Windham’s Odyssey of the Mind team wins first place in State Tournament

Windham's Odyssey of the Mind team won first place in the
Maine State Tournament at Noble High School in North
Berwick earlier this month. Team members include Alex
Fuller, Fiona Knott, Rylee Prescott, Tori Leavitt, and Liam
Yates.  PHOTO BY DAN KNOTT

By Masha Yurkevich

There isn’t much that can be hidden in small and inclusive communities like Windham and Raymond. From our sports teams to the best pizza place in town, information travels quickly. Yet what many people in the community may not know about is Windham High School’s first place victory in Odyssey of the Mind (OM) competition.

On March 26, OM students Alex Fuller (Junior), Tori Leavitt (Junior), Rylee Prescott (Junior), Liam Yates (Junior) and Fiona Knott from Windham, (Junior who attends a private school) went to Noble High School in North Berwick to participate in the OM Problem and Division at the state tournament. Many of the students have been participating in the OM program for eight or nine years since they attended Windham Primary School.

“Odyssey of the Mind is a competition in which teams from schools all over the state prepare a project based off of given prompts, and present it to judges,” said Prescott “This year, the Windham team chose ‘classics,’ in which we created a play based off of a lesser-known historical figure.”

The problem they selected this year required them to choose a lesser-known historical figure to be featured in an original musical production. They chose Peter Francisco, a Portuguese-born American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War. The team needed to compose and integrate three original songs to go with the storytelling of Peter Francisco's life. Along with original prop design, theatrical effects and choreography, all work was created and constructed by the five team members without adult assistance. 

Though the students are amazing, they would not have been able to get where they are today if it wouldn’t have been for their team coach, Dan Knott.

“This is my ninth year as a coach for my daughter, Fiona,” Knott said. “The students on this current team have joined at various points over the course of those nine years.” 

Over the years, he’s watched these team members create and problem-solve, and every year he’s been proud of what they've accomplished. This year, these talented kids have outdone themselves and earned some well-deserved recognition from the judges at the state tournament.

Since the ideas and solutions come from their imagination, Knott’s role has always been to help them find their way to make it a realized product.

“Now, the team brings a level of focus and maturity where I can take a step back and watch them bring about the reality they seek,” said Knott. “These kids will do amazing things.” 

Prescott said the camaraderie of the group appeals to her.

“I am part of Odyssey of the Mind because the idea of working with friends to solve problems sounded fun,” she said. “So far, I am very glad that I joined, as the team building, problems and friendships have been so worth it.”

After winning the state tournament, the team’s next step will be to compete in the OM Worlds competition next month in Iowa.

“In Odyssey of the Mind Worlds, you compete not only against other winners from your own state, but with people from all over the world, hence the name,” said Prescott. “Worlds will provide a ton of experience with other people and is a great opportunity to take.”

If Windham’s OM raises enough money to compete in the world finals, they will be traveling to Ames, Iowa where Iowa State University is hosting the 2022 Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. They will depart on Tuesday, May 24 to attend the event from May 25 through May 28.  

“Our team has to pay for the airfare, shuttles and prop shipping as well as the room and board on campus,” said Knott. “All told, our target cost for the team and chaperones will be close to $10,000.”

The Windham High School OM team will be doing a number of fundraisers such as bottle drives to raise money to fund the trip. Donations will gladly be accepted.

To donate, Windham High School has set up an account to accept donations for the team. Send check or money to: Windham High School, Attention Odyssey of the Mind, 406 Gray Rd, Windham, ME 04062. There is also a GoFundMe at the following link http://gofund.me/5e5114fd.

For more information about Windham’s OM program, contact Coach Dan Knott at danielwknott78@gmail.com. <

Kevin Jack’s love of water skiing has taken him on many journeys

Kevin Jack

By Matt Pascarella

The first-time Kevin Jack, a former Windham resident, saw people skimming along the top of the lake, he was amazed. Jack started water skiing when he was eight, and by 14, he competed in his first championship. In March of 2020, he’ll have the opportunity to ski in the Moomba Masters in Melbourne, Australia and World Championships in Yarraconga, Australia. Along with competing, he is a water-skiing coach to roughly a dozen students.

For Jack, water skiing always looked like fun. “I think it was mostly that so many of my favorite times of my childhood were on Highland Lake, skiing and swimming and spending time with my family. The longer I’ve been in this sport the more amazing experiences and great people I’ve met that have become like a second family to me,” he states.

He started competing when a neighbor on Highland Lake told him about a few guys across the lake who were competitive water skiers. It was then Jack met Dave Robbins and the other Highland Lake skiers who were event skiers. Jack was encouraged to ski in his first Maine State Championship.

“It was in 2001 and I was such an underdog that they had already put my competitor’s name on the winning certificate before we even skied! Once they tallied the scores, the tournament organizers had to apologize to me that they assumed I wouldn’t win.”

Jack has skied in probably over a hundred tournaments, but the two that stood out the most were winning the 2011 and 2019 National Water Ski Championships because it’s very difficult to perform your best in a national championship. You can’t make any mistakes; if you fall, it’s over.

“Being the U.S. national champion is one of the greatest honors you can have in this sport and those two national titles are my greatest athletic accomplishment. I will never forget how great the feeling was to be the best in the country,” he explained.

Jack also coaches water skiing and started out coaching his friends and his friend’s kids. Soon he became a professional coach at McCormick’s Ski School in Seffner, Florida. The school had hundreds of students including one who asked him to create instructional videos doing tricks on his water skis.

After Jack did those videos, his name got out there as a great coach and he began coaching up-and-coming competitive water skiers. He currently coaches dozens of students off and on for the whole year and has five main students who he spends time training with regularly. He’s had several students win national titles in the junior division.

“I get so much enjoyment out of watching them succeed,” exclaimed Jack. He wants to share his passion for the sport and help his students be the best they can be.

Jack got his Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Florida Southern College. He was recruited by several water ski coaches and decided to move to Florida and now lives in Winter Haven. He is a fourth-grade math and science teacher.

Aside from water skiing, Jack loves to go kiteboarding any chance he gets. He also plays piano and guitar. He returns home several times a year to see his parents and spend time with his sister, brother-in-law and niece and nephew.

We wish Jack the best in his international competitions.