(Pictured: Wyatt Lakin, Doug Jones, Ben Egbert, Logan Lakin, Dylan Harkins. Not Pictured: Ian Loeprich and Gianna Kaldunski)
The Gold Trail fifth-grade Odyssey of the Mind (OOTM) team has the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the 2018 World OOTM Competition at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. They accomplished this goal by first winning at the 12 County Northern California Regional OOTM Competition and then winning at the California State OOTM Finals. We believe this represents the first time an El Dorado County School has competed in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. “We are proud of everyone who makes this, and all of our extensive enrichment programs, a point of absolute pride for our school,” Gold Trail Superintendent Scott Lyons said.
Help us make these children’s dreams come true!
For our small district to send a team of seven 5th-grade students to this once-in-a-lifetime event, the team must raise $9,985.00 or $1,426.43 per person. The funding must be received by April 27 to represent Gold Trail School and El Dorado County. A Go Fund Me account has been established to help raise funds to support this wonderful opportunity. Donate today! https://www.gofundme.com/gold-trail-school-ootm-finals
This expense includes:
-- Round trip airfare, shuttle service, and shipping of props/materials needed from Sacramento, CA - Des Moines, IA
-- Registration plus room and board for five nights at Iowa State University
-- A small amount of miscellaneous/unforeseen expenses.
Gold Trail is a small rural district in the northern foothills of the Sierra Nevada, tucked between Placerville and Coloma, California, the Gold Discovery site. This small district has proven to be a powerhouse in recent competitions schools throughout the state of California.
Odyssey of the Mind www.odysseyofthemind.com is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from over 25 other countries participate in the program.
Think of OOTM as the Olympics. While the Olympics focuses on physical prowess/skill, Odyssey of the Mind focuses on mental prowess/skill. Like the Olympics, OOTM participants are rated in presentation style and performance, originality, being able to work with a group, as-well-as problem-solving ability, thinking outside the box and making connections. World OTTM is set up like Olympics ~ over 850 teams from around the world, opening ceremony and a parade of flags, five days of performance competition, and closing ceremonies.
Donations may also be directly sent to:
Gold Trail Union Elementary School District
1575 Old Ranch Road
Placerville, CA. 95667-8929
Gold Trail School Enrichment Site: https://goldtrailschooldistrictgatehappe.shutterfly.com/
