 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
Voorheesville Odyssey of the Mind teams headed to state tournament
The 12 students make up two different teams, each of which put its creative-thinking and team-building skills to work at the regional tournament held March 1 at Monohasen High School. One Voorheesville team presented a humorous, original theory of what caused dinosaurs to go extinct, while the second team staged a performance that included Greek muses as characters. The performances were evaluated in several categories, one of which was style. The Voorheesville team that staged the Greek muse skit received a perfect score in this category. Voorheesville students have a long history of success in the Odyssey competition, and the program attracts dozens of students each year. This year, more than 60 students joined to form nine teams, and all of them performed well a the regional competition, said Diana Straut, co-director of Voorheesville's Odyssey of the Mind program. "The students worked tirelessly for months to develop solutions to their problems, and it really showed," Straut said. (See team rosters below) (photo gallery)
"It think it's a real testament to the district, the parents and especially the students," she said. The winning teams now head to the state tournament, which will be held Saturday, March 29 at Binghamton University, where the winners of the 16 regions throughout the state will showcase their solutions in hopes of advancing to world finals. Odyssey of the Mind is an international, problem-solving competition for students in kindergarten through college. Students use creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and world level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program.
Team: Wonderful Muses (Advancing to state competition) |
Twelve Voorheesville students are headed to
the New York State Odyssey of the Mind competition after victories
in the regional tournament. 
Many schools that often
perform well in the competition have enrichment teachers who are
paid to run the Odyssey program for the district, and the program is
sometimes part of those districts' curricula, Straut said. That's not the case in
Voorheesville, where all of the coaches are volunteers and students
do the work on their own time. Given that scenario, Voorheesville
can be proud of its results, she said.