Odyssey of the Mind (OotM)
Odyssey of the Mind (OotM) is an international program designed to provide creative problem-solving opportunities for children from Kindergarten to college. ROE has a very strong tradition with OotM and it is one of the more popular extra-curricular activities at our school. OotM teams are generally made up of students in the same grade, coached by parents. Parents also help with judging and running OotM workshops, with some teacher involvement in these areas as well. This page provides several sections of information.
ARE YOU CREATIVE? DO YOU LIKE WORKING ON A TEAM?
IS THINKING YOUR GAME? THEN YOU NEED TO JOIN…
R.O.E. ODYSSEY OF THE MIND
Register by Friday, September 23, 2011 if you would like to participate in Odyssey of the Mind at River Oaks! To find out more about the program there are a number of resources available to you. You may contact OM volunteer parent coordinator Elisa Donovan at ootm@roepto.com. Please go to www.odysseyofthemind.org and www.riveroakspto.org/Odyssey_of_the_Mind.htm. See below for information about the registration process, and also come to the
Parent Awareness Meeting: Friday morning, Sept. 16th (8 – 9 a.m.)
Odyssey of the Mind is a volunteer program. We will coordinate team creation at ROE, but the number of children we serve is contingent upon the number of parents who volunteer as coaches. The only way to guarantee a spot on a team for your child on a team is to coach!
According to OotM international rules, ROE is limited to 15 Division 1 teams (3rd – 5th grade) with a minimum of 5 and maximum of 7 members per team.
Primary Teams at ROE – our program starts in 2nd grade – this is an introductory year. The teams present at Regional competition, but are not scored and do not advance to State.
Team Meetings (usually about 2 hrs long) are held after school and on weekends off campus. Wednesdays are a perfect and uniquely ROE opportunity for students to meet. Many coaches increase the meetings to twice a week beginning January, to prepare for Regional competition in March. Parents/Coaches are responsible for establishing meeting times & locations. Some teams meet more often and for longer times.
*NEW THIS YEAR* – We will be collecting a $50 registration fee. This fee will be used to offset some basic coach expenses and to purchase participant’s ROE Odyssey of Mind t-shirt. Based on the teams’ schedule and needs, additional expenses will likely need to be covered.
I look forward to hearing from you! – Ms. Gutierrez (mgutie16@houstonisd.org)
If your child would like to participate in Odyssey of the Mind during 2010/2011, please email the following to Ms. Gutierrez (MGUTIE16@houstonisd.org):
Child’s Name:
Grade and Teacher:
Child’s T-Shirt Size:
Parent’s Name:
Phone: email:
Days available for a team meeting?
Is your child Dramatic, Technical, and/or Artistic?
Parent involvement is critical to a successful team. Please indicate how you would contribute:
Are you willing to coach or co-coach? (Training will be provided!)
Are you willing to host the meetings at your house? ____________________________________________________
Will you be available to chaperone at meetings? (Always; Mostly; Sometimes; Rarely?)________________
Are you willing to serve as a judge*? *Required to be available Sat., 2/18/12, 3/3/12 and 4/14/12
Other:
Currently on an Odyssey of the Mind Team? Current coach’s name?
Any thoughts on the Problem Type that you are interested in?
Overview
Teams are composed of five to seven members. Teams hold meetings after school and on weekends off campus. Parents and coaches are responsible for establishing meeting times and locations. Coaches must be at least 18 years old.
ROE OotM is a volunteer program. Interested coaches and students should send in their names to Mrs. Mandy Gutierrez (MGUTIE16@houstonisd.org) who will help build teams. The number of children we serve is contingent upon the number of parents willing to coach. The only way to guarantee a spot on a team for your child is to coach!
ROE is limited to 15 Division 1 teams (3rd to 5th grade). In the past, ROE has been able to have as many Primary teams (K thru 2nd grade) as we wanted. Although the Primary
Problem is open to K-2nd grade, we encourage parents to wait until 2nd grade!
Letter to Parents
Dear Parents,
Welcome to ROE’s own OotM web page. ROE has a long 28-year history with Odyssey of the Mind, and we welcome everyone to join in September-October. Teams usually begin meeting no later than October about once a week after school or on weekends off campus. It is highly recommended to add an additional weekly meeting in January to provide more time to finish the long term solution in preparation for the Regional Tournament in February-March.
In early September, experienced coaches will visit the 2nd-5th grade classrooms and demonstrate the kind of fun kids can expect in the OotM program — spontaneous and long-term creative problem solving. Parents are then invited to attend the Parent Awareness Meeting about a week later to ask questions, find out more details, and sign up. Through-out the year, other meetings and resources are made available to coaches and teams: mentoring by experienced coaches, Coach Trainings, and Spontaneous Workshops for teams. All dates are posted on this web site. For more questions, anyone can log onto the international web site at www.odysseyofthemind.org.
Also, feel free to contact our OotM Coordinators any time! Please join the fun and have a great Omer experience!
Creatively speaking,
Elisa Donovan
ROE Odyssey of the Mind Volunteer Coordinator
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