For the second year in a row, all three Wise School teams advanced to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, and for the second year in a row, all three came home with top-20 finishes.
This past weekend, on the East Lansing, Mich. campus of Michigan State University, the Wise School third grade team earned an 11th-place overall finish, while both the fourth and fifth grade teams took home third-place trophies. The finish was unprecedented in Wise School history.
“I am so proud of our outstanding kids, their supportive parents, and our dedicated coaching team,” said coach Jason Meth. “A special thanks to Ms. Cohen, Ms. Mitzman, Mrs. Stepakoff, and the Wise School administration, for all their support and hard work, without which, none of this would be possible.”
Each of Wise School’s teams competed against 65-75 teams in their respective problem and division. The awards ceremony was attended by thousands of participants, officials, and supporters, including the many international teams that returned this year, making this tournament as competitive as ever. The Wildcats beat out teams from across the United States, as well as Switzerland, Korea, Hong Kong, Mexico, and Poland in the three-day competition between hundreds of teams from across the globe.
Last year was the first time Wise School sent all three teams to the World Finals, where they placed second (fourth grade), seventh (third grade), and 17th (fifth grade). This year was the first in which two Wildcats teams brought home top-three trophies.
In Odyssey, teams of seven students select a problem, accompanied by a lengthy list of criteria, and develop creative solutions to the problem.
The “solution” culminates in a one-of-a-kind performance that showcases not just an answer, but student creativity, teamwork, problem solving skills, artistic abilities, engineering aptitude, costuming preferences, and acting talents.
Similar to the regional and state competitions, teams presented the most refined version of a long-term solution to a problem they had worked on for the past nine months. They were also given a spontaneous challenge which tested their impromptu problem solving. Both elements combined for their overall score.
The third grade team worked on the “Most Dramatic” problem, based on Aesop’s fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” Teams were tasked with creating an original humorous performance about a dramatic character that overreacts to three common events. Each reaction was to showcase different dramatic style and one of the reactions would be justified. The teams also had to create a costume that represents two different characters and something tangible that grows in the performance.
The fourth grade team worked on the “Walls of Troy” problem, in which teams used creativity to overcome obstacles. This particular problem tasked the Wildcats with creating an original performance depicting characters that use a team-created Trojan horse to get past a wall. Their performance had to include a character from the Iliad, a Greek Chorus, and a living statue.
Wise’s fifth grade team tackled the “Pirates and the Treasure” problem. Their task: Create an original performance about a group of pirate characters that reclaim stolen treasure and return it to the pirate queen, Grace O’Malley. The team had to design and build a ride-on vehicle that was presented as a pirate ship, which could take a captain and one additional rider, who would maneuver the ship and perform different sailing functions, finally battling a sea monster.
The Wildcats observed world class performances, attended a creativity festival, and traded commemorative pins with students from around the country and the world. In true Wise fashion, one of the highlights of the trip was a wonderful dinner where parents, coaches, and participants all came together for Kabbalat Shabbat.