European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 27, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 27, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 9education mind games take pupils on Odyssey of educational fun w a a by Rosemary Sawyer Brussels Bureau Mons Belgium a on first glance you might mistake youngsters taking part in a recent creative problem solving Competition for costumed carnival goers. Princesses clowns and Black cats toting everything from electric fans to tin pans showed up at Belgium a shape International school to compete in the Odyssey of the mind tournament. A week earlier an equally colourful crowd gathered at Lakenheath Middle school in England for a similar Competition. About 80 teams from Atlantic Region schools in Cuba Bermuda Newfoundland Iceland Norway Scotland England the Netherlands and Belgium participated in the contest which was divided Between the two Sites to allow More teams to participate. A amps Dave Dudlo Amanda Hepp 11, of accent elementary plays a cat during a skit. The International educational program for Young people in kindergarten through College is designed to Foster creativity and Independent thinking. In the tournament teams of up to seven pupils compete in such activities As building air powered cars to acting out an imaginary adventure. Team members also tackle Impromptu problems. Odyssey a encourages creativity As Well As increases technical ability a said Mabry King Odyssey of the mind association director for Dodds Atlantic Region. Most Competition categories include some sort of science based problem. The delayed reaction category for example requires teams to use movement of a weight to trigger a sequence of eight other physical reactions. When the teams later perform their physics feats in Competition they Are also graded on their style of performance which draws out their flair for costume making and drama. Odyssey gives children the a Freedom of expression to be As whimsical As they want to be yet also teaches them responsibility said Pam Capenos second Grade teacher at shape elementary school and Mother of three Young children. Odyssey teaches youngsters to work together As a team manage their time and solve problems. A i want mine to be involved and to be creative and to learn to make decisions at an Early age a she said. A it makes them better  Judy Bates a team coach and second Grade teacher at shape elementary said the program a is a wonderful Opportunity for the children to show their creativity and just to have an experience of doing everything  each team has an adult coach which can teach skills to the team but cannot help solve the problem King explained. If children wanted to knit parts of their costumes for example a coach can teach them How to knit but can to make the costume. A amps Dav a Toto Kevin Decse left and Chad Darcy from Brussels american school prepare their project for the delayed reaction Competition. A the solution belongs to the children and that a part of the excitement a said King who a been an Odyssey proponent for almost 10 years. Brian Somma of Oesterberg High school in the Netherlands said he likes Odyssey because a it makes you think and at school you done to really  he later added a Well you do think at school but you done to think hard and you done to have to make up something. This is creative  Somma and his fellow seventh graders competed in the Omu ment category which required them to perform a skit in which they had to create a Monument to something and explain its significance. Atlantic Region winners Are eligible to compete in the world tournament this summer in Boulder colo., said King who teaches talented and gifted students at Chicksands elementary and Junior High school in England. Last year teams from Brussels accent in Brun sum Netherlands and shape schools participated in the world finals in Knoxville Tenn. This year s european Competition winners in their respective categories and age divisions Are hybrid relay teams design build and run five vol Clos powered by a variety of Energy sources. Division 1 Little Rossington elementary England Bon Goins Jeff Horstman Alison Koleszar tomorrow Monshor try James Soufl James Manning Jason Harbaugh coaches Eleanor Goins and tech sgt. Rick Kot Euar. Division 2 Lakenheath my Date school. England Joff Popelka Kyle Mcdonough Kristen stalker Toby Crawford and Jimmy Zelasko coach Dana Bowermeister. Atlas teams but structures from less than i ounce of Balsa Wood on which they loaded heavy weights. Division 1 Alfred t. Mahan elementary Iceland Michael Griffeath Jeanne Rhea David Gulledge Josh Harrol son Josh Douglass John Riley dowdy and Bon Jarvis Coati Wii Feige. Division 2  Bristol Newfoundland Patrick Erbland Sharon Francisco Shaun Mendelsohn John Johnson and Amanda Mendelsohn coach Dorothy Lee. Division 3 shape High Sevor lne Colborg Annna Smith Christy Caruso Judy Hobbs Kathy Moore Robby Robbins and Kristy Wilson coach Chris Orsak. Classics Alice in Moorland teams performed a drama presentation incorporating such special effects As troops that come to life and objects that become animated. Division 1 Brussels american school Nathan Mulhol land Paige Stoll Sarenna Hatta Anne Postoll Michael Rood Chris Clermont and Sarah Phillips coaches Brian Thompson Sharon Stoll. Division 2 Lakenheath Middle school Patrick Cornell us summer Davis Heath Hale Kevin Salvo Stophen mod Tord Jason Sepp Langton and Marigold stroll Kos coach Cindy Cornelius. Delayed Road ton division 2 Wood logo High school England Laura hum Cory Wickett Heidi Smith Christophoro Shoughnessy Chrystal googles and John Phillip coach Rich o Shaughnessy. Architecture the Omu Mont division 1 shape Elo montary Jacob Baker John Nolan Mary Beth Bonlee Katie Donaldson Jessica Lehman Tara Sattory and Samantha Jenkins coach Helen Stewart. Division 2 Lakenheath Middle school Jaime Meyers Jeremy Bocker Danelle Hlavacek Geoff Mudge Greta Hamilton Jonnifer Armstrong and held Larson coach Patricia  finds officers kids get better grades by Ron Jensen Niernberg Bureau Katterbach Germany a at a science fair in 1990, Daisy Jorgensen saw a project that alarmed her. A High school student in England had discovered by examining Honor Roll lists at her american school that the children of officers had better grades than youngsters of enlisted personnel. A since my father is enlisted and i have pretty Good grades i decided i had to do it the research to see if its True or not a said Jorgensen a senior who will graduate this Spring As the salutatorian of her class. The truth was revealed this year. Yes she discovered officers offspring do populate the Honor Roll in greater percentages. Quot once again i was shot Down a said Jorgensen the daughter of sgt. 1st class Rodney and Hwa Jorgensen. Her father is with the inspector general a office for the 99th area support group in Furth. Jorgensenn a project was titled a the correlation Between the academic achievement of military dependent students and Parent military  to do the study she looked at the Honor Roll for three years at her own school Ansbach High school. The student in England had Only examined one year of Honor Roll lists. Jorgensen hoped her Extension of the time Frame would change the results. A but Surprise Surprise a she said. Of the 1,400 students in the school during those years 68 percent were children of enlisted personnel 22 percent were officers children and 10 percent had civilian parents. A out of the 68 percent enlisted 32 percent were on the Honor Roll a Jorgensen said. A out of both civilian and officers it came out to be about 57,  Frank of Gara a department of defense dependents schools spokesman said he Wasny to aware of any similar data from Dodds. A we done to differentiate Between offi Jorgensen cers and enlisted kids when examining test data at any level in the school  in searching for an explanation Jorgensen discussed her findings with Karen Webber the schools specialist in the talented and gifted program who oversaw the project. Together they reached a plausible conclusion. A most of the people that Are officers in the military have a College education a Jorgensen said. �?o1 hey might expect a Little More from their  Webber said that educational studies in the states tend to show that the education level of parents is a Factor in the academic achievement of their children. A so its not just the military environment a she said. Webber said there Are probably other causes. In Jorgensenn Scase the heritage of her korean Mother plays a role. In Korea Hwa Jorgensen had to struggle to attain an education. It was not a gift or a right As it is considered in America. Jorgensen does More than get Good grades. She is student Council president senior class vice president and an Active participant in varsity sports. She is also involved in the Model United nations program. She plans to attend either Auburn University in Alabama or a College in Washington state studying communications. Despite the results Jorgensen is glad she tackled the project. If nothing else it satisfied a curiosity. A it was one of those things a i have to see it to believe it a she said. A i thought if i can get Good grades there a no reason Why others  be Able  by the Way although Jorgensen is the class salutatorian the valedictorian is yes the daughter of an officer. Staff writer Waltor Jah Ricke contributed to this report