(above) A team of Edison and Roosevelt Intermediate School students placed 1st in a mechanical problem solving category at the regional Odyssey of the Mind competition in March. (Clockwise from left): Avery Keith (Grade 8, Edison), Nathan Reynders (Grade 8, Edison), Ted Crall (Grade 7, Roosevelt), Nolan Daly (Grade 8, Edison), Ethan Delforte (Grade 8, Edison), and Lucas Gunzberg (Grade 8, Edison).
Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament
Submitted by Mary Ann McGann
Five Westfield student teams demonstrated creativity, ingenuity, and presentation skills in specific problem-solving categories at the Gateway Regional Odyssey of the Mind Tournament, held on March 7 in Sayreville, NJ, with three teams placing first, second, and third in various categories.
A team comprised of students from Edison and Roosevelt Intermediate Schools placed 1st in the “Mechanical Problem,” building a networking device capable of transmitting an image, email and text message between three different network segments. The team also was required to include a pop up advertisement, a malware character to “infect” the network and an anti-virus hero to rescue the network. The Franklin Elementary School team, new to the tournament this year, placed 2nd in the “Balsa Wood Problem,” building an adjustable balsa wood structure that could sustain a maximum weight without breaking. These two teams were eligible to advance to the state Odyssey of the Mind competition, which has been cancelled due to COVID-19.
A team from Tamaques Elementary School placed 3rd in the “Classics” category and two primary teams from Tamaques and McKinley Schools participated in the competition as well. Primary teams are not given awards but gain valuable collaborative, problem-solving, and presenting skills.
“I am so proud of all our teams this year. It was so inspiring to see them collaborating together, solving problems and channeling their creativity to generate such original skits, scripts and props,” says Donna Kenney, volunteer coordinator of the Westfield Odyssey of the Mind. “I would also like to acknowledge and thank all the parent coaches and volunteers who generously gave their time and energy.”
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program for students from kindergarten through college. According to njbrotm.org, “team members apply their ingenuity and creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics,” bringing their solutions to regional, state and world competitions.
(above, l-r) Franklin Elementary School students Devan Regas (Grade 5), Takato Kaneda (Grade 3), Siya Singla (Grade 3), Luca Giaccobe (Grade 3), Alex Giangone (Grade 5), Lexie Twilley (Grade 3), and Ben Britain (Grade 5), pictured here with coach Andrea Giangone, placed 2nd in the regional Odyssey of the Mind competition in March.
The Gateway Regional Competition results are as follows
Edison/Roosevelt Intermediate School Team — 1st Place in the Mechanical Problem
Ted Crall (RIS)
Nolan Daly (EIS)
Ethan Delforte (EIS)
Lucas Gunzberg (EIS)
Avery Keith (EIS)
Nate Reynders (EIS)
Coaches Aaron Keith and Donna Kenney
Franklin Elementary School Team — 2nd Place in the Balsa Wood Problem
Ben Britain
Luca Giacobbe
Alex Giangone
Takato Kaneda
Devan Regas
Siya Singla
Lexie Twilley
Coach Andrea Giangone
Tamaques Elementary School – 3rd Place Classics Team
Siddhant Nair
Malcolm Schaefer
Etta Schaefer
Sadie Soriero
Bridget Whitlock (Jefferson Schoo)
Karim Yamout
Coaches Lee Schaefer and Mary Wickens
Tamaques Primary Team
Cayenne Biggers
Anya Desai
Laura Kosjek
Veda Sapru
Sophie Schackert
Vani Srivastav
Leah Wood
Coach Sushmita Srivastav
McKinley Primary Team
Charlotte Kelly
Jackson Lane
Raza Nasser
Zain Nasser
Lila Spadaro
Bradley Swenson
Zachary Swenson
Coaches Mohamed Nasser and Thao Tran-Nasser
For more information, visit the New Jersey Odyssey of the Mind website at njootm.org or email donnakenneyny@gmail.com.
Photos by Westfield Odyssey of the Mind
