Two teams of Grade 7 boys from Sacred Heart School are heading to Iowa later this month to compete in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.
Odyssey of the Mind is an educational program that challenges students to be creative in how they approach problem solving. Teams are given a problem and a guideline but no direction as to how the challenge should be completed.
Kim Tjoe, a coach of one of the teams, says the competition is a unique opportunity for students.
“Nowhere else in their education do they get the chance to drive the bus. They have to figure out how they’re going to do it.”
Students Jordan Nykoluk, Ishmael Cordero, Justin Newfield, Carson Lee, Joshua Cho, Peter Lauinger, Ryan Tjoe, Aaron Coschizza, Michael Lowndes, Ben Christian and Karl Lacasse will be attending the competition, which takes place May 25 to 28 at Iowa State University in Ames.
Over 800 teams from 14 countries will compete in the 37th Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, which has grown into the largest international creative problem-solving competition.
The two Sacred Heart teams qualified by winning gold medals at a provincial competition last month.
Students have begun fundraising to help cover the cost of the trip, which is estimated at $19,000. So far, two companies have stepped up to support the group, including Agnes Douglas of Odlum Brown Limited and Dueck Richmond, which is running a charity test drive event.
