Vermont Odyssey Of the Mind

Coaches’ Training is a great opportunity for new coaches to learn more about the Odyssey of the Mind program and some of the finer points of coaching a team.  Each element — long-term, style, and spontaneous will be addressed.  Veteran coaches are encouraged to attend as well.  Your input and experience are valuable contributions to help new coaches build confidence and understanding of all that goes into coaching.

The Northern Coaches’ Training will be held at Essex Middle School, 60 Founders Road, Essex Junction, VT.(Note:  This is a new location from previous years.)

The Southern Coaches Training will be held at Mill River Union High School, 2321 Middle Road, North Clarendon.

Both sessions will be Saturday, November 4, 2017 from 9:00 AM – Noon.

Registration is not necessary, but please email Kathy Jacob at vtootm@accessvt.com your intentions to attend.

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving program that is geared towards stimulating creative (out-of-the-box) thinking and developing team-work skills in young people. By challenging them with interesting, fun, and open-ended problems, they build solutions that meet the criteria, but break the mold of the “normal” everyday answer, while learning valuable life-long skills.

This is our 39th year of offering the Odyssey of the Mind program to Vermont students. Schools, community organizations, and home school groups are encouraged to check us out! We look forward to meeting you and your team at our events this year.

We say goodbye to some of our long-time volunteers and welcome some new ones.  Megen Perkins, Board Member and Problem 3 Problem Captain, has begun the next chapter of her life in New York, where she has already contacted the NY Association to get involved.  Taking on both roles of Board Member and PC is Heather Truax, a long time Odyssey volunteer.  Our Primary Problem Captain and Board Member, Leslie Sem, is devoting her time to other volunteer opportunities and is replaced by Ashley Truax, who will also be our Awards Coordinator.  And rounding out our new Board members are Bobby Wong, Head Judge for Problem 4, and Rachel Preston, who made it possible for us relocate our trainings to Essex Middle School this year. (Veteran teams take note:  New location for the workshops, training, and scrimmages.)

Check out this year’s problems:

https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/p/2018-long-term-problem-synopsis/

You can register your school’s membership right now:

https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/p/join/

Once again we will be offering workshops to develop skills in spontaneous problem solving and polishing performances.  New this year will be our Outreach Training for balsa structures.  Contact the Problem Captain, Leslie Griffiths, for more details.  Check out our Events Calendar for the date of these events and our other trainings for coaches and judges, as well as the Spontaneous Scrimmages for teams.

Our State Tournament will be held at Champlain Valley Union High School, March 17, 2018.

First place, second place, and Ranatra Fusca winners are eligible to compete at World Finals held at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, May 23 -26, 2018.  We encourage all teams to mark their calendars and make plans now to meet us in Iowa!

Best Wishes for a wonderful, creative year of problem-solving!

Kathy Jacob, Association Director

Vermont Odyssey of the Mind has celebrated another year of creativity with the successful completion of their 38th Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament.  The scores may be found here:

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/competitions/2017/15111_scores_menu.html

Congratulations to all the World Final teams!  We will see you at Michigan State University in East Lansing, May 24 – 27.

The 2017 Vermont Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament will be held March 18, 2017 at Champlain Valley High School in Hinesburg, VT.  Competition begins at 8:00 AM and runs throughout the day.  The Awards Ceremony will begin at approximately 4:30 PM and ends at about 6:00 PM.

Students from all over the state have been working hard for months on their solutions to the long term problem they have chosen and are sharpening their spontaneous skills.

Friends, family, and everyone else are encouraged to come watch some fabulous performances!!!

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS DUE MARCH 11, 2017.  High school seniors and college freshman who have been involved in Odyssey of the Mind are encouraged to apply for a $500 Odyssey of the Mind Scholarship to be awarded during the Awards Ceremony on March 18.  Application forms can be found by going to Registration/Forms on the tool bar.

• School name and membership number
• Team member names and grades
• Coach name and contact information
• Any scheduling conflicts (i.e. a coach with multiple teams, or team members on multiple teams, etc)
• Other issues (allergies, disabilities, etc.)
• Judge name and contact information  (Every team must supply a judge who will come to a judges’ training on March 4, 9:00 – 12:30 and then for the entire day of the tournament on March 18.  Either you or the judge must fill out the Judge Registration form.  In lieu of providing a judge, teams may pay a $50 Judge Waiver fee.  We much prefer the judge as it takes many bodies to run the tournament!)

Vermont Odyssey of the Mind will be hosting two Spontaneous Scrimmages.  Teams will have an opportunity to participate in a mock spontaneous challenge and receive feedback on their performance.  Teams will be presented with each of the three types of spontaneous problems, verbal, hands-on, and verbal/hands-on.  The scrimmage will last one hour.  Registration is required and space is limited.

There are four sessions to choose from:

Northern Spontaneous Scrimmage:  Session 1, Jan. 7, 2017

9:00 – 10:00, Mater Christi School, 50 Mansfield Ave., Burlington

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/reg/registration_step.php?g=ootm&s=reg&c=15098

Northern Spontaneous Scrimmage:  Session 2, Jan. 7, 2017

11:00 – 12:00, Mater Christi School, 50 Mansfield Ave., Burlington

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/reg/registration_step.php?g=ootm&s=reg&c=15099

Southern Spontaneous Scrimmage: Session 1, Jan.21, 2017

1:00 – 2:00, Mill River Union High School, 2321 Middle Road, North Clarendon

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/reg/registration_step.php?g=ootm&s=reg&c=15108

Southern Spontaneous Scrimmage: Session 2, Jan.21, 2017

1:00 – 2:00, Mill River Union High School, 2321 Middle Road, North Clarendon

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/reg/registration_step.php?g=ootm&s=reg&c=15109

Also, Coaches are invited to meet with their Problem Captains from 10:00 – 10:45, January 7, 2017, Mater Christi School.  This is your chance to ask any questions you may have about your problem prior to the tournament.  No registration is necessary.

All coaches — whether new, veteran, or just thinking about it — for Odyssey of the Mind are strongly encouraged to attend one of two possible training sessions for this year’s Odyssey of the Mind program.  It is helpful to hear, or hear again, the foundation of what makes OM the quality creative problem-solving program for which it is known.  Learn what coaches can do, and more importantly, what they cannot do.  Meet and share with a support group of other coaches who have “been there, done that”.

Attend either one of the two training sessions.  Registration is not necessary, but a note sent by email is appreciated (vtootm@accessvt.com).

* October 8, 2016, Mater Christi School, 50 Mansfield Ave., Burlington, 9:00 AM to noon

*  November 5, 2016, Mill River Union High School, 2321 Middle Road, North Clarendon, 9:00 AM to noon

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving program that is geared towards stimulating creative (out-of-the-box) thinking and developing team-work skills in young people. By challenging them with interesting, fun, and open-ended problems, they build solutions that meet the criteria, but break the mold of the “normal” everyday answer, while learning valuable life-long skills.

This is our 38th year of offering the Odyssey of the Mind program to Vermont students. Schools, community organizations, and home school groups are encouraged to check us out! We look forward to meeting you and your team at our events this year.

Check out this year’s problems:

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/materials/2017problems.php

You can register your school’s membership right now at:

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/registration/default.php

Returning this year will be a workshop to develop skills in spontaneous problem solving and polishing performances.  Check out our Events Calendar for the date of this event and our other trainings for coaches and judges, as well as the Spontaneous Scrimmages for teams.

Our State Tournament will be held at Champlain Valley Union High School, March 18, 2017.

First place, second place, and Ranatra Fusca winners are eligible to compete at World Finals held at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, May 24 -27, 2017.  We encourage all teams to mark their calendars and make plans now to meet us in Michigan!

Best Wishes for a wonderful, creative year of problem-solving!

Kathy Jacob, Association Director

Congratulations to our Vermont Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament Competitors for an excellent performance demonstrating creative thinking, problem solving, and teamwork.

Tournament results can be found here:

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/competitions/2016/14017_scores_menu.html