Special to The Tribune
Clay Elementary School had a record three Future Problem Solvers teams this year, and this amount of interest in the program allowed the school to compete with its best teams to date.
Two of the three teams qualified to compete at the State Bowl at American Village on March 17.
The event was a huge success for the school, as Clay Elementary teams captured both first and second places in every category.
There are two separate but related categories at the State Bowl: the booklet competition and the presentation of action plan. The booklet competition is the part the teams practice and prepare for.
In that category, the teams apply the creative problem solving method to a futuristic situation centering around a specific topic. This year’s topic was identity theft. The presentation of action plan is based on the last step of the teams’ competition booklet. It is a skit that sells their plan for solving the problem they felt was most important in the situation.
Here are the winners:
First Place: Booklet Competition
First Place: Presentation of Action Plan
Team Members: Mackenzie McCants (4th), Rachel Tucker (4th), Anna Morris (4th), and Ethan Wright (5th)
Second Place: Booklet Competition
Second Place: Presentation of Action Plan
Team Members: Rory Blasingame (4th), Tori Walker (5th), and Khalil Donald (5th)
The first place team is eligible to compete at the International Competition at the University of Wisconson – La Crosse in June. This year’s topic will be biosecurity.