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Two teams from North Penn High School (NPHS) and one team from Inglewood Elementary School in the North Penn School District (NPSD) competed in the Pennsylvania State Odyssey of the Mind (OM) Competition on April 7 at Pocono Mountain East High School in Swiftwater, Pa. Team A from NPHS placed third and Team B placed first, advancing to the OM World Finals next month at Iowa State University. Inglewood Elementary School’s team also gave an outstanding performance at their very first state competition.
OM is a creative problem-solving program. The philosophy behind the OM program is one of teamwork and creativity but mainly, self-reliance. Students work together without “outside assistance” from anyone else, including adult coaches who mentor the team but do not contribute to the team’s solution. Teams of seven students select a problem, create a solution and present their solution in a regional tournament. Teams that place in the regional competition advance to States and those who place at States advance to World Finals.
The students of NPHS Team B along with their coaches, Patty Harr and Patti Eglin, will travel from Lansdale to Ames, Iowa, to compete at the 2018 OM World Finals held at Iowa State University from May 23 to 26.
NPHS Team A, coached by Joanne Wiernusz and Lisa Upright: Sally Meyers (Grade 9, Pennbrook), Elise Upright (Grade 10), Vianne Chang ( Grade 10), Jess Zhao ( Grade 10), Nicole Chiu (Grade 9, Pennbrook), Natalie Upright (Grade 9, Pennbrook) and Erin Zhu (Grade 9, Pennbrook).
NPHS Team B, coached by Patty Harr and Patti Eglin: Kate Harr (Grade 12), Kyle Harr (Grade 9, Pennbrook), Jaden Weed (Grade 10), Kavita Kute (Grade 10), Greg Sanborn (Grade 9, Pennbrook), Lauren Eglin (Grade 9, Pennbrook) and Jane Peters (Grade 9, Pennbrook).
Inglewood, coached by Karen Nevard, Gary Nevard and Candice Carroll: Logan Parker (Grade 5), Lily Cole (Grade 3), Ryan Nevard (Grade 3), Evie Dalton (Grade 3), Mitchell O’Neill (Grade 3), Declan Carroll (Grade 4) and Maddie Hahn (Grade 4).