Important Odyssey of the Mind Updates

1.  We’re looking forward to returning to a normal year for Odyssey of the Mind in 2021-22 (fingers crossed!).

2.  The official Odyssey of the Mind website has been updated with a new look.  Check it out!  https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/

3.  The new problem synopses for 21-22 are out.  Take a peek and share with former OMERs to see who might be interested. https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2022-Synopsis.pdf

4.  For the first time since 1993, the membership fees will change as follows: beginning September 15, 2021 a single school membership will increase to $290; 2^nd membership will be $190.  Schools are encouraged to purchase their memberships prior to Sept. 15, 2021 to get the old rate of $135 for initial memberships and $100 for additional memberships.  

If you want to try for the reduced bundled rate of $100 for 11 or more memberships, please print, fill out, and mail the completed form and a check for $100 made out to CCI.  Send both to Pamela Clark, 3229 S. Utah St. Arlington, VA 22206 by August 27, 2021.  Simply click the red button at the bottom of this webpage to download the membership application: https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/join/  Fill it out and send it with your check to Pamela Clark.  If she does not receive 11 membership applications by then, she will contact you by September 1st so you can pay the $135 before September 15, 2021.  

5. We don’t have any dates/locations nailed down yet, but we will let you know when we do. 

And the Results are In!

    First of all, we would like to thank all the Nova East Odyssey coaches who worked with their teams and helped them submit to the first-ever Virtual Odyssey of the Mind tournament in Virginia. On Saturday night there was a virtual awards ceremony online, and teams were recognized for their efforts and achievements.  The event was recorded, and we are hoping to release the link soon; however, we need to wait for CCI’s approval before doing so since World Finals has not occurred yet. 

     In fact, it’s important to mention that this year ALL teams are eligible to participate in either the Virtual World Finals or the In-Person World Finals in Orlando, Florida, pending your school’s approval.  Information about those events can be found at https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/   If your team is interested in participating in either of those events, you will want to get right on it and register for those events.  Time is of the essence. 

      Special congratulations go to these teams who won top honors in our region: 

Team	Problem and Division	Place
Nottingham Elementary	Problem 1, Division 1	1st
Basilica School of St. Mary	Problem 2, Division 1	1st
Basilica School of St. Mary	Problem 2, Division 2	1st
Dorothy Hamm Middle School	Problem 2, Division 2	2nd
Nottingham Elementary	Problem 4, Division 1	2nd
Arlington Science Focus School	Problem 5, Division 1	2nd
Longbranch Elementary	Problem 5, Division 1	3rd
Gunston Middle School	Problem 5, Division 2	2nd

    Below, please find the link to the results of our state tournament:

voices-tournament-resultsDownload

Award Ceremony

The Virtual Award Ceremony is this Saturday, April 10th at 7:00 p.m.!  Please tune in to watch the closing ceremony and celebrate the hard work of all of our participating teams as well as the end of a very unusual year in Odyssey of the Mind’s history.

The Virtual Award Ceremony will be a combination of both pre-recordings and live interaction.  All teams, parents, coaches, and judges are welcome to attend.

FreeConferenceCall.com Dial-in number (US): (339) 209-6599

International dial-in numbers: https://fccdl.in/i/tcoate

Online meeting ID: tcoate

Join the online meeting: https://join.freeconferencecall.com/tcoate

Spontaneous Time!

Now that teams have submitted their long-term items, it’s time to focus on spontaneous.  When you go in with your team log-in, you can access practice problems and the actual link you will click to do your competition.  Your team must complete the spontaneous competition by March 18th.  The practice problems are optional, but they will give teams a chance to practice the process which would be a good idea to prepare for the virtual competition this year.
Here is a letter with details about the process:

letter-about-spontaneousDownload

2020-21 NOVA EAST Spontaneous Week 15

• Each week, we will send out a spontaneous problem for your team to try. 
• After running the problem, we encourage your team to select their favorite 3 responses to our google form and we will choose a few of the best examples to share with our region.
• Use this Google Form for your answers: https://forms.gle/N3eubBYpPnxye7Wh8 
• Answers for this week are due midnight March 13, 2021. 
• Most creative selections will be posted by March 17, 2021.
• The problem this week is:

Wacky House

Your problem is to say something about the image in front of you or to say who or what might live in the building. For example, you might say “cover your mouth when you yawn!”

Hints for coaches:

1. The coach should practice typing students’ responses. You could use a shared google response so team members can see the responses in real time.
2. Team members should be given 1-2 minutes to “think” and the rest of the time to respond.
3. Practice with all team members participating. One way to insure no one  monopolizes is to have all members get a certain number of Response Counters (pieces of paper or pencils or anything else they have on hand). Seven responses per person is a good number, but this would depend on how much time you have to practice. When a team member gives an answer, they take one of their Response Counters away. Once they have used up all of their responses, they must allow the other team members to use up all of their Responses Counters.
4. The Coach could assign team members a number (1-7, or however many members are on the team), and they respond in order. If a team member gets “stuck” they could either need to keep thinking until they come up with a response, or they could “pass.” In the actual competition, there will be no need to “pass,” however.
5. Practice with a specific time frame to simulate the real Spontaneous Problem. If there is still time remaining after all team members have used up their Response Counters, students may continue to brainstorm responses  and, if they think a new response is better than one that is on the list to be submitted, they may switch out as many as they have time for.
6. In order to give all students a chance to participate equally, you might limit who can make changes. For example, the person who comes up with a creative response may switch out ONLY a response that he/she originally gave. This way, more creative thinkers won’t monopolize the submitted responses, and it will also prevent potential hurt feelings.
7. Before the actual competition, you might encourage your team members to come up with a game-plan for how they will respond. For example, they might choose to answer in order

Online Spontaneous Rules: (The rules below are for the official tournament, not for our weekly Nova East Challenges.)

1. The official spontaneous problem during tournaments will be VERBAL.
2. Teams will be given approximately 20 minutes to complete their problem.
3. All team members may participate.
4. Coaches will type responses onto a Response Form.
5. Teams will be given a specific number of responses they can submit (approximately 30-35).
6. If team members complete their maximum number of answers and there is still time remaining, they may replace any response with one they think is a better response.
7. Team members do not need to go in any order when responding.
8. Spelling does not count as long as the Judges can determine what the actual response was intended (eg, “dinosar” for “dinosaur”).
9. During the actual competition, all team members will be able to see the responses that their coach types and a clock that tells them how much time is remaining. 
10. When time is up, the coach should click the Submit button. However, even if the button is not clicked, the team’s responses will automatically be saved and submitted.

The End is in Sight!

The deadline for online submission of your long term solution to our virtual state tournament Friday, March 5.  

Remember that you will need to go to https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/member-area/ and put in your team login and password which you got when you registered your team. When you get in, you will see several helpful blue links to click for information.  Virtual Team Resources will be particularly helpful at this stage.  On the right, there is a blue link to Competition Record.  When you click on that you will see your team’s registration, but at the right on that page,  you will see the space for you to upload your URL’s for your video(s), documents, and optional photos.  Then you will need to upload three things:

* (up to) 8-minute continuous video of your team’s performance, 

* (up to) 7-minute explanation of your solution,  (the two videos can be combined into one video, but the 8-minute performance part must be continuous and unedited.)

* your paperwork including team list, style form, outside assistance, and cost form.  

*(optional) photos

We know it’s crunch time, and this week will be stressful, but once you have this submitted you can concentrate on spontaneous with your team.  Spontaneous is also done online this year and will be available for submission from March 5-18.  There are also 4 online spontaneous practice problems you have access to already and you may use those to practice with your team before doing the actual online spontaneous competition. When you go into https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/member-area/ and log in with your team login, there is a blue link to a spontaneous letter to coaches and red links to the spontaneous practice problems.  The spontaneous competition problem is not posted yet, and when it is, you do not want to click into that until your team is assembled and ready to to it together.  Remember this year, Primary teams will also have access to the spontaneous portion of the competition, but they will not receive scores, only sticky notes with comments about their thinking.  

Pamela Clark

Resource Teacher for the Gifted

Campbell Elementary School

pamela.clark@apsva.us

2020-21 NOVA EAST Spontaneous Week 14

• Each week, we will send out a spontaneous problem for your team to try. 
• After running the problem, we encourage your team to select their favorite 3 responses to our google form and we will choose a few of the best examples to share with our region.
• Use this Google Form for your answers https://forms.gle/N3eubBYpPnxye7Wh8 
• Answers for this week are due midnight March 6, 2021. 
• Most creative selections will be posted by March 10, 2021.
• The problem this week is:

Turn It Up!

Your problem is to name something that you might turn and say what happens when you turn that item. For example, you might say: “When I turn the volume knob on my radio, the volume gets louder.”

Hints for coaches:

1. The coach should practice typing students’ responses. You could use a shared google response so team members can see the responses in real time.
2. Team members should be given 1-2 minutes to “think” and the rest of the time to respond.
3. Practice with all team members participating. One way to insure no one  monopolizes is to have all members get a certain number of Response Counters (pieces of paper or pencils or anything else they have on hand). Seven responses per person is a good number, but this would depend on how much time you have to practice. When a team member gives an answer, they take one of their Response Counters away. Once they have used up all of their responses, they must allow the other team members to use up all of their Responses Counters.
4. The Coach could assign team members a number (1-7, or however many members are on the team), and they respond in order. If a team member gets “stuck” they could either need to keep thinking until they come up with a response, or they could “pass.” In the actual competition, there will be no need to “pass,” however.
5. Practice with a specific time frame to simulate the real Spontaneous Problem. If there is still time remaining after all team members have used up their Response Counters, students may continue to brainstorm responses  and, if they think a new response is better than one that is on the list to be submitted, they may switch out as many as they have time for.
6. In order to give all students a chance to participate equally, you might limit who can make changes. For example, the person who comes up with a creative response may switch out ONLY a response that he/she originally gave. This way, more creative thinkers won’t monopolize the submitted responses, and it will also prevent potential hurt feelings.
7. Before the actual competition, you might encourage your team members to come up with a game-plan for how they will respond. For example, they might choose to answer in order

Online Spontaneous Rules: (The rules below are for the official tournament, not for our weekly Nova East Challenges.)

1. The official spontaneous problem during tournaments will be VERBAL.
2. Teams will be given approximately 20 minutes to complete their problem.
3. All team members may participate.
4. Coaches will type responses onto a Response Form.
5. Teams will be given a specific number of responses they can submit (approximately 30-35).
6. If team members complete their maximum number of answers and there is still time remaining, they may replace any response with one they think is a better response.
7. Team members do not need to go in any order when responding.
8. Spelling does not count as long as the Judges can determine what the actual response was intended (eg, “dinosar” for “dinosaur”).
9. During the actual competition, all team members will be able to see the responses that their coach types and a clock that tells them how much time is remaining. 
10. When time is up, the coach should click the Submit button. However, even if the button is not clicked, the team’s responses will automatically be saved and submitted.

2020-21 NOVA East Odyssey of the Mind

Spontaneous Results Week 12

Week 12 – Many Ways to Crack an Egg

Your problem is to name as many creative ways to crack an egg as possible. For example, you might say: “I would toss it across the room to crack it.”

Our judges selected these:

Team Name	Creative Idea
4th Grade Cool Kidz/Basilica School of St Mary	Ask you friend to tell a joke and it will crack the egg up
Call a detective – if they can crack cases, they can crack eggs
Champions/Arlington Science Focus ES	Place it under pressure so that it confesses.
Tyler Hammster/Nottingham ES	Put it in an interrogation room with a detective until it cracks.

But they also admired these:

Team Name	Creative Idea
Red Fire Tigers/Nottingham ES	Swing a baseball bat at it to crack it
Odyssey Stars/ Arlington Science Focus ES	Put it out in hail and let it get hit by hail.
Tyler Hammster/Nottingham ES	Send it to the bottom of the ocean and the pressure will crack it.
Juicy Bug Lions/Campbell ES	Tie an egg to a rope, tie a rope to a rocket ship and pull the earth to the moon to smash it
Team Yeet!/Nottingham ES	Give the egg to a Karen and tell Karen to give it to a manager.

We look forward to more great ideas next week!!

Try our Spontaneous Weekly Problem! SPONTANEOUS

2020-21 NOVA EAST Spontaneous Week 13

• Each week, we will send out a spontaneous problem for your team to try. 
• After running the problem, we encourage your team to select their favorite 3 responses to our google form and we will choose a few of the best examples to share with our region.
• Use this Google Form for your answers :https://forms.gle/N3eubBYpPnxye7Wh8 
• Answers for this week are due midnight Feb 27, 2021. 
• Most creative selections will be posted by Mar 3, 2021.
• The problem this week is:

Clean Slate

Your problem is to name something you can clean and what happens when you clean it. For example, you might say: “When I clean my windows, I can see outside.”

Hints for coaches:

1. The coach should practice typing students’ responses. You could use a shared google response so team members can see the responses in real time.
2. Team members should be given 1-2 minutes to “think” and the rest of the time to respond.
3. Practice with all team members participating. One way to insure no one  monopolizes is to have all members get a certain number of Response Counters (pieces of paper or pencils or anything else they have on hand). Seven responses per person is a good number, but this would depend on how much time you have to practice. When a team member gives an answer, they take one of their Response Counters away. Once they have used up all of their responses, they must allow the other team members to use up all of their Responses Counters.
4. The Coach could assign team members a number (1-7, or however many members are on the team), and they respond in order. If a team member gets “stuck” they could either need to keep thinking until they come up with a response, or they could “pass.” In the actual competition, there will be no need to “pass,” however.
5. Practice with a specific time frame to simulate the real Spontaneous Problem. If there is still time remaining after all team members have used up their Response Counters, students may continue to brainstorm responses  and, if they think a new response is better than one that is on the list to be submitted, they may switch out as many as they have time for.
6. In order to give all students a chance to participate equally, you might limit who can make changes. For example, the person who comes up with a creative response may switch out ONLY a response that he/she originally gave. This way, more creative thinkers won’t monopolize the submitted responses, and it will also prevent potential hurt feelings.
7. Before the actual competition, you might encourage your team members to come up with a game-plan for how they will respond. For example, they might choose to answer in order

Online Spontaneous Rules: (The rules below are for the official tournament, not for our weekly Nova East Challenges.)

1. The official spontaneous problem during tournaments will be VERBAL.
2. Teams will be given approximately 20 minutes to complete their problem.
3. All team members may participate.
4. Coaches will type responses onto a Response Form.
5. Teams will be given a specific number of responses they can submit (approximately 30-35).
6. If team members complete their maximum number of answers and there is still time remaining, they may replace any response with one they think is a better response.
7. Team members do not need to go in any order when responding.
8. Spelling does not count as long as the Judges can determine what the actual response was intended (eg, “dinosar” for “dinosaur”).
9. During the actual competition, all team members will be able to see the responses that their coach types and a clock that tells them how much time is remaining. 
10. When time is up, the coach should click the Submit button. However, even if the button is not clicked, the team’s responses will automatically be saved and submitted.

2020-21 NOVA East Odyssey of the Mind

Spontaneous Results Week 11

Week  11 – Dumb As a Rock!

People often say “dumb as a rock,” but maybe rocks aren’t so dumb after all. Your problem is to say what the rock might say if it could talk. For example, you might say, “I’m not dumb at all, I have a degree in geology.”

Our judges selected these:

Team Name	Creative Idea
Team Red Fire Tigers/Nottingham ES	I am not dumb as a rock, I came from outer space and killed the dinosaurs.
Odyssey Stars/ASFS	I am not dumb, I am the rock in Rock, Paper, Scissors!
Champions/ASFS	I am not dumb, my name is Bob

But they also admired these:

Team Name	Creative Idea
Team Tyler Hammster/Nottingham ES	Hey, respect your elders, I’m millions of years older than you.
Champions/ASFS	I am not dumb, at what point is someone dumb?

We look forward to more great ideas next week!!

Try our Spontaneous Weekly Problem! SPONTANEOUS