NORWICH – This year, the Norwich City School District sent four teams to the regional Odyssey of the Mind tournament, and two of those teams were made up of high school students.

According to Odyssey advisor and high school teacher Beth Nassar, the Odyssey program grew this year. Last year, the district sent only one team to competition. This year, with the addition of coaches at the middle school and primary school level, the school sent four teams, and the addition of the younger students was a big success with the primary school taking a second place finish and the middle school coming in first in their category.

“We had enough students at the high school that we added a second high school team,” Nassar said.

“Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college,” the event’s web site explains. Unlike other competitive contests, Odyssey does not focus on physical ability or strength, but encourages students to use their imaginations and creativity to come up with solutions for problems.