SRVCA Students Compete In 'Odyssey Of The Mind' Finals

DANVILLE, CA — A group of Danville middle schoolers recently competed in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Michigan. In May, a team of students from San Ramon Valley Christian Academy secured the eighth place spot in the world after competing against 67 teams from 14 different countries.

Logan O’Connell, Ella Shaw, Ainsley Jacobsen, Jordan Stein, Nolan Collins, Edward Im and Abigail Reiten made friends with students from other states and countries during the competition, which was held on the Michigan State University campus.

“As typical of this group, they worked extremely well together as a team and each individual performed his or her role flawlessly,” Kathleen O’Connell, one of the team’s parent coaches, said. “They were the last performance of the entire competition and they received rave reviews from the judges. They particularly stood out in the 'Style' scored category, in which they had the 3rd highest score in the competition.”

Parent Jeff Shaw assisted O’Connell in coaching the ambitious team.

“To move up eight spots from last year is quite a feat,” SRVCA Principal Jamie Westgate said. “I am so proud of how hard they worked and grateful for their parents for encouraging them and the coaches for volunteering their time.”

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

The San Ramon Valley Christian Academy is a ministry of CPC Danville located at 222 West El Pintado Road in Danville.