GMC News
Odyssey of the Mind Teams Advance to State
Seventeen Georgia Military College Prep School students competed in the Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament held on March 14th in Gainesville, Ga.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Teams of students apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. Each team had to solve a problem and present their solution to the problem in the form of an 8 minute skit.
For the past three years, GMC has sent three teams to the regional competition and last year, one GMC team made it to the state competition. This year all three GMC teams are advancing to compete at the state competition on April 4th at Columbus State University.
The Superstition team placed first in their division (II) by creating and presenting a performance that included two documented superstitions, an original superstition created by the team, and the events that caused the original superstition to come to be. The performance also included a funny narrator, a costume worn by two or more team members at the same time, and a stage set. During the performance the same stage set items were used to change from one setting to another. The team’s members are, Kailey Calhoun (7th grade), Chad Freeman (7th grade), Jamarcus Jarrett (7th grade), Maya Mapp (7th grade), Delarrion Milner (7th grade), and Kendra Wilson (6th grade).
The Earth Trek team placed second in their division (II) by designing and building a small vehicle that visited four locations. The locations were different places within one or more team-determined environments. Each time the vehicle left a location it was to look different in appearance, and after leaving one of the locations it was to appear to be a group of vehicles that were traveling together. The team’s performance incorporated the visits to the locations, the environments, and the changes in appearance of the vehicle. The team’s members are, Katie Bershadsky (7th grade), Elliot Fairbrass (8th grade), Liam Fairbrass (6th grade), Sarah Poole (8th grade), Colby Smith (8th grade), and Tori Spivey (8th grade).
The Lost Labor of Heracles team placed second in their division (II) by creating and presenting an original performance about the ancient Greek hero, Heracles. In Greek Mythology, King Eurytheus ordered Heracles to perform 12 labors. The team reenacted Heracles performing one of the 12 labors, as well as a Lost Labor – a team-created thirteenth labor forgotten in history. The performance also included a god or goddess from Greek Mythology, an original mythological creature that played a role in the Lost Labor, and the team’s version of why the Lost Labor was forgotten in history. The team’s members are, Will Applebury (7th grade), Austin Hamilton (8th), Chrissyl Jadol (6th grade), Julia Rice (7th grade), and Alex White (6th grade).
Odyssey of the Mind Coach Emily Fairbrass said “The students worked very hard and I am so proud of all of them for earning the chance to participate in the state competition.” Fairbrass recognized those students who have participated in OOTM all three years: Elliot Fairbrass, Sarah Poole, and Tori Spivey.
According to the website, www.georgiaodyssey.org, students work in teams to learn cooperation and respect for the ideas of others. They evaluate ideas and make decisions on their own, gaining self- confidence and increased self-esteem along the way. They work within a budget to learn to manage money. They see that there’s often more than one way to solve a problem and that sometimes the process in more important than the end result.
