Odyssey of the Mind Volunteers (Coordinator and Coaches) Needed

8/30/2021 1:40 pm

Odyssey of the Mind (OM) is an international team-based problem-solving competition. At MPE, teams are composed of seven students: grade 2 students form teams to compete in the Primary Problem; grade 3, 4 and 5 students form mixed-grade teams to compete in one of 5 long-term problems. This year’s long-term problems are listed below. The teams work on the problem throughout the school year, writing scripts and/or songs, building structures, creating props, designing vehicles, etc. They present their 8-minute solution to the problem at the competition in the spring . Last year, MPE formed three teams and all three teams made it to the state tournament. One team participated in the Virtual World Finals.  

For MPE to form teams, we need interested students but also parent volunteers. Parent volunteers serve two roles for the Odyssey program: coaches and tournament volunteers. Each team will need two coaches and at least one tournament volunteer. The number of teams formed depends on the number of parents who are willing to be team coaches. Coaches need to be able to commit to a morning practice one day each week and 1-2 practices on weekends. Weekday practices are usually 1 hour in length and take place at the school. Weekend practices vary in length: they usually start at an hour or two once on the weekend but they do extend and become more frequent as the tournament approaches. The weekend practices are held at a coach or parent’s house. Coaching is a great way to help kids learn valuable skills and to connect with them in a new and exciting program. Coaching also guarantees that your child is placed on a team. 

Here are 5 reasons MPE students love Odyssey of the Mind:

1. A chance to exercise their creativity. Building props, creating costumes, constructing vehicles. There is no shortage of opportunities for your child to show off their creative side.
2. Make new friends, spend time with old friends. Working together on the long-term problem provides the students time to get to know their teammates. Some teams work so well together, they choose to compete again as a team in following years.
3. Fun and exciting tournaments.
4. Creating, writing and performing a skit. The students work hard from scratch to create an 8-minute skit – dialogue, plot, drama, musical numbers – they do it all themselves.
5. Learning new skills. Teams work together on their long-term problem as well as on spontaneous problems that require quick and creative critical thinking.

Odyssey of the Mind is a memorable and educational experience for your children. MPE PTA partially funds the registration fees but we can’t form teams without parents volunteering their time.

Eric Hall, our OM coordinator, will hold virtual information sessions on Tues. Sept. 7 (6:30-7:30 p.m.) and on Mon. Sept. 13 (7:00-8:00 p.m.). Email Eric at mpeom@millsparkpta.com to get the meeting link.

Registration will open on September 10 and close on September 24.