Friendship Elementary School took home the first place ribbon in Odyssey of the Mind’s North Georgia regional tournament for division one in the category of ‘Where’s the Structure?’ last weekend.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international program for students from kindergarten through college that encourages creative problem-solving and teamwork.
Hosted at Cherokee Bluff High School, the tournament allowed students from elementary through highschool from all over the region to compete in various categories centered around creative problem solving.
At the beginning of the season, teams made up of seven students from each school are given a list of problems to pick from. Over the course of the school year, the team develops a skit that solves or addresses the problem to perform in front of a panel of judges.
The team consisted of third and fourth graders that attended Friendship Elementary and was coached by Heather Andrew, and Nate Scharmer.
The ‘Where’s the Structure?’ category tasked teams with designing and building a structure made of only balsa wood and glue that balances and holds as much weight as possible, while also reciting a poem about searching for something special.
Friendship’s structure weighed 18 grams, but held up to 250 pounds. Everything used in the skit from the structure to the student’s costumes were designed by the kids on the team.
The team will move on to compete at the state level in Columbus, Georgia along with Hall County schools The Academies of Discovery at South Hall Middle School and Flowery Branch High School.
“At Friendship, we believe that our primary responsibility is to teach students to love learning –” Abigail Celli, Principal at Friendship Elementary School, said.” I don’t know any better way to develop a love for learning than to inspire children to design and create amazing projects, using their brains, their hands, and the collective vision of their team.”
