Supported annually by the Oak Park Education Foundation, Odyssey of the Mind is the world’s largest creative problem solving competition in the world. It was introduced to OPUSD five years ago. In our inaugural year, we had five teams participating. This year, 19 teams from five of the Oak Park schools are participating! The consistent growth each year speaks to the level of engagement and success of the program at all school levels. Every year, multiple Oak Park teams have placed at Regionals to advance to the State competition. Last year, the OPHS team made it to compete in the World tournament! The success of student participants supports the reputation of OPUSD as a district of excellence.
On Wednesday, January 30, 16 of the 19 registered Odyssey of the Mind teams participated in one of OPUSD’s “Spont Days” at Medea Creek Middle School. Spontaneous problems are a core component of the Odyssey of the Mind program. In addition to the Long Term problems, Spontaneous problems give teams the opportunity to develop on-the-spot creative (and often humorous) solutions to verbal and/or hands-on prompts. On Saturday, March 2nd, the Odyssey of the Mind regional tournament is taking place at Westlake High School, and 117 of our OPUSD students will be competing to move on to State!
The word continues to spread as OPUSD students K-12 engage in hands-on, project-based learning through five different “problems” — mechanical/vehicle, building/structure, technical performance, classics, theatrical. Odyssey of the Mind is one of the exceptional STEAM programs funded by OPEF.
Every year since the Odyssey of the Mind program came into OPUSD, teams have scored highly and competed at the State level. Last year, a team from OPHS made it all the way to the World Tournament competing against teams from Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
For more information about the Odyssey program in OPUSD, please email parent volunteer reps at ootmopef@gmail.com. For more information about the Odyssey of the Mind program, please visit the national website: www.odysseyofthemind.com
FUNDING OUR FUTURE
“Education is the principal agent for change for the next generations to shape a better future. An educated society will make good decisions and do the most to change income inequality. An investment in the Oak Park Education Foundation offers more than ten times the output in results. In fact, it is priceless!”
Advait Shinde, Technology Entrepreneur, Oak Park High Graduate