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Clovis
Students Soars with Creativity
at
Regional Destination ImagiNation Tournament
By
Laura
Collins
San Joaquin
Valley DI Tournament Publicity Coordinator
Posted on July 15, 2011 |
Calling
upon the creativity, problem solving skills and quick
wit of students in kindergarten through twelfth grade,
this year’s San Joaquin Valley regional Destination
ImagiNation (DI) tournament brought together more than
650 competitors from across the Valley.
The Feb.
12 event was held on the Alta Sierra Intermediate
campus.
Teams from
area schools competed in one of five challenges, as well
as an Instant Challenge. The colorful, fast-paced
tournament encouraged students to use their imaginations
to solve complex challenges in various categories, all
centered on this year’s theme, “Soaring with
Creativity.”
Students
employed their creative and critical thinking skills, as
well as their teamwork abilities, in order to create
solutions to their selected challenges. “The kids formed
their own solutions, often going in different directions
than the adults would have. In the end, the kids’
solutions were better than we imagined!” said Cedarwood
Elementary Team Manager Cheryl Hedrick.
Hedrick’s team, the
Cedarwood Sorcerers, competed in the popular “Triple
Take Road Show” challenge. Teams had to develop a
solution using three storytelling methods to tell the
same story to three different audiences and had to
incorporate a “technical spectacle” into at least one of
their presentations. The highest scoring CUSD elementary
level teams for this challenge were: Fugman Fluffy Funny
People, Wonderland Wanderers (Valley Oak), and Woods Hat
Society; at the middle level: Zombified (CNEC) and
Cedarwood Sorcerers; and at the secondary level: Roy G.
Biv (Clovis High). These teams will be competing in the
state tournament on April 9 at Yosemite High School in
Oakhurst.
Another popular
challenge, “Mythology Mission,” required students to
create a five-minute improvisational sketch about a
mission involving a mythical creature. Students had only
five minutes to get the sketch together. Clovis High’s
Three Musketeers team had to handle a “giant meatball”
attack in their sketch. CUSD teams moving on to the
state tournament in this challenge are: Imaginators
(Fort Washington Elementary); Zebra Finches (Fort
Washington Elementary), DI2Xtreme (Clark Intermediate),
and The Magnificent Mythology Maniacs (Alta Sierra
Intermediate); East Avengers (Clovis East High); and
Three Musketeers (Clovis High).
Teams attempting to
master the “Verses! Foiled Again!” challenge had to
muster their engineering and artistic skills to design
and build a structure made only of aluminum foil, wood
and glue while simultaneously presenting a story about a
character that is foiled. Their solution had to show how
much weight their structure would hold, and they had to
incorporate team-written as well as published verse
(poetry) into their story. Top CUSD teams in this
category were: Super Stars! (Reagan Elementary); Fish
Tales (Woods Elementary); Garfield Super Stars; and
Delicious Cub Fingers (Garfield Elementary).
“Unidentified Moving
Object” also required engineering skills from teams. For
this challenge, students were asked to design and build
equipment to move various materials to and from towering
heights. They had to create a sales promotion for their
equipment, and their solution had to begin and end with
all equipment stored in a box. No electrical power could
be used for any part of the solution. Innovative CUSD
competitors going on to compete at the state level in
this challenge were: DI Seven (Valley Oak Elementary);
RAMTASTIC BOYS (Riverview Elementary); C.U.P. – Cole
Unidentified Persons (Cole Elementary); and Go! Inc.
(Buchanan High).
Only four teams competed
in the scientific challenge “Spinning a Tale.” To meet
this challenge, teams had to research energy cycles in
the natural and/or physical world. Then they had to
create an original three-act story showing knowledge of
one of the energy cycles. Moving on to the state
competition at the elementary level are Spinergy
(Century) and Energetic Wolverines (Woods).
Finally, three outstanding teams participated in the
Project Outreach challenge, “Dynamic Networks,” all
three of which are advancing to the state competition:
ACE (Alta Sierra Intermediate), the Double R’s (Fugman
Elementary), and Dream Team Plus (Fugman Elementary).
Teams had to design and carry out a project to address a
real community need and integrate a social network. On
the day of the tournament, teams showcased their project
with an album. This year’s team projects focused on
providing food for families in Africa,
raising
money for homeless
families in
Fresno
and providing self-defense classes for girls.
According to DI team
managers – volunteer parents and teachers who coach
teams in reaching solutions – every team builds on the
diverse skills of its members and relies on members’
sensitivity to one another’s needs and ideas. A great
work ethic and collaborative skills enable teams to find
success and enjoy the process of building their
solution. Everyone’s strengths and abilities must be
recognized, developed and employed. As Reshma Meister, a
Clovis High sophomore and three-year DI competitor,
said, “It’s cool to be creative within a set of rules.
It’s not like a script in drama that you read over and
over again.” Her teammates, Jared Lemon and Kenny
Beatty, added, “DI lets your mind go crazy! You get to
think two miles outside of the box.”
This article was originally
published in CUSD Today, March 2011, and is
published on
ExperienceClovis.com Online Independent Community
Magazine with permission. All rights reserved.
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