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Mechanical Elephant and her Six Pack Abs Jiggle Sanford Middle to World Finals 
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| | Back left to right then front left to right: Rachel Jankech, Brianna Closs, Justin Raman, Neil Shah, Darcy Kranz | Left to right: Justin Raman, Jenny Raman, Brianna Closs, Rachel Jankech, Darcy Kranz, Neil Shah
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Risk-taking, teamwork and extreme creativity motivated Sanford Middle School’s rookie Odyssey team. These smart and zany Sanford Middle School students surpassed even their own expectations when they qualified for Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. Seventh grader Jenny Raman and her sixth grade teammates Brianna Closs, Rachel Jankech, Darcy Kranz, Justin Raman, and Neil Shah wowed the judges April 4th when they presented their long term solution at the Odyssey of the Mind Florida State Finals held at UCF. The long term problem, coached by Jaya Raman and Robin Kranz, requires the Teach Your Creature teams to “create a humorous performance about a mechanical creature that acts like a real mammal or bird and learns lessons.” In their eight-minute performance, a diverse group of characters led by DJ Sunkist, the aerobics instructor, taught Toddy the Elephant good habits to help her build a lean body and “six pack” abs. Sanford Middle’s team won 1st place at the regional competition in February and 1st place in the state final in April. They also earned the Ranatra Fusca award which automatically qualifies them for a trip to World Finals in Ames, Iowa. For this problem, the students were also required to use recycled materials; one judge complemented the team because “they used recyclables plus 200%. The entire set was created out of these materials- what a risk!” The judge nominating them for the highest honor, the Ranatra Fusca Extreme Creativity Award, stated, “their risk-taking and creativity was above and beyond anything expected of them…the bottom of water bottles became flowers and egg cartons became strawberries (for Olga’s costume).” Sanford Middle School (SMS) is a Math, Science, and Technology Magnet school located in Sanford, Florida and their Odyssey of the Mind program is one of the reasons these students chose to apply to this out-of-zone school. Although the program continues to thrive at SMS, the last time a team qualified for World Finals was six years ago. According to www.odysseyofthemind.com, “Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics.” Please visit the website for more information about this exciting program.
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