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Community Corner

MMS Odyssey of Mind to World Finals

Middlesex Middle School sent three teams to the 33rd Annual Connecticut State Tournament for Odyssey of the Mind 2014.  The tournament, which Darien Schools former Superintendent, Don Fiftal, once referred to as a "creativity fest", had more than 150 teams from around the state competing in both projects that they have been working on all year and spontaneous problems that are a mystery until the students enter the judging room.

Middlesex's "Stackable Structures" team placed 2nd in the middle school division at this state tournament which qualifies them to compete in the 2014 World Finals at Iowa State University in May.  This MMS team designed and built a structure of only balsa wood and glue, weighing 17.7 grams, that was able to hold 137 pounds of free weights placed by 6th grader Aria Muchhal and 6th grader Richard Huang. Simultaneously, 6th grader Tala Garcia, 7th grader Isabelle Leclerc, 6th grader Pierce Leclerc, and 6th grader Jack Massey performed a skit about saving the planet.  Team coaches Real Leclerc, Arpita Muchhal, and Clem Garcia will accompany them to the World Finals.

Middlesex also competed in the long term problem "Driver's Test" with 6th grader Monisha Akula, 8th grader Maddie Dwyer, 6th grader Alex Gu, 6th grader Sophie Howard, 6th Grader Alex Hu, 7th grader Justin Mossa, and 6th grader Evan Tong.  They were coached by Rudy Mossa and Lakshmi Akula.  This team designed, built, and drove a vehicle that had to travel around a course with a the student driver, Justin, trying to pass his driver's test.  Their comical skit involved space travel with duct tape adorned costumes.  Middlesex placed 9th in the state in the middle school division.

The "Not-So-Haunted House" long term problem involved students 6th grader Lauren Goll, 6th grader John McGovern, 8th grader Mary McGovern, 6th grader John Phipps, and 7th grader Aldo Stefanoni creating and presenting an original performance that included pop-up special effects that are not-so-scary.  They were coached by Fran McGovern and Carmen Phipps.  This team used some of the towns resources, creating some of their special effects with the Darien Library's 3D printer.  This long term problem had the most teams competing of any problem and Middlesex was well represented, placing 14th in the state in the middle school division.

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