GOSHEN- On Saturday, Orange-Ulster BOCES hosted the Odyssey of the Mind (OM) Region 5 competition that featured 474 students from school districts in Orange, Ulster, Sullivan, and Dutchess Counties competing to represent the region in the state finals in April.
OM is a creative problem-solving program competition that requires team members to work together to solve a pre-defined, long-term problem and present their solution to the problem to a panel of judges. In addition to solving the long-term problem, each team must participate in the spontaneous division of the competition. In this portion of the competition, teams must generate solutions to a problem they have not seen before and are scored on their performance.
Saturday’s Region 5 competition, sponsored in part by Mid-Hudson News, included 65 teams from three separate age divisions. More than 200 volunteers helped to facilitate the day’s events, which concluded with three awards ceremonies. It is estimated that more than 2,000 parents, grandparents, family, and friends attended to cheer on the competitors during the day’s events.
Hosting the annual event requires extensive planning and preparation, and BOCES has hosted the competition for more than two decades. Deborah McBride Heppes, Chief Operating Officer at Orange-Ulster BOCES, was on hand to cheer on competitors and welcome community members to the BOCES campus. “OM regionals are a great day at BOCES, it’s always wonderful to meet the students and their families,” said Heppes. “I am always impressed with both the sportsmanship and innovation the students bring to the competition.”
Qualifying teams will go on to represent Region 5 at the state finals, which will be held at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse on April 15th.
