Four Long Beach Odyssey of the Mind teams won prominent awards at the regional Odyssey of the Mind tournament, held during on March 7 at the Caroline G. Atkinson Intermediate School in Freeport. Two groups from the elementary school level and two from the middle school will advance to the State Tournament, to be held in Binghamton in April.
The elementary teams were coached by teachers Justin Sulsky and Douglas MacConnell, while Long Beach Middle School students worked under the guidance of coaches Christina Kile and Susan Kasper.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international competition in which participants solve defined problems using a predetermined set of rules the team must follow. It supports the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile traits that the district emphasizes throughout its curricula. Teams are required to write skits, create costumes and scenery and act in front of a panel of judges in a skit.
Elementary students Ben Levinson (West), Aaliyah Trichter (Lindell), Violet Richter (Lido), Kate Ragona (East), Sebastian Tricola (West), Jordan Soriano (East) and Sydney Bergstein (Lindell) used deductive reasoning to solve a mystery, while Dustin Basnyat (West), Jordi Perez (West), Emilio Diaz (Lindell), Brooklyn Quigley (Lindell,) Shayna Tozer (Lido), Marin Meola (East) and Charlotte DePalma (East) had to present a solution in which a gibberish character made several nonsense statements that were interpreted to be wise. Both teams took first place trophies. 
The Middle School’s first place team consisted of Aaron Blau, Isabelle DePalma, Cathy MacGuire, Vincent Napolitano, Lucy Petty, Annabel Pines, Reilly SanFilippo. The students created a solution that highlighted networking components and explained their roles in our modern world. Special thanks go to teacher Keith Harvey for his technology expertise and consultation.
The other Middle School group, comprised of Jacqueline Ching, Jack Clancy, Winter Collinson, Alanna Damiani, Lucy Nash, Sean Sarauksnis and Avery Schab, took second place. They also solved a gibberish challenge that was “twisted and turned” to take on meaning.  
Congratulations to all involved!