This year a team of third grade students from Lynwood Avenue Elementary competed at the Destination Imagination Global Tournament in Tennessee.
During the Global Finals, there were 50 teams in their challenge category. Lynwood finished the competition with a rank of 33rd in their challenge category. This was quite a feat as they were one of the youngest teams competing, with most teams being composed of fifth graders.
During their trip to Global Finals, the team had the opportunity to showcase their challenge solution to a larger, more diverse audience at a global level.
Students were also able to experience how other students from around the world solved their challenge. There were many opportunities to interact with other cultures through International events as well as pin trading throughout the tournament.
During the International Block Party, students were greeted by ambassadors from other countries as well as sampled foods from a variety of these nations. These nations included: Turkey, China, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, South Korea, Poland, Qatar, and Mexico as well as many states throughout the U.S. The students were extremely excited to explore, learn from and communicate with students from other countries.
In addition, Global Finals participants were provided ongoing opportunities to learn new skills, hear from industry experts, participate in a variety of creative, STEAM-based activities and attend a variety of workshops and expos that foster imagination, creativity and teamwork. It was an amazing experience for all!
Lynwood’s DI team had placed second in regional qualifying from the New York event in April.
This team chose to solve the Fine Arts Challenge called Vanished. For this challenge the team needed to:
- Research the meanings, roles and uses of the team selected color.
- Present a story about how the disappearance of a single color changes a world.
- Create a colorful character that causes or is affected by the color’s disappearance.
- Use technical theatre methods to create a vanishing act that makes something disappear.
- Create and present two Team Choice Elements that show off the team’s interests, skills, areas of strength and talents.
In addition, during each tournament teams are required to complete an Instant Challenge. An Instant Challenge requires students to work as a team to solve a timed challenge. The students have no knowledge of the challenge prior to its start. The students must take on various roles such as leader, builder, and time keeper in order to successfully complete the challenge. This requires a great deal of teamwork, cooperation and quick thinking. The Instant Challenge score is combined with the Main Challenge score to determine team ranking.
The following is a synopsis of the team’s story: It is your typical day in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Coral swaying, fish swimming…all is calm. A reporter from DI News brings us an in-depth look at life under the sea. Little does she know that she is going to witness a friendly fish named Scarlet help rescue her friend, Crimson Carl the Coral from his most feared predator, the Crown of Thorns.
Team manager Cathy Dulovic on the experience: “As a team manager, it was amazing to witness the overall growth I saw in these students throughout the Destination Imagination process. With focus on the 4Cs – communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity, the students work diligently and effectively to solve their challenge by thinking “outside the box”. The vision of DI is “To teach students the creative process and empower them with the skills needed to succeed in an ever-changing world.” I feel this experience has given these students the confidence, drive and skills to be successful in all that they do. It has also provided them with an understanding that there is more than one way to solve a challenge. I am so proud of the leaders that they have become!”
Watch a roundtable discussion from Lynwood Elementary about the student experience for the Destination Imagination team that recently competed at the DI Global championships in Tennessee!
These students have studied, researched and executed on S.T.E.A.M. initiatives at a very high level and they should be proud of their efforts. We are so honored that they have represented Sachem at a global level!