Using creativity and research, Orange County Public Schools students honed their problem-solving skills while tackling real-world scenarios in the Future Problem Solving Program competition.
Teams from Hunter’s Creek Future Problem Solvers (with students from Hunter’s Creek Middle School, Freedom Middle School and Winter Park High School), Gotha Middle School and Windy Ridge K-8 competed at the Global Issues Problem Solving International Competition in various divisions last month. For this year’s challenge, students researched the topic of currency. Having a working knowledge of cryptocurrency, the shift to a global currency, central bank digital currency and the future of currency, helped teams create a solution to a futuristic scenario within the two-hour competition.
“We are excited for our students to compete at this level and showcase their creativity and critical thinking skills. Their ability to review, evaluate and solve problems prepares them to become productive and successful citizens contributing to society,” said Kellee Moye, Hunter’s Creek Future Problem Solvers Club coach.
Prior to receiving an invite to the international competition, the young problem solvers won the state competition — of which OCPS swept the Florida Future Problem Solver’s Affiliate Competition in the team component.
State winners from the Orlando area include:
Team winners:
First place Junior team from Windy Ridge: Julia Lindsay, Jouna Haidar, Annika Hsu and Benjamin Muesel. Coaches: Susan Childs and Mana Heistand- First place Middle team from Hunter’s Creek MS: Cooper Terrell, Sakshi Tripathy, Senuth Amarasekera and Derrick Tayler. Coaches: Kellee Moye, Shannon Rokaw and Stacey Lake
- Second place Middle team from Gotha Middle School: Zachary Martin, Krishaan Parikh, Lucas Lopez and Allie Leitzinger. Coach: Erin Hinz
- First place Senior team from Freedom High School and Winter Park High School: Elsa Xia, Zoe Li, Sophia Acosta and Vanessa Wojciechowski. Coaches: Kellee Moye, Shannon Rokaw and Stacey Lake
Individual winners:
First place Senior individual from Dr. Phillips High School: Taylor LaPage. Coach: Erin Hinz- Second place Senior individual from Freedom High School: Sharanya Chatterjee. Coaches: Kellee Moye, Shannon Rokaw and Stacey Lake
- Florida Future Problem Solver’s Affiliate Competition Scenario Performance Competition — Second place Middle division from Gotha MS: Sarah Hanzaz
Division categories are Juniors (fourth to sixth grade); Middle (seventh to ninth grade); Senior (10th-12th grade).
