All-girl Adobe Bluffs team heading to national problem-solving compeititon

A team of seven girls from Adobe Bluffs Elementary School in Rancho Penasquitos will be the first team to represent the Poway Unified School District in the world finals of a national creative problem solving competition, Odyssey of the Mind (OM).

The team of fourth- and fifth-graders will travel to Michigan State University next month to compete against teams from throughout the U.S. and more than 20 other countries.

Thousands of teams participate in the international educational program Odyssey of the Mind, providing students from kindergarten through college with creative problem-solving opportunities that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. Teams present their solutions at competitions on the local, state, and world level.

The Adobe Bluffs team, led by coaches Ami Lau and Janice Lutz, includes fourth graders Ally Lau and Kiara Lutz, and fifth graders Kate Lau, Bria Erimli, Lilly Minter, Sara Brownlee and Claire McLaughlin. The girls competed against 12 other teams at the state level and hundreds of teams at the regional level and placed second in their problem, qualifying them to advance to the national stage.

The team is engaged in multiple fundraising initiatives to support sending the team and all of their supplies to Lansing, Mich. Visit the team’s gofundme site for additional details on their winning presentation: www.gofundme.com/ABOotM.