Girl Scout Troop 1482 heads to Odyssey of the Mind World Finals
Girl Scout Troop 1482, nicknamed Team Loophole, has again earned the right to send a team of girls to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in May 2014. The team, consisting of Girl Scouts and sponsored by Lewes Troop 1482, includes members Phoebe Callard, Erin Gallagher, Athena Malecdan, Mia Moshier, Hannah Lowe, and Lauren Thornberg.
After competition at the state level, they took home the first-place trophy, with a score four points away from perfect. The girls are among 34 teams from the state on their way to World Finals in Iowa; this will be their second trip to World Finals, the first being last year.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international program for students from kindergarten through college that promotes creative problem-solving and teamwork. Team members apply their creativity and intelligence to solve problems from theatrical presentations to mechanical construction to retelling classic literary pieces. Teams then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and world level. Team Loophole also holds the honor of being the only Girl Scout troop from Delaware and the only Girl Scout team out of over 800 teams at last year’s World Finals tournament.
Coach Rebecca Lowe is proud of her team - the only team with representation from not one, but three local schools: Cape Henlopen High School, Sussex Academy, and Sussex Technical High School. Of OM’s connection to Scout values, she said, “Odyssey of the Mind is the perfect fit for Girl Scouts. The mission of Girl Scouting is to build girls of courage and confidence, who make the world a better place. OM builds upon these skills and gives these young women an opportunity to showcase their abilities.”
The sisterhood of Scouting lent itself in favor of Team Loophole when Girl Scout Troop 46, based out of Shields Elementary School and led by fellow OM coach Betsy Kirschner, decided to donate $250 of the girls' own money from Girl Scout cookie sales to help their sister scouts make it to Iowa. Girl Scout Terri Kirschner, who participated in OM this year, suggested using their troop money to help Troop 1482.
When presented with the idea, co-leaders Betsy Kirschner and Kathleen Heims agreed. “We as leaders want our girls to know that sometimes giving is better than to receive. And these girls felt the reward of giving when they were able to talk to and hug their Scout sisters during the ceremony, and to know what a huge help they were being in assisting these girls to raise money” said Kirschner. Troop 46 presented a check, along with a large-scale, handmade cardboard version, to Team Loophole in a ceremony written and organized by the younger scouts. Team Loophole member Hannah Lowe said of the ceremony, “It’s moments like this that remind me of the importance of the sisterhood of Scouting. I am so proud to call each of those girls my scouting sister!”
Troop 1482 has also received generous support from the community as the girls are working hard to raise $8,000 to pay for the entire journey to Iowa, and they have asked for donations to be made out to Troop 1482 and sent to 7 Drake Knoll, Lewes, DE 19958, or made online at www.youcaring.com/TeamLoophole.
