Resolution
WHEREAS, Two teams of students from SPC Daniel Zizumbo Elementary School placed first in their division at Illinois' annual Odyssey ofthe Mind competition held on March 11 and advanced to the World Finals competition where they will represent Illinois and compete to be the world champions; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of this achievement by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving competition that encourages students to be creative, expand their critical thinking skills and work as a team; and
WHEREAS, By competing in the contest, students build self-confidence, develop life skills, create new friendships and are empowered to recognize and explore their true potential while having fun while they learn; and
WHEREAS, Zizumbo is the only school from Chicago to compete in this contest and its teams have won first or second place in their division in each of the three years they have participated in the state competition; and
WHEREAS, This year one team competed in the Balsa Problem and had to design and build a structure out of balsa wood that weighed less than 15 grams; and
WHEREAS, During the state competition the team's structure held over 200 pounds; and
WHEREAS, The other Zizumbo team chose to compete in the Technical Problem contest and had to engineer a "robot" to perform certain tasks; and
WHEREAS, Both teams wrote an original script to explain their project and created all of their own props, scenery, and costumes; and
WHEREAS, The Balsa Team is made up of the following students: Abram Luna (8th), Angela Cuevas (8th), Diego Ayala (6th), Emily Miranda (6th), Emma Ortega (8th), Jaime Garza (6th), and Sofia Ortega (7th); and
WHEREAS, The Technical Problem Team included Edlyn Martinez (6th), Joaquin Salgado (8th), Luz Estrada (8th), Moises Rodriguez (6th) and Sebastian Ortiz (6th); and
WHEREAS, The teams are coached by teachers Kathryn Schoedel and Pearce Dowden who both competed in Odyssey of the Mind competitions when they were students and who generously devote time each week to provide the same opportunity to their students; and
WHEREAS, These students and teachers represent the many fine students and teachers at Zizumbo Elementary which is a Level 1+ elementary school and part of the UNO Charter School Network (UCSN);and
WHEREAS, More than 800 teams from 26 countries and all over the United States will compete in the Odyssey ofthe Mind World Finals at Michigan State University from May 24 -27, 2017; and
WHEREAS, The Odyssey of the Mind World Finals is the largest international creative problem-solving competition in the world; and
WHEREAS, This competition offers students an opportunity to showcase their talents, meet students from other countries and proudly represent Chicago at an international venue; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this twenty-fourth day of May, 2017, do hereby recognize and congratulate the students and teachers of Zizumbo Elementary School for their 1st Place finish in the Odyssey ofthe Mind state finals and do hereby extend our best wishes for continued success at the World Finals; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the SPC Daniel Zizumbo Elementary School.
