopkins.
Teams also learned how to budget money, since there was a cost limit to each problem, or category.
Not only did they have to compete within their chosen category, teams also had to perform well in a spontaneous problem which they had to solve on the spot, proving their creativity and quick thinking.
Winners from Saturday's competition will represent Region I in the state competition in Northern Virginia in April.
Winners from the state competition will move on to the World Finals at Michigan State University in late May.
For learn more about OM, visit www.odysseyofthemind.com. |
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