Two teams, representing 13 students, from Mountain Home Creativity Council and Mountain Home Public Schools are headed to Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. The event will be held May 24-27 on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Annette Walden, Mountain Home Creativity Council vice president and coach, says this is the first time for the third grade team to compete. The six-member team chose one of the most difficult of the five problems from which to select for the competition.
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The team qualified for the Odyssey World Finals by finishing second at both the regional and state level competition.
Members of the team are Kohler Mathews, Evan Moore, Erika Chenevey, Emma Reynolds, Jackson Stanton and Marley Rohr.
Coaches for the third grade team are Melanie and Matt Franklin and Lori Estes.
Melanie Franklin says the two teams have worked hard to qualify for the World Finals.
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Isabelle Cheney and Brayden Yates are also members of the fifth grade team.The ninth grade team did not qualify for World Finals but placed third at regional and state. Most of this team has competed since fourth grade, going to World Finals four times.
Franklin says Mountain Home Creativity Council works in conjunction with Mountain Home Public Schools to make the Odyssey of the Mind program available.
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Franklin says each team has two to three pages of requirements they must meet that are then scored.
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The teams and their coaches are also busy raising funds to cover the cost of their trip to the World Finals.
Franklin says last year 15 countries were represented at Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, along with more than 20 states.
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