Odyssey of the Mind prepares for state contest and Germany trip

Thirty-two Odyssey of the Mind teams from Spring Branch ISD placed at the recent regional Odyssey of the Mind competition and 22 of the student teams are advancing to state.

State finals will be held at Spring Woods High School on April 13. More than 2000 people are expected to attend. The all-day state competition is open to the public. Come out and support Spring Branch ISD students and the Odyssey of the Mind program.

In addition to 22 regional winners, a team from Spring Woods High School will be traveling in late April to Berlin, Germany to compete at the Odyssey EuroFest.

The Spring Woods High team that is headed to Berlin is composed of Parker Blome, Richard Young, Adam Tutt, Emily Mitchell, Odalis Garcia and Jermey Jackson. They will compete with others on the announced Problem 5, titled “It’s How You Look At It.”

Odyssey of The Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college.

Teams apply their creativity and understanding to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. Following months of practice, students compete each year on the local, state, and world level.

SBISD has had student teams in Odyssey of the Mind for many years, and teams have often advanced to state and world levels. Teams have also been recognized for other awards this year.

The Renatra Fusca Award, which is given to teams that show exceptional creativity through their problem solving, or in extraordinary idea, has been given to two high school teams this year.

Student teams from Westchester Academy for International Studies and Spring Woods High School won this award this year.

State Qualifiers:

Problem 1: Pet Project 


Division 1 (Elementary)

First Place                          
Ridgecrest-Nicholas Garcia, Sally Hernandez, Jose Herrera, Mayreli Rodriguez, Flavia Tepozotian, Jessica Rosella

Fourth Place                      
Bunkerhill-Connor Cook, Chad Ellaham, Russell Creighton, Gabriel Mercio, Bradley Creighton, Nicholas Ojeda

Fourth Place                      
Terrace-Kaiden Guillemette, Michelle Young. Emily Gomez, Alexis Castillo, Hannah Kmiecik, Christopher Hogue, Kiera Yetiv

Division 2 (Middle)

First Place
Cornerstone-Geoffrey Baring, Adair Fulweber, Michael Stewart, Bryan Dumesnil, Riley Shelby

Division 3 (High)

First Place
Spring Woods-Jeremy Jackson, Emily Mitchell, Lillian Monteiro, Miguel Angel, Paul Harman, Charles Bellow, Kyle Modlin

Problem 2: The Email Must Go Through

Division 1 (Elementary)

Fifth Place
Valley Oaks-Anna Sucec, Abigail Mohun,Ava Speros, Rachel SeditaValerie Lucio, Elena Sucec, Claire Fournier

Division 2 (Middle)

Second Place
Memorial MS-Raymond Zrike, Jacob Lewis, Andrew Teske, Sam Curry Gavin Young

Third Place
Cornerstone-Natalie Lee, Jacinda Isbell, Wesley Jones, Madeleine Wylie, Addison Barrett, Elizabeth Glover, Krista Drysdale

Division 3 (High)

First Place
Westchester-Sam Farrokhi, Gustavo Rocha, Diana Villarreal, Sara Farrokhi, Lilian Velez, Adrian Villalobos

Problem 3: ARTchitecture: The Musical 


Division 1 (Elementary)

First Place
Terrace-Caroline Sparks, Haven Harlow, Edin Garibovic,Lauren Kmiecik, Brandon Lee, Summer Strohbehn, Brandon Le

Third Place
Ridgecrest-Kenya Cruz, Leah Holewyn, Colby Nguyen, Bryan Menchaca Bryanna Salinas, Maritza Hernandez, Kaitlyn Menchaca

Division 2 (Middle)

First Place
Spring Oaks MS-Katie Dickerson, Hannah Morphey, Jay Moyle, Meg Schomburg, Amy Dickerson, Karly Anderson, Joshua Castillo

Fourth Place
Cornerstone-Rachel Williamson, Mary Mouton, Eleanore Green, Grace Barret, Kati Stubits-Gallagher, Channing Green, Kara Hildebrand

Sixth Place
Memorial-Kieran Cremins, Kendrick Foster, Nickzad Rafieha, Demetri Zacharakis, Varun Dixit, Jun-Yong Kim, Carl Wolff

Problem 4: Tumble-wood 
 


Division 1 (Elementary)

Third Place
Rummel Creek-Tetsuki Morita, Jessica Bucek, Rachel Whipple, Ethan Kwon, Paul Choi, Emily Whipple, Nicholas Pao

Division 2 (Middle)

First Place
Spring Forest-Madeline Harms, Taran Morford, Marissa Homell, Rebekah Lamaire, Alexis Hyde, James Martinson,Alex Parizot Second Place Memorial MS-Max Wolff, Josephine Lim, Jerry Han, Connie Lee, Nia Choi, Zachary Lay, Trey Gregory

Division 3 (High)

First Place
Westchester-Mia Alfonso, Mitchell Benson, Josh Diaz, Ted Bauer, Caroline Bik, Paige Williams

Second Place
Spring Woods-Richard Young, Parker Blome, Odalis Garcia, Nathan Lerner,Adam Tutt, Brenda Rivera

Problem 5: It's How You Look at It

Division 1 (Elementary)

First Place
Nottingham- Branham Banks, Ashlyn Whitefield, Kinsey Jeansonne, Dylan Schick, Samantha Banks, Alexander Thurow, Sara Duval

Division 2 (Middle)

Fourth Place
Westchester-Katelyn Coolidge, Laura Rinconc-Bianchi, Michelle Diaz, Darius Dixon, Isabella Boone, Nazlee Khadjeheian, Jordan Meza

Division 3 (High)

First Place
Spring Woods-Parker Blome, Richard Young, Adam Tutt, EmilyMitchell, Odalis Garcia, Jeremy Jackson

Renatra Fusca Award at the Regional Level: “Tumble Wood” : Westchester

1st place- Mia Alfonso, Mitchell Benson, Josh Diaz, Ted Bauer, Caroline Bik, Paige Williams “Tumble Wood”: Spring Woods

2nd place- Richard Young, Parker Blome, Odalis Garcia, Nathan Lerner, Adam Tutt, Brenda Rivera Communications Dept. student intern Kali Venable compiled this report.