Valley Vista reaches Odyssey state finals

The fourth- and fifth-grade Odyssey of the Mind teams from Valley Vista Elementary School placed second in regional competition and will move on to the state finals on April 4 in Brentwood.

Valley Vista, coached by Tammy Jacobsen, was the only school representing Petaluma in the Odyssey of the Mind competition in the Redwood Empire Region, held on March 14 at Santa Rosa High School.

The fourth-grade team consists of Ashley Ayers, SaraJane Catarozoli, Aidan Morgan, Miranda Pokorny and Garciella Terronez, while the fifth-grade group is comprised of Marciela Calvillo, Ryan Cardiff, Alyssa Deely, Michelle Larsen and Austin Martin.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for kindergarten through college students. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretations of literary classics.

They then bring their solutions to competition at the local, state and world level.

Odyssey of the Mind is a competitive program, but it involves friendly competition. Participating students are rewarded for how they apply their knowledge, skills and talents, and not for coming up with a right answer. In fact, Odyssey of the Mind problems don’t have one right answer.

Thousands of teams from throughout the United States and some 25 other countries participate.

— Argus-Courier