Masterman HSA

On April 1, our two Masterman teams placed 2nd in the Pennsylvania statewide Odyssey of the Mind competition and May 24-27 we will travel to Michigan State University to compete with teams from around the country and around the world - but we need YOUR help to get there! 

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving competition, with both a long-term component (technical requirements worked into a theatrical performance) and a spontaneous component, in which we solve problems on the spot.  We have been working since September, about 6-8 hours each week, to prepare.  Our older students even won a coveted creativity award - the "Ranatra Fusca" - for their interpretation of the inner workings of the teenage human body as the theme of their performance.  Our younger students used a ghost theme (think everything from Harry Potter's Nearly Headless Nick to the Ghost of Christmas Present and the PacMan ghost) and created an electromagnetic car as part of their solution.

In addition to the $615/person tournament registration and lodging fees (we will stay on the MSU campus), we expect to spend about $3,500 on equiment/outfitting, and about $5,000 on travel (by bus or plane).

Please give whatever you can - no amount is too small - and MANY THANKS for your support!  (All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permissible under the law, Masterman Home and School is an exempt organization as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; EIN 45-3512607.)

With deepest gratitude,
Abiona
Amelia
Ariel
Azalea
Drew
Emma
Havana
Michael
Lachlan
Julia
Rory
Sam
Sidney
Willem
and
Coaches Brett, Chris H., and Chris P.

(ps - we would love to show you video of our performances, but we are asked to keep them under wraps until after the world competition for confidentiality reasons...)

The Philadelphia School District has cut so much money from our budget that we don't even have enough money for necessities, let alone play equiptment.

    We need new basketballs, two new ping-pong tables, new ping-pong paddles, new ping-pong balls and a new fooseball table. Our ping-pong table is falling apart, and our fooseball table is missing players and handles.
   
    We have contacted companies directly for donations and would be grateful if any of you have contacts that you could either forward to us or share this site with them. 
   
    We are asking you to give anything you can to help our school. At Masterman, students work really hard.  There is a lot of stress and we need our 20 minutes of relaxation time during recess. In our current situation, there is nothing for us to do, especially in the cold months. 
   
    This equipment will benefit all 1,200 students whether they are in middle-school or high-school.

      The equipment we want to buy is not the cheapest available, instead we chose items we believe will last for a while and will stand up to daily use by a lot of kids. 
   
    Thank you for your generosity and remember that all work and no play isn't good for anyone.