Washingtonville High School Odyssey of the Mind Team
Attended World Competition
WASHINGTONVILLE – On May 22, the Washingtonville High School (WHS) Odyssey of the Mind team represented the District at the World Finals competition at Michigan State University after placing second at the State competition in March. Students from kindergarten through college throughout the world participate on 1,000s of teams.
The WHS team competed in the Structure Toss, which consisted of students strategizing risk, “tossing” their structures, performing their tasks to a skit, and more. At the world competition, the WHS balsa wood structure held 790 pounds, which was 250 pounds more than their groundbreaking record at the State competition. The skit consisted of a student stuck in an abandoned carnival that came to life, which forced another student to come to her rescue. The District is pleased to announce that the team placed 13 out of 53 teams from around the world. Approximately 26 countries participate in the program.
In addition to the competition, the WHS students had an exciting week. The excursion began with a memorable opening ceremony, where they joined teams from all around the world and entered the arena with their respective flags. A highlight included exploring the campus, which lead to participating in a creativity festival where students learned about the cosmos at the campus’ planetarium. In addition, WHS had two buddy teams from Korea, allowing students to learn first-hand about a different culture.
“I am so proud of the team for advancing to the world level of this highly competitive challenge,” stated Club advisor and WHS Earth Science teacher Michael Regulbuto. “The students are a determined, creative bunch and truly inspire me.”
