A local team, representing the North Penn school district won first
place in the Pennsylvania state Odyssey of the Mind competition on April
10. Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem solving
competition involving students from kindergarten through college. The
program encourages kids to think outside the box.

Max Ives and Robert Gaibler from Pennbrook Middle School and Tim
Bilodeau, Danielle Bereschak, Olivia Farina, Kevin Chen and Jackson
Simpson from Penndale Middle School along with their coaches, Kate
Early and Mark Bilodeau, worked hard all year to come up with their
solution to the problem Return to the Gift of Flight in which teams had
to make and operate a series of aircraft that completed a variety of
flight plans.

They won first place for their solution to this difficult
problem, but they also won a coveted Ranatra Fusca award for one of
their extraordinary ideas. During the team’s presentation, they
offered a glimpse into the possibility of transportation in the near
future and delved into science principles beyond their years by creating
a small version of powerful magnetic force.

The North Penn team will be representing the Pennsylvania at Michigan
State University where the World Finals will be held May 27 -29. The students will face competing teams from all over the globe
including Poland, China, South Korea, Japan and Europe.

ABOVE the North Penn School District Odyssey of the Mind team is shown. Back row from left, Robert Gaibler, Timothy Bilodeau, Kevin Chen and Jackson Simpson. Front row from left, Max Ives (holding the trophy), Olivia Farina (holding the certificate) and Danielle Bereschak.