Leonardo Di Vinci created a number of groundbreaking inventions. The cure to the common cold wasn’t one of them. That was a problem for Windsor 7th grader Aubrey Dixon, who played the legendary creator in her Odyssey of the Mind team’s skit set in “Leonardo’s Workshop.”
“I had a 102-degree fever,” said Dixon.
But, she and her Windsor Central Middle School team powered through and won their regional competition on March 9th at Broome-Tioga BOCES, earning a spot at the state competition this Saturday at Vestal High School.
“It was very thrilling. I wasn’t sure if we were going to win. When they called Vestal’s name (in second place), I didn’t think we were going to win. Then, we won,” said 8th grader Allison Forbidussi.
The team of Dixon, Forbidussi, Kenna Frederick, Alyssa Deyo, Lindsey Darling and Hailey Ryan won thanks to their performance in the spontaneous part of the competition. Odyssey of the Mind competitions have two components: a spontaneous performance and long-term skit.
“We got first in spontaneous,” said Deyo.
“That’s what won us the competition,” said teacher and coach Terri Walker.
During the lead-up to the competition, 2016 WCHS graduate Jasmine Rolston and 2018 WCHS graduate Savannah Rolston came back to work with the team. Their help, along with a natural chemistry between the team members, led to victory.
“We have good teamwork and work well together,” said Deyo.
The Middle School team wasn’t the only one from Windsor to advance. The Palmer Elementary team, which also tackled the “Leonardo’s Workshop” problem, won their regional competition. The team of 5th grader Keira Christ, 5th grader Jayse Dixon, 3rd grader Cassandra Groome, 4th grader Gabby Hans, 4th grader Dacia Whiting, and 3rd grader Delaney Dixon (Aubrey’s younger sister) are now preparing for Saturday’s state competition.
“I cried and screamed when we won,” said Christ.
The team’s musical talent may have been the difference.
“Our props were really good and we were singing songs a lot,” said Hans.
“They created a musical and no one else did,” said teacher and coach Eileen Mulcahy.
The top-performing teams at the state competition will advance to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University from May 22-25.
“I’ll be honest here, we want to go to Michigan,” said Christ.
“If we win, we’ll chant, ‘Michigan, Michigan,’ as we run around,” said Jayse Dixon.
You can cheer on the Palmer team Saturday at 8:54am when it has its long-term performance at the Vestal High School cafeteria. The Middle School team has its long-term performance at 2:36pm at the Vestal High School gym. As both teams prepare for Saturday, Aubrey Dixon has her own plan to advance to the World Finals.
“Don’t be sick again,” said Dixon.