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© St. Petersburg Times, published February 24, 2002
Alyson Walker and her seventh-grade friends shaved hours off soccer and softball practices and extended their homework hours to prepare for Odyssey of the Mind, the tournament for young problem-solvers.
The first-place finishes Feb. 16 for Alyson and her Shorecrest Preparatory pals and for students from several Pinellas schools represented a climax months in the making.
Each elementary, middle and high school team that entered the regional competition chose a problem from one of several categories at the beginning of the school year. They figured out a solution and spent months writing scripts, constructing props and memorizing dialogue for an 8-minute presentation.
In a category called "Chameleon," the Shorecrest middle-schoolers had to create and drive a vehicle that changed its appearance.
"They had to build a vehicle that would travel with a driver and a passenger 15 feet into three different environments," said Delores Walker, the team's coach and Alyson's mother. "The passenger and vehicle had to blend into the background so the judges couldn't see them. Then they had to tell some type of story to tie it all together."
The winning Shorecrest seventh-graders and a team of fifth-graders each qualified for the state competition, in April at the University of Central Florida. Perkins Elementary, Palm Harbor Middle School and Palm Harbor University High School also will send teams.
The end of the rainbow is an international tournament in May in Boulder, Colo.
Odyssey of the Mind is the brainchild of a New Jersey college professor who wanted to challenge his engineering students. The series of quirky, open-ended problems encourages teamwork and creative thinking.
Described as an "academic Olympics," Odyssey came to Florida schools about 20 years ago and has been gaining momentum ever since, said Freda Abercrombie, director for the regional event that attracted 67 teams representing five Pinellas and 25 Pasco schools.
"There is so much that students get out of this. You can see the confidence that a child gains after solving an Odyssey of the Mind problem," she said. "There's nothing FCAT can throw at a child that even comes close."
The biggest challenge, Alyson said, was remembering to work as a team.
"You have to talk it over and that takes a lot of time," she said. "You have to make compromises."
Julie Posada, 14, who was a member of Palm Harbor Middle School's eighth-grade group, agreed that "it can't be all from yourself. It has to be a group effort."
Julie's team members chose the "Center Stage" problem, which required them to adapt a piece of classical literature. They updated Pandora's Box, creating their own costumes and props. They wrote music and choreographed a dance number, ending with what coach Michelle Olson likened to a Broadway musical.
A teacher of gifted students at Palm Harbor Middle School for 14 years, Olson said Odyssey is the best program for kids she has seen.
"It helps children with their creativity and their problem-solving," she said. "Being involved in Odyssey of the Mind requires a lot of their time but they don't seem to mind. It's such a rewarding program and they have so much fun doing it that they make time in their schedules."
Olson is proud of her charges winning a first place, but she said the beauty of Odyssey is seeing a difficult problem through, not in winning a competition.
Julie agreed: "Even if you don't place for state, it's a learning experience. You learn how to cooperate and to be responsible and to just think creatively and challenge yourself. I would love to go to (international) but I'm quite satisfied to be where we're at. If we win or lose, I'll still feel like a winner."
Four Pinellas County schools will send teams to the state Odyssey of the Mind tournament April 13 at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Here are some of the students who will represent their schools.
PERKINS ELEMENTARY: Christian Verhulst, Sam French, Janet Lorenz, Elizabeth Fyvolent, Christina Meehan, Zach Jones and Amelia Johns.
SHORECREST PREPARATORY: Fifth grade: Amanda Eatman, Jessica Meana, Whitney Wiley, Annagrace Shelton, Lucas Dowling and Madeline Walker. Seventh grade: Kaitlyn Benchimol, Kim Levitt, Alyson Walker, Kim Messier, Jeff Hooi, Josh Gordon and Taylor Hoel.
PALM HARBOR MIDDLE SCHOOL: Julie Posada, Steven Reilly, Michael Girardi, Pilar Valentino and Caitlin Pearse.
PALM HARBOR UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL: Names unavailable.