GMC News
Prep Students Advance to State Odyssey of the Mind Tournament
Two Georgia Military College Prep School Odyssey of the Mind teams competed in the Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament held on February 20th in Savannah, Ga. Both teams scored well enough to advance to the state competition which will be held on April 10 at Columbus State University. Team members Elliot Fairbrass, Eleni Constantinidis, Sarah Poole, Jostin Grimes, and Alex Levendis earned first place in Division III for their interpretation of “Return to the Gift of Flight” (Problem 2). Team members Delarrion Milner, Kailey Calhoun, Jamarcus Jarrett, Maya Mapp, Taylore Brooks, Heather LeBrun, and Calli McMullen earned third place with their interpretation of “Food Court” (Problem 5). GMC Prep will have two additional teams competing on March 13th at the Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament in Flowery Branch. GMC Prep has been competing in Odyssey of the Mind competitions for the past four years. In 2009, one of GMC’s teams advanced to the state competition, earning first place and an invitation to the world finals at Iowa State University where they placed 6th in their division. Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Teams of students apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. Each team had to solve a problem and present their solution to the problem in the form of an 8 minute skit. According to the website, www.georgiaodyssey.org, students work in teams to learn cooperation and respect for the ideas of others. They evaluate ideas and make decisions on their own, gaining self- confidence and increased self-esteem along the way. They work within a budget to learn to manage money. They see that there’s often more than one way to solve a problem and that sometimes the process in more important than the end result. The “Return to the Gift of Flight” team is pictured left to right, Alex Levendis, Sarah Poole, Eleni Constantinidis, Jostin Grimes and Elliot Fairbrass. The “Food Court” team is pictured left to right, (front) Heather LeBrun, Taylore Brooks and Calli McMullen; (back) Delarrion Milner, Kailey Calhoun, Jamarcus Jarrett, and Maya Mapp.
