THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996 TAG: 9604240119
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Creative teamwork has earned students from Crestwood Intermediate School a chance to compete in the statewide Odyssey of the Mind at Radford University Saturday.
Three teams from Crestwood rose to the top of 86 Hampton Roads schools to win the regional competition at Oscar F. Smith High School March 16. Winners at the state level will travel to a world competition in Ames, Iowa.
The children faced a two-part challenge in the regional event: A long-term problem that the students had worked on since November and an impromptu problem-solving test that they had two minutes to solve. The long-term solutions were presented in skits featuring sets and props designed and made by the students. An audience and judges viewed the long-term, but only judges saw the ``spontaneous'' half of the event.
Fifth-grader Erin E. Caldwell, 11, was a member of Crestwood's winning ``Classics . . . Great Impressions'' team, challenged with creating a presentation combining art and poetry.
The team chose a painting by Monet, reproduced it and composed a poem about it, then chose a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson and painted their impression of the words.
``At first it seemed hard,'' said Caldwell, who had competed in Odyssey of the Mind twice before. ``But we got into it and it seemed easier and easier. We're really proud of ourselves. We really think we did a good job.''
``It was very fun,'' said fourth-grader Michelle L. Crawford. The 10-year-old was part of a team that created a tall tale. Their entry explained why ants and anteaters don't get along - discord that their project claims stems from an incident where ants stretched an anteater's nose.
``The ants tied a rope around the anteater's nose and tied the other end to a bike,'' summed Michelle. ``Then they rode away.''
Fifth-grader Thomas J. Van Wagner, 10, was part of a ``Crunch'' team balsa wood-and-glue structure that could weigh no more than 18 grams. The structure was tested to support as much weight as possible, and impact tests were conducted on it using billiard balls.
``It took a lot of effort to build it,'' said Van Wagner. ``You had to be really careful. It felt good because I knew we did a good job.''
The judges agreed.
The structure held 124 pounds and took first place.
These projects will be presented again Saturday, where their problem-solving will go head to head with regional winners from around the state.
``The competition teaches them life skills,'' said Brenda M. Frank, co-director of the March event. ``We have to make decisions to problems we encounter every day. It's an asset for children to learn these life skills at an early age.''
Other Chesapeake schools placed in categories throughout the competition, though Crestwood earned the only first-place wins. Those schools were as follows:
Elementary school level: E.W. Chittum Elementary School, second-place award; Western Branch Primary School, two third-place awards.
Middle school level: Western Branch Middle School, two second-place awards; Great Bridge Middle School, second-place award; Crestwood Middle School, second-place and third-place awards.
High School level: Great Bridge High School, two third-place awards; Western Branch High School, third-place award.
Members of the first-place Crestwood Intermediate School teams are:
Classics Team: Caldwell; Sara A. Evans, 11; Phillip P. Gilliam-Cuffee, 9; Stacy M. Lambe, 11; Chauntia D. Little, 10; Nick R. Maddux, 10; and Craig M. Poirier, 10.
Tall Tales Team: Crawford; Eric L. Brady, 9; Jazalyn D. Dukes, 10; Ben C. Floyd, 11; Kary C. Jubilee, 10; Adrienne D. McIntosh, 11; and Keisha R. Phillips, 9.
Crunch team: Van Wagner; Candace M. Brooks, 10; Teresa M. Collins, 10; Nick B. Long, 11; Will J. McNeil, 11; Tony D. Upchurch, 11; and Michael L. Wooten, 11. by CNB