2007/2008 intake

Auditions take place at the end of July ( Date to be confirmed later)

Class size: (35members)

 At Methodist Girls’ School, we believe in giving our girls an all-round education. Through various avenues, we strive to equip our girls with life-skills to enable them to face the challenges in life as they grow into womanhood. In this ever -changing world, we are constantly exploring ways to better equip our girls with important skills like creativity, productivity and teamwork. As such, we are excited to introduce Odyssey of the Mind (OotM), an international educational programme that provides creative problem solving opportunities for our girls.

OotM is an exciting creative problem solving competition involving technology and the arts. It focuses on the PROCESS and not the end product, and teams go away from the competition daring to think more creatively, finding skills they never thought they had and above all, experiencing the joys of giving and receiving help in a team.

OotM has three components: a long term problem where the team works on a project to present on competition day, spontaneous problems and hands-on problems.

All these require team members to be creative. For example, a spontaneous question may require the team to list all things blue.  While “blue sky and blue eyes” are common answers, “singing the blues and Bluetooth technology” are creative answers.  Hands-on problems require teams to create structures such as a spaghetti tower within a set time. Details may be found on this website: http://www.odysseyofthemind.com

While all this is a lot of fun and very exciting, it takes up a lot of time as the long term problem is always being refined and lots of practice for spontaneous and hands-on problems is required.

In 2008, we are sending 5 teams of 7 girls each to prepare them for the Singapore Odyssey of the Mind competition in April. So, if you are interested and you are able to give 100% commitment to the team and club and have what it takes to excel, come down for an audition at the end of this month.

Girls who are shortlisted have to attend a weekly meeting/ training every Tuesday from 1.45p.m. to 5.15 p.m and Friday (time to be confirmed). Do note that although there is no membership fee for the club, all members will have to pay for courses such as vocal and speech training, percussion etc and courses in essential skills for the competition. These courses are organised by a team of parents working closely with the teachers-in-charge and coaches. We have attached a synopsis of the 2007/2008 long-term problem and the training schedule for your reference.

Problem 2: DinoStories
Divisions I, II, III, & IV
What might have happened to the dinosaurs that existed so many years ago? In a humorous performance, teams present their original theory of what caused the dinosaurs to become extinct. The performance includes a dinosaur, a replica of the same dinosaur, an animal that is not a dinosaur, and a technical simulation of the team's "extinction theory." At least part of the performance takes place in a setting from the Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous periods.

Problem 3: Classics ... The Wonderful Muses
Divisions I, II, III & IV
In Greek Mythology, muses were the source of inspiration for the creative works of artists and scientists. The team's problem is to create and present an original performance that includes one of the nine Greek muses. The Muse will inspire two people during the performance: (1) from history, a person who made an actual positive contribution to the world, and (2) from the team’s creation, a person who tries to make a positive contribution to the world. The Muse will use the art form attributed to her during two "moments of inspiration," when all the characters in the scene, except the Muse, "freeze." The team will also create two original works in that art form to include in the performance.

Problem 5: The Eccentrics!
Divisions I, II, III & IV
This problem requires teams to create and present a humorous performance about three Eccentric Characters that demonstrate odd behavior, peculiar mannerisms, and unconventional dress. The performance includes a “problem” which is created by the team and is within, or involves, an Earth system -- the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, or hydrosphere. The Eccentric Characters, which seem to be misfits, will solve the problem. As a reward, a celebration is held in their honor and they end up launching a new fad.

Primary: Rude Awakenings
Grades K-2
This problem requires teams to create and present a humorous performance that includes a character that keeps waking up in a different time and/or place from where the character fell asleep. This will happen at least three times before the character returns to where he/she has started and something or someone stops the character from "travelling" in his/her sleep. The performance will also include a pet, a helpful character, and narration.