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Odyssey of the Mind WORLD FINALS!!

WORLD FINALS!! WORLD?! Yes, you read that right!

Our FHPS Northern Trails Odyssey of the Mind team placed second in our Michigan OM State Finals on March 17 and is advancing to the World Finals in Iowa this May where they will compete against more than 800 teams from dozens of countries around the globe!

We are so proud of our team and our coaches who have devoted countless hours after school, in the evenings and on weekends to prepare for the competition. Our young team is comprised of seven Spanish Immersion 5th-grade students. Over the past five months (and two years as an OM team), they have gained self confidence and developed so many valuable life skills—creativity, ingenuity, cooperation, problem-solving, leadership and communication.

We are honored to represent our country, the state of Michigan and our town of Grand Rapids at this event.  Please help us get to Iowa State University for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Room and board,  tournament fees and travel costs for a team of seven kids and two coaches add up fast! 100 percent of your donations will help our team offset the costs of this trip. We are so very grateful for the support of our family and friends.  Any amount helps! Thank you!

With deepest gratitude,
Adilyn
Alex
Annika
Ella
Elena
Evelyn
Grace 
Coach Erika
Coach Elizabeth

Not familiar with Odyssey of the Mind? Here is a brief overview....

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program designed to provide creative problem-solving opportunities for students in kindergarten through college.  Teams of 5–7 kids compete at regional tournaments by presenting their solutions to long-term problems that they have worked on for several weeks or months.  They are also given a spontaneous problem that they must solve on the spot.  Long-term problems range from building mechanical devices to presenting unique interpretations of literary classics. All solutions are delivered in the form of a skit.  Teams are graded on multiple elements for both problems.  Teams with the highest scores go on to compete at the State Level and then at the World Finals.
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Donations 

  • Allison Oostendorp
    • $20 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Lauren Rutherford Befus
Organizer
Grand Rapids, MI

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