GMC News
Prep Students Win Odyssey of the Mind
Georgia Military College Prep School students competed in the Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament held at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga. on Saturday March 29, 2008.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Students apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics.
More than fifty Georgia Military College Prep students tried out in the fall to represent the school and of those twenty were chosen to make up three teams, each solving a different problem.
The Eccentrics! team placed first in their division (II) by creating and presenting a humorous performance about three Eccentric Characters that demonstrated odd behavior, peculiar mannerisms, and unconventional dress. The performance included a team-created “problem” within or involving an Earth system — the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, or hydrosphere. The Eccentric Characters, which seemed to be misfits, solved the problem. As a reward, a celebration was held in their honor and thereby launching a new fad. The team’s members were Elliot Fairbrass, Drew Colwell, Katie Bershadsky, Kailey Calhoun, Hannah Brown, and Delarrion Milner.
Odyssey of the Mind Coach Emily Fairbrass said “The students worked very hard and I am so proud of them for earning first place in what is the largest of the four regional tournaments held in the state. They will go on to compete at the state level on April 19 at Columbus State University.” Fairbrass recognized Jennifer Santarone for her involvement in helping to coach the team and assist the students in choreography.
The Classics … The Wonderful Muses team placed third in their division creating and presenting an original performance that includes one of the nine Greek muses. The Muse inspired two people during the performance: (1) a historical person who made an actual positive contribution to the world, and (2) an original, team-created person who tries to make a positive contribution to the world. The Muse used the art form attributed to her during two “moments of inspiration,” when all the characters in the scene, except the Muse, “froze in time.” The team also created two original works in that art form to include in the performance. The team’s members were Tori Spivey, Sarah Poole, Blair Hall, Katie McClain, Will Applebury, and Maya Mapp.
The Tee Structure team placed fourth in their division by designing and building a structure using only balsa wood and glue. The team tested the structure by having it support weights that were balanced on golf balls
without touching anything else. The team received scores for the amount of weight the structure held during testing and bonus points for each golf ball used to support the weights. The team’s members were Rem Tolentino, Chase Colwell, Macie Lee, Meredith Riner, Kaleb Litke, Kevin Kirby, and Ben Shumate.
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.
All three teams are pictured performing their skits in front of their classmates on Friday, March 28 in order to practice for the tournament.
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