Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/124273
Sarasota News Leader April 26, 2013 Page 59 COUNTY TEAMS HEADING TO ODYSSEY OF THE MIND WORLD FINALS Teams from three Sarasota County public elementary schools — Brentwood, Lakeview and Tatum Ridge — will participate in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals May 22-25 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, the school district has announced. op solutions to one of six long-term problems over several months, while practicing for a spontaneous problem that is presented at the competition." The teams successfully competed in the Odyssey of the Mind Sun Region competition held in Fort Myers in March and came in first in their division/problem at the State Finals in Orlando on April 6, a news release notes. Teams, problems and competitions are organized into five divisions by age groups, the release points out. In 2011 a team from Brentwood placed first in the World Finals in Extreme Mousemobiles, Division I, in which mousetrap-powered vehicles traveled through an obstacle course. Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving program for students in grades K-12 and college, the release adds. "The goal is to learn creative problem solving, teamwork, brainstorming, self-reliance and respect for the individual strengths of team members," it adds. "Teams of five to seven students devel- The Lakeview team qualified for World Finals by placing first in the State Finals in It's How You Look at It, Division I. The team created and presented an original humorous performance that included two characters whose actions seemed "normal" to them, but odd to those around them, the release says. "The per- Tatum Ridge Elementary Odyssey of the Mind team members are (from left) Michael Moloney, Amber Baylis, Lena Khader, Samantha Pulawski, Cassidy Park and Velouria Gaertner. Contributed photo