Help send these Oak Street fifth graders to the World Finals

A team of Oak Street Elementary fifth graders received 1st place at the Virginia Odyssey of the Mind State competition after winning the regional tournament in March. This qualifies them to compete in the World Finals at Iowa State University May 21-24. This is an amazing honor and opportunity for these kids to represent FCCPS while competing against 23 countries on an international stage.

The team has been working for months on their problem “Rocking World Detour.” The spirit of the problem is to create an original performance about a rock band on tour that gets transported to an unexpected location while playing an original song. The band has to use music to get them back on tour. Since the fall, the kids have written two original songs and a full script, made instruments, props, and costumes. They met every week for hours to work on these items.

While qualifying to compete at Worlds is exciting, the reality is that it’s also very expensive. With the competition beginning May 21 , the team only has a few short weeks to raise funds. To get to the competition, the team, coach, and one chaperone per child must cover transportation to and from Iowa, lodging, meals, the registration fee of $3750, and U-haul rental to transport the team’s props and equipment.

We deeply appreciate any assistance you can provide to help us get to Worlds. Your donation will go a long way towards providing these students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their talents, meet students from other countries, and proudly represent FCCPS at an international competition.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from elementary school through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting interpretations of literary classics. They also compete in a spontaneous round where the team works together to solve a problem in front of a group of judges.