Topa academics head to finals
By Kelly Feser Eells

For the kind of coaching Sarah Garrett, a fourth-fifth grade combination class teacher at Topa Topa School, does, no helmets are required. She does, however, insist upon thinking caps, which any team she's ever coached has only been too happy to put on.

Garrett is an Odyssey of the Mind - an annual, academic contest for students kindergarten through college - coach, who is, along with a group of Topa Topa fourth- and fifth-graders, in a triumphant mood these days. On March 8, they placed first and second at the Los Angeles regional competition, and are now headed to the state finals, to be held in Visalia on April 8.

(Teams that advance from the state-province-country level are eligible go on to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, May 28.)

"I'm just really excited!" said Garrett, now in her sixth year as coach.

So are Bronwyn Bennett, Aubrey Hale, Gabrielle Mintz, Austin Rennacker, Belen Soriano, Katie Vlasoff and Taylor Young, whose creative "answer" to the question of why the Taj Mahal was built earned them first place.

Equally excited are Hayden Bean, Susan Bowman, Heather Gerhart, Enrique Juarez, Natalie Pierson and Evan Praetorius, whose imaginary trip to Mars, where they discussed the meaning of life with an alien, earned them second place.

Another group of fourth and fifth grade Topa Topa students earned a third place trophy at the regional competition. This team consists of Stacy Barragan, Tyler Brown, Madison Gay, McKenna Jensen, Grace Miller, Marika Wegerbauer and Sonia Zatkowsky.

Odyssey of the Mind encourages creative thinking through teamwork; students choose a "problem," then work together to "solve" it. Designed in 1979, Odyssey of the Mind fosters critical thinking and self-confidence by, literally, taking criticism out of the equation. Program participants work in a collaborative setting, where every idea is heard and none dismissed out-of-hand.

"It's brainstorming and teamwork to come up with something special," said Garrett.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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