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Dear Friends and Neighbors:
Walnut Bend Elementary School Odyssey of the Mind 2019 World Champions
My office usually only sends out an eblast when there is important information we think you need to know, and we usually do not send out public interest items. This will be the exception to that long-standing practice as there is an important public interest item I want you to know about.
Every now and again we need a feel-good story, and Walnut Bend Elementary School has certainly provided that for us. While we often hear accolades for athletic achievements, and that is good because we love our sporting heroes, we do not often hear accolades for academic achievements.
With that being said, it is my great honor and pleasure to notify you that the Walnut Bend Elementary School Odyssey of the Mind team took first place in the 2019 World Championships this summer. Yes, you read that right; they are the World Champions of Odyssey of the Mind. There were over 800 teams from all over the world participating in the competition, and the boys and girls from Walnut Bend Elementary beat teams from all corners of the United States and from Hong Kong, Singapore, Poland, and four teams from China.
To commemorate this momentous achievement, on Tuesday I presented a Proclamation to the World Champions in Council Chambers, and hosted an open house in my council office for the students and their parents, grandparents, siblings and friends.
Established in 1978, Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving program that engages students in their learning by allowing their knowledge and ideas to come to life in an exciting, productive environment. The 2019 Walnut Bend team took first place in the Structure Toss category in which students were required to design, build, and test a structure, made only of balsa wood and weighing 15 grams or less, and to test it by placing weights onto it. Walnut Bend's structure, weighing about the same as three nickels, held 780 pounds, over one hundred pounds more than the second place team!!
The Walnut Bend Elementary School team is composed of:
Elliot Arntz
Brody Niece
Melyna Corredor Vega
Hans Winata
Jeremy Rawls
Clarke Josey
Daniella Alcala
Coach Michele Dahlquist
Coach Penny Blair
Congratulations to the World Champions!!
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