Ten student teams from the North Penn School District (NPSD) recently competed in the Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind (OM) State Competition and three teams will advance to the World Finals Competition at Michigan State University.
The schools represented by the teams that competed at the state competition include Gwynedd Square, Inglewood and North Wales elementary schools; Pennbrook and Penndale middle schools; and North Penn High School (NPHS). This was the second round of the OM annual competition. Teams that placed in the top two in this tournament will advance to Worlds.
All of NPSD 's teams gave exceptional performances at the regional competition, proudly representing the district and their schools. Of the 10 NPSD teams that competed, three teams advanced to the World Finals Competition to be held in early May at Michigan State University. These teams represent Pennbrook Middle School and NPHS.
A Pennbrook Middle School team placed second in the Vehicle Problem and earned a highly coveted Ranatra Fusca Award for the creativity of their design which involved assembling and disassembling their team-built vehicle multiple times during an eight-minute performance.
One NPHS team placed first in the Technical Problem, creating a mechanical creature that performed specific tasks and changed appearance to blend in to its environment. This team included one team member from Penndale.
Another NPHS team placed first in the Classics Problem, a performance which included recreations of Leonardo Da Vinci's artwork and an "original creation" that Da Vinci invented but discarded.
OM is a creative problem-solving program. Teams of seven students select a problem, create a solution and present their solution in a regional tournament. Teams that place in the regional competition advance to States and those who place at States advance to World Finals. At this ultimate competition, over 800 teams from across the United States and around the globe compete to be crowned World Champions. 20 teams will be awarded this honor.
NPSD would like to congratulate all of the students who competed at the Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind State Competition and wish those who are advancing to the World Finals Competition the best of luck.
Click here for more information about Odyssey of the Mind at North Penn.
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