Way to go, Eagles!

Synopsis of the team’s solution to Problem 3: The team is on an epic Journey to save the Oceans from an Evil Mad Scientist who has a vendetta against a cheeky squid. Their journey takes them from Paris to an Enchanted Forest and they even escape an erupting volcano. 

Team Members and their roles in the performance—all fourth graders:

True Cook: the beast who is a squid

Eda Dincal: a twin sidekick

Charlotte Morgan: the other twin sidekick

Julio Hernandez: the narrator

Gianna Mehta: the secret agent hero

Juliet Sauer: a waiter and the mad scientist

A moment when they had to improvise during the regional contest:

When the team arrived at the OM Regional event, they discovered their backdrop, complete with a Paris sidewalk scene and a forest, was so big it almost touched the judging table. “We didn’t want to knock over the judges,” said one of the team members. So, adjustments were made on the spot. They also realized the person in the performance who WAS going to be rescued was not allowed to be according to the Problem 3 rubric. Therefore, they reworked the ending so the mad scientist was rescued instead.

What have you learned being part of an OM team? The team feels like they have grown the most by being able to receive feedback and not be defensive or take it personally. Charlotte appreciates learning to give feedback that is “helpful and not hurtful.” Setting realistic goals within a budget with the skills found on the team is a skill True has learned this year. Julio has come to realize, “We can do better together than by ourselves and have more fun.”

Coach Elizabeth Puente is also proud of the way the team has learned to give and take feedback in kind and constructive ways. “When someone on the team is not having a good day, we take time to go around the circle and give compliments to each other,” she said. “They learned to start a feedback comment with ‘I am not trying to be rude, but…’” 

According to the coach, collaboration occurred during the development of their script. It grew from an initial draft made by Charlotte, but as the team brainstormed over time, they fed off each other’s ideas to get to the final script. Each character came up with their own lines, and they quickly learned that if someone didn’t say his or her line at the right time, then the next person didn’t know when to say theirs. Reinforcement of several SBISD Core Values was under construction: being Empathetic & Self-Aware, a Resourceful Problem-solver and a Communicator & Collaborator.