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DOWCO SPONSORSHIP - South Slope Elementary

Odyssey of the Mind 2005 World Finals

This May 20th , the South Slope Elementary Division 1 Team from Burnaby will travel  to the University of Colorado at Boulder  for the Odyssey of the Mind 2005 World Finals, an international problem-solving competition for students of all ages.  The team earned a place at the World Finals by coming in first at the Stunt Mobile Division 1 Problem at the BC Odyssey of the Mind Provincial Finals held last April 16, 2005 in Port Moody.

The South Slope squad of Grade 4 and 5 students  Jacob Syme, Gregory Song, Bill Huang, Paul Szefer, Kathy Chen and Jasmin Manrique,   presented an original solution to one of five long term
problems and was judged for creativity, innovation and their own sense of style.  The team built a mouse-trap powered vehicle, wrote a skit, and responded to a spontaneous challenge, and was chosen as the most creative in their category.  Their coach is Graham Syme.  This is the first year for
the Grade 4 and 5 Team to be in the World Finals but last year, the South Slope Elementary Grade 6 and 7 team also represented Canada at the World finals in Washington, DC.

World Finals is a major educational event.  Nearly 800 teams of students will come from the US and about 14 other countries to compete.  Of those, only 15 or so will claim the title of World Champion of Creative Problem-Solving.

Dowco is proud to be a sponsor of the South Slope team.  Jasmine Manrique is the daughter of Dowco employee Joselito Manrique.