Centennial Future Problem Solvers Take Top Honors at State Competition

Editor's Note: The following was submitted by Sheila Johnston.

If you stopped by Centennial Elementary School most mornings before school, you would have found  fifth graders, Arwah Yusuf, Ibrahim Ahmed, Juan Molina, Zain Thamer, and fourth grader, Jenna Lankey, hard at work!   You would have heard them discussing biomagnification, and the infrastructure of consumer society. Or the pros and cons of pyrolysis. Under the guidance of Sheila Johnston, Future Problem Solving coach and gifted education teacher, the team has been intensely preparing to compete in the State Future Problem Solving Competition. 

The topic for the State F.P.S. tournament was Ocean Soup. The team did extensive research on the problem of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans, and they honed their problem solving, writing, and oral presentation skills in the months preceding the state competition. 

The State F.P.S. Competition was held on Saturday, April 6, at Forest Lake High School, and the team competed in both the Written and Oral Presentation Competitions. As part of the Written Competition, the team wrote an Underlying Problem and an Action Plan that addressed the issue of plastic pollution in the oceans. This was the basis of their oral presentation.  

The team’s challenge was to “market” their solution in a creative presentation.  Drawing on their research on the mythology of the oceans, the team creatively presented their problem from the perspective of Poseidon, the god of the ocean. They used plastic wrap and bags, paper cups, popsicle sticks, and paper towel tubes to craft costumes and props as they sold their solution idea, an improved robotic ocean clean-up system.   

The team advanced from the preliminary round of orals competition to the Oral Presentation Competition finals and performed before a full auditorium and a new team of judges. Centennial’s hard work and creativity were well rewarded!  The Centennial Future Problem Solvers placed first in the Junior Division Oral Presentation Competition at the State Future Problem Solving Competition!  Now they have a new problem! Where are they going to put this big trophy?

You can find more information about the Future Problem Solving Program at mnfpsp.org.

***

Related:

• District Honors Future Problem Solvers With Reception
• Richfield Future Problem Solvers Teams Advance to State Competition

Follow Richfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter