Odyssey of the Mind to send two teams to states

students wearing medals and sitting on steps in a school — *PWHS team with Ry Bass, Jackson De Guzman, Natalie Dyck, Ellen Fang, Miles Hormell, Isaac Nolt, Thomas Warshaw*

Two teams from Plymouth Whitemarsh High School recently returned from the regional Odyssey of the Mind competition with first place medals and spots in the state competition.

“I’m excited to see all of the different and creative ways teams from across the state solved our same problem,” said PWHS junior Jackson De Guzman. “Pennsylvania is an Odyssey powerhouse, and the performances you get to see at states are always incredible.”

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving competition where teams of up to seven students present their solution to a predefined long-term problem through an original skit. This solution takes many months to prepare and involves writing, design, construction, and a theatrical performance. There is also a separate spontaneous component of the competition where the team is given a different problem and has to generate solutions on the spot.

seven students with large cardboard set pieces — *The Colonial Middle School team with the set pieces for their skit.*

“One of my favorite parts of OM is that you can solve a problem in a million ways,” said Colonial Middle School eighth grader Rosa Warshaw. “When you go to a competition, you will never see a skit that is the same, and all are a product of hard work and many hours of dedication."

This year, Colonial School District sent three teams to the regional competition. The team from Colonial Middle School and one of the high school teams competed in "Rocking World Detour", with PWHS placing first and CMS placing third in their divisions. The other PWHS team competed and placed first in "Opening Night Antics".

“After being a part of the program for so long, seeing my team’s solutions grow from year to year is the most rewarding part of the experience,” said PWHS junior Ry Bass. “It is going to be an inspiring experience to see the creativity of other schools across the state, as well as to improve upon our own creative and technical skills in hopes of advancing.”

The state competition will be held April 6 and hosted by the Pocono Mountain School District.