The Odyssey of the Mind teams from Hamilton Avenue School competed at State Finals on March 16, 2024. After its first place finish, the Division I team has been invited to attend the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Ames, Iowa in late May!
This is the fourth time that a team from Hamilton Avenue has attended the World Finals.
These students have worked hard all year and are excited to be representing Connecticut as they compete against passionate and creative students from around the world.
The Primary team (grade K-2) did a wonderful job presenting their solution to The Night Life for which they built a forest and introduced the various creatures that inhabit the night. They received many positive comments from the judges.
The team members include: Bodhi Puac, Jackson Rossitter, Lukasz Cardenas, Noah Berluti, Devin Clermont, and Noah Blake. The team was coached by parents, Ruth Camoes and Melissa Grijalba.
The Division I team (grades 3-5) placed first in their division in the Long Term Problem, Spontaneous, and Style. The team received the Jill Riggins award for their teamwork and creativity in their solution to the Spontaneous problem. They received high scores for their long term solution for which they had to write and produce a play based on a classic novel. Team members include: Paloma Camoes, Emma Grijalba, Luka Jai Puac, Dhanvi Madishetti, Mia Blake, Adriana Giresi, and Victor Molleturo.
The team was coached by teacher Cathy Byrne.
Both teams like to thank their principal, Diane Chiappetta-Fox, and assistant principal, Annamaria Simonelli, for their support of this program They would also like to thank teacher, Darlene Angotto, and her daughter, Catie Angotto, a Hamilton Avenue alumni, for serving as a judges at the competition. The team members and coaches are especially grateful to the families for all their support throughout the year.
Odyssey of the Mind, an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Odyssey of the Mind is a learning experience which has helped our students develop skills that will last a lifetime.
Students learn to cooperate and respect the ideas of others, and to evaluate ideas and make decisions on their own. Our students have gained greater self-confidence and increased self-esteem through their hard work. In addition, they work within a budget, so they learn to manage their money. Students also see that there is often more than one way to solve a problem, and that sometimes the process is more important than the end result.
This is the fourth time that a team from Hamilton Avenue participated in the World Finals, but for five of the team members, this is the first time they will be attending.
These students have worked hard all year and are excited to be representing Connecticut as they compete against passionate and creative students from around the world.
The school community and their parents all very much want these 7 hard working students to be able to attend World Finals and have the experience they have worked so hard to earn. In order to attend we need to raise funds to pay for food, housing and transportation to Iowa.
The cost for each student to attend is about $1,500. They need your help. Please support them by making a donation to the GoFundMe page.