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Gaffney advances in Odyssey of the Mind
Apr 4, 2006 10:19 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
After placing third in Division II at last weekend’s Georgia Odyssey of the Mind competition, sixth-grader Meredith Gaffney’s team from Durham Middle School (Acworth, Ga.) will advance to State Level, which will be held April 22 at Columbus State University.
Gaffney, who is new to Darlington’s Middle School this year, has been involved with Georgia Odyssey since second grade, competing at State the last three years and World in 2004 and 2005. According to their Web site, Georgia Odyssey promotes creative team-based problem-solving for students in kindergarten through college. Teams are given a long-term problem months before the competition. Participants build their own sets, make their own costumes and write their own scripts for the competition, and are judged on their problem-solving abilities.
This year, Gaffney’s six-person team worked on Problem 3, which focused on Ancient Egypt. For this problem, teams created and presented an original performance that included a scene taking place in ancient Egypt, as well as a pharaoh, king, or queen, and ancient Egyptian works of art/artifacts created by the team. Guidelines mandated that the performance also include an explanation about the construction of an ancient Egyptian architectural structure and a plot twist.
Gaffney’s team gave an eight-minute presentation about Ramses II. “The skit was very nonsensical and off-the-wall,” she said. “My character was a rapping mummy. Basically, I was a narrator who explained what just happened and what was going to happen next. Our raps were quite a hit, but they also helped explain to the audience what was happening because obviously sixth-graders’ humor can differ from an adult’s humor.”
Teams are also judged on their ability to solve a spontaneous problem, one that they are given the day of the competition, and on style, which is how good their long-term solution set and/or costumes look.
Gaffney’s sister Madeline, who will attend the Middle School for sixth grade next year, will join her at the State Level. Her team, coached by her mother, Ellen Gaffney, placed first in Division I for their presentation on Ancient Egypt.
For more information on Georgia Odyssey of the Mind, click here.
Gaffney, who is new to Darlington’s Middle School this year, has been involved with Georgia Odyssey since second grade, competing at State the last three years and World in 2004 and 2005. According to their Web site, Georgia Odyssey promotes creative team-based problem-solving for students in kindergarten through college. Teams are given a long-term problem months before the competition. Participants build their own sets, make their own costumes and write their own scripts for the competition, and are judged on their problem-solving abilities.
This year, Gaffney’s six-person team worked on Problem 3, which focused on Ancient Egypt. For this problem, teams created and presented an original performance that included a scene taking place in ancient Egypt, as well as a pharaoh, king, or queen, and ancient Egyptian works of art/artifacts created by the team. Guidelines mandated that the performance also include an explanation about the construction of an ancient Egyptian architectural structure and a plot twist.
Gaffney’s team gave an eight-minute presentation about Ramses II. “The skit was very nonsensical and off-the-wall,” she said. “My character was a rapping mummy. Basically, I was a narrator who explained what just happened and what was going to happen next. Our raps were quite a hit, but they also helped explain to the audience what was happening because obviously sixth-graders’ humor can differ from an adult’s humor.”
Teams are also judged on their ability to solve a spontaneous problem, one that they are given the day of the competition, and on style, which is how good their long-term solution set and/or costumes look.
Gaffney’s sister Madeline, who will attend the Middle School for sixth grade next year, will join her at the State Level. Her team, coached by her mother, Ellen Gaffney, placed first in Division I for their presentation on Ancient Egypt.
For more information on Georgia Odyssey of the Mind, click here.
