Destination Imagination (DI) was another huge success this year! Lisa Diner, Steve Greig and Alan Earwaker worked very hard to make sure the tournament was organized and that the students had a great time.
Destination Imagination is an international organization dedicated to teaching students the skills needed to succeed in school, their careers and beyond. DI develop project-based learning programs that blend STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) education with the arts and social entrepreneurship. Through these programs, students use the creative process to turn their ideas into reality and learn invaluable skills through the process including:
- Creative & Critical Thinking
- Team Building
- Problem Solving
- Risk Taking
- Project Management
- Perseverance
- Self-Confidence
We invited students from Grades 5-8 (Elementary cycle 3-secondary cycle 1) to participate in our regional tournament. Our elementary students did the Scientific Challenge whereas our middle school students did the Technical Challenge. Each challenge has the students explore various aspects of science and technology all intertwined into a student created play.
The day is broken down into three parts;
- The central challenge (mentioned previously) which had the students working hard since October.
- The Instant Challenge, which is quick test of creativity, team work and ingenuity
- The
Leadership activities which are led by our leadership students (after being
trained during a two-day camp held in November and run and organized by Alan
Earwaker and Steve Greig. The students
will be working with students throughout the day doing such team building
activities as:
- Inside Out
- Lycra
- Marble Tubes
- PVC
- Maze Race
- Elastic Cups
The leadership students also play a key supporting role in the running of the day and help out in all of the activities.
- Number of teams: 24
- Number of students: 150
- Number of appraisers: 32
- Number of Team Managers: 27
Participating Elementary Schools
- Buckingham
- Chelsea (2 teams)
- Eardley
- DWKS
- Greater Gatineau
- Onslow ( 2 teams)
- PETES (3 teams)
- Poltimore
- Queen Elizabeth
- South Hull
- Wakefield
Participating Junior High Schools
- DWKS (2 teams)
- Golden Valley
- Hadley (3 teams)
- Namur
- St Mikes (2 teams)
Awards
- We renamed the Team Building Award to honour the late James Shea in all his hard work and support for this tournament. The new James Shea Building Destination Award was given to Christine Emond (DWKS) and Brad Everson (Greater Gatineau) for their ongoing and continued efforts in encouraging DI in their schools.
- The Da Vinci award is given to a team for taking a unique approach toa solution, for risk taking and for outstanding creativity. The two winners of this award were The Squisky Marshmallows from Queen Elizabeth and The Might Redhawk Clickbaters from St Mikes.
- The second special award is the Spirit of Discovery and Imagination which is awarded to a team who shows a superior role model in spirit, sportsmanship and volunteerism. This year’s winners were Medical Minds from Wakefield, Fancy Phoenix’s from Onslow and Screaming Goats from Hadley.
- The third award is the Renaissance award and this goes to a team for demonstrating outstanding skills in the areas of engineering, design or performance. The winners this year was the Wedgie Workers from PETES, Zombie Busters from DWKS Space Engineerz from Hadley and also Fairest of Them All from Hadley.
- The fourth special for the winner of the silly hat. This year, the silliest hat award went to Rachel Vincent for her Hershey’s Kiss hat.
This year we included a new category for medals and that is Instant Challenge. The winners are: Game Viruses from PETES, Egyptian Chickens from Eardley and Ostentatious Ostriches from St Mikes.
Central Challenge
This elementary challenge had students research the human body and medical conditions that affect the human body. They had to create and present a story about a medical mystery that affects a human character. They also had to design and build a representation that shows the medical mystery and at least one symptom. On top of all that, they had to present an action or scene that is shown from two or more perspectives at the same time.
Awards – Elementary Group 1
- 3rd place – Elementary Group 1 is: Game Viruses from PETES
- 2nd place – Elementary Group 1 is: Medical Minds from Wakefield
- 1st Place – Elementary Group 1 is: Wedgie Workers from PETES
Awards – Elementary Group 2
- 3rd place – Elementary Group 2: The Egyptian Chickens from Eardley
- 2nd place – Elementary Group 2: Cosmic Dreamers from Greater Gatineau
- 1st Place – Elementary Group 2: ZombieBusters from DWKS
Awards – Junior High Schools
Our junior high school students did a different challenge this year. They did the technical challenge called On Target. They had to design and build an aircraft that takes off, flies, and lands. They had to design the aircraft to deliver a team created payload. They also had to create and present a story about one or more characters exploring a remote place. This year’s winners of the Technical challenge are:
- 3rd place; Screaming Goats from Hadley
- 2nd place; Fairest of them all from Hadley
- The 1st place team, who will be representing the province of Québec in the Global Destination Imagination tournament held in Kansas City, Missouri, is Space Engineerz from Hadley.
Congratulations, Engineerz!
