Morris Elementary's Odyssey of the Mind Team Earns Spot at World Finals

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Morris' Odyssey of the Mind team poses for a photo with their medals and trophy signifying their first place win in their division at the regional competition on April 5. (Photo Courtesy Lenox Public Schools)

LENOX, Mass. — Superintendent Dr. William Collins and Principal Brenda Kelley shared that Morris Elementary School's Odyssey of the Mind team recently competed in regional competition, securing first place in their division and a spot in the World Finals.

Grade 5 students at Morris Elementary School are using their minds to solve complex, open-ended problems through Odyssey of the Mind.

Odyssey of the Mind is an educational program that challenges students to solve open-ended problems imaginatively and theatrically while working as a team. 

Students who participate in Odyssey of the Mind begin preparing for the workforce early, developing their skills in engineering, innovation and creative problem-solving. 

The team is comprised of Grade 5 students Les Freeman, Johnson Green, Anna Kennedy, Raquel Levin, Zachary Streeter, Levi Stern and Ethan Winger and is coached by Josh Levin, Kim Winger and Seth Lipkin.

They traveled to Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine, on Saturday, April 5, for the regional competition, where they competed against 99 teams.

The Morris team solved the problem "AstronOMical Odyssey," in which teams were tasked to create a humorous performance set in a team-created "historical" civilization that explains constellations and presents original stories. The performance also included a humorous astronomer character with a "stellar" costume, a lighting effect and a shooting star.

The team's performance can be viewed here.

"These students have put in countless hours designing their own solution, building their own props, and bringing their ideas to life," said Coach Josh Levin. "What’s amazing is that the work these kids are doing will set them up to be successful at problem-solving using both engineering and creative skills. This is what it’s all about! They did absolutely everything themselves. That’s the really amazing thing. No parent help, just encouragement."

Their win at the regional competition earned them an invite to attend the World Finals at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, from May 20-24, where they will compete against more than 800 teams from around the world. 

The PTO is seeking donations to help send the small but mighty team of students to the World Finals. To contribute to the PTO's fundraising efforts, contact Ashley Turczak at ashley.turczak@gmail.com.

"Our Odyssey of the Mind team is a perfect example of the creativity and persistence that our student body possesses," said Principal Kelley. "These students worked incredibly hard to come out on top at the regional competition, and we hope to see them move on to display their innovative talents at the World Finals. Congratulations, and good luck!"

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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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