March 22, 2005 > Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament

by Asha Chandra

Creativity and teamwork were the secrets to success at the Regional Odyssey of the Mind tournament in Pleasant Hill on Saturday, March 12th. Four Fremont schools sent nine teams to compete with 111 other teams from around the San Francisco Bay Area. Five of those teams placed first or second in their problem and division and will advance to compete with the best teams from all over California at the State Competition in Visalia on Saturday, April 9. Congratulations to all of the teams for their success.

Odyssey of the Mind is an extra-curricular program run by volunteer parents and staff at four schools in FUSD. Gomes Elementary, Hopkins Jr. High School and Mission San Jose High School have had this program for many years. The latest school to join the program this year is Mission San Jose Elementary. Their first-time team managed to take first place for their solution and advanced to the state level. Odyssey of the Mind is a competitive creative problem-solving program that promotes creativity, teamwork, exploration, critical thinking skills, engineering and construction skills, performance skills, artistic skills and fun.