Hardee Jr High's Odyssey of the Mind Team attended the 2024 Florida Odyssey of the Mind State Competition on March 30th. This amazing team attended the competition after they won a bid from the Buccaneer Bay Regional Competition in February.
Odyssey of the Mind is a place where team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and world levels. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and about 25 other countries participate in the program.
The team's sponsors, Micaela Ford and Martha Smith have been diligently working with students during after-school practices since the beginning of this school year. They even enlisted the help of HJH staff, who volunteered to come in and judge the team. The outside feedback helped the team to prepare for feedback they may receive in the competition.
The HJH Odyssey of the Mind Team competed in a Spontaneous Competition where they didn't know what creative problem they would solve until they walked in the room. Then, they performed a student-planned and created skit as their long-term problem. The students also built all the props, costumes, and backdrops used in the skit!
The HJH Odyssey of the Mind team earned 7th place out of 19 teams. Team members included:
8th graders: Reagan Albritton, Reid Miller, 7th grader: Anderson Gray, 6th graders: Violet Johnson, Kevin Kight, Hunter Rudolph, Olivia Snead.
What an accomplishment for this young team in only its second year at Hardee Junior High!
Hardee Junior High students continued to shine at state competitions with four Hardee Junior High School students attending the 69th State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Micaela Ford, 6-7th STEM
teacher said, "Just being chosen as one of the 24 students from the Heartland Region to attend the state fair is an honor, let alone win an award! "
The four students representing Hardee Junior High first competed in the school-level science fair at HJH then, moved on to the Heartland Regional Science and Engineering Fair, finally earning a spot at the state level.
The following students presented their projects at the state level: Caroline Cornell for her project- "Do surfactants increase coverage of spray applications on young citrus trees in individual protective coverings (IPC)?", Anderson Gray- "Do You C Time?", Lainey Kate Johnson- "Does the pH level in soil affect the growth of Imperata cylindrical (Cogon grass)?", and Layla King- "Electrolyte Time!".
The Heartland Region is made up of Desoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okeechobee Counties.
A special recognition goes to Caroline Cornell who received Second Place for her Chemistry project. Caroline also received a special scholarship award from Florida Ag in the Classroom. Sixth grader, Lainey Kate Johnson, received Third Place for her Plant project on Cogon grass!
Hardee Junior High School offers various electives, sports, and clubs that support students' growth and interest. The Odyssey of the Mind Team and STEM programs are great examples of students exploring their interests, and building social skills and creativity. Congratulations to our students for representing Hardee Junior High School! A special thank you to our staff and parents who put in the extra time and effort to help our students be successful.
Picture 1- Reid Miller, Odyssey of the Minds member, works on setting up the team's props at the state competition.
Picture 4: The Odyssey of the Minds team prepares their props for state competition.
Picture 5- Back Row L-R: Micaela Ford, Regan Albritton, Violet Johnson, and Reid Miller
Front Row L-R: Olivia Snead, Hunter Rudolph, Anderson Gray, and Kevin Kight
Picture 6: Lainey Kate Johnson, Layla King, Caroline Cornell, and Anderson Gray arrive at the 69th annual State Science Fair.
Picture 8: Anderson Gray, Caroline Cornel, Lainey Kate Johnson, and Layla King are ready for the State Science and Engineering Fair Awards.
Picture 9: Caroline Cornell received second place in her Chemistry division and a Florida Ag in the Classroom scholarship.
Picture 7: Lainey Kate Johnson received third place in her Plant division.